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I saw an interesting column today by William Raspberry in the Washington
Post (can be read at www.washingtonpost.com) that really slammed people with
(even legitimate) disabilities that abuse the Americans with Disabilities Act.
This is EXACTLY the kind of press we want to avoid - especially as it relates
to trying a peanut-allergy-style protection.

The ideas for a central on-line clearinghouse of GF products, or GF info on
individual manufacturer sites is a very promising idea. However, let's not get
discouraged at the amount of time it will take. Some companies will be happy to
do it, but just haven't thought of it. Others, especially those with already
negative perceptions of celiacs, will be reluctant. What we need is a
*credible* marketing reason for these companies to do so. Official statistics
of celiac being about 1 in 4,000 in the US won't do it. And unofficial
statistics just won't cut it in these times of tight budgets - food companies
want "power" brands and reasonably large target markets. We're asking companies
to make significant investments in quality control, supplier relations, and
product research - and this is just what would be needed to keep a GF list
current.

Moves toward unifying our national associations are promising as are research
projects that are underway. We need to support these efforts and, in the
meantime, be very careful how we portray ourselves as a group. Each time we
have contact with a company each of us "becomes" the face of the disease. Like
it or not, that face needs to be attractive to both corporate America and the
media!

Tami
 Plymouth, MN