<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Dear Listmates,

I've been thinking about the frustration many of you are experiecing with
companies which don't know what's in their own products.  I felt some anger
myself when I found I could no longer eat many of my favorite foods.  However,
most companies do not exist for people with CD, they exist to make money by
selling products to people who don't have CD.  If I were head of a
food-producing company, I would never tell anyone that my products were GF,
since some wheat could have blown off the fields into my semi as I was
transporting some carrots to put in my stew (otherwise GF).  I think these
companies are just protecting themselves, and must do so.  It doesn't mean
they don't care.  In many cases, companies could be much more careful with
what touches their products.  But the fact is, guarantees are not possible
when dealing with many different production processes.

I have decided that I am going to check products which seem safe on my own. I
will introduce new things only one at a time and will gauge responses from my
body from things which seem as if they should be safe.

I do greatly appreciate, however, the few companies (The Organics Company, for
example) who put very clear pictoral labels on their prodcuts.  The salsa from
The Organics Company is wonderful, and since they list all ingredients in not
confusing languages, since they care enough to label it "gluten free", and
since I have come to trust the company, I feel safe eating their salsa.  (No,
I have no connection to the company.)

It's a wonderful idea to encourage companies who DO label this way, and to
encourage clearer labeling laws by the FDA, but it won't solve the most major
problem of cross-contamination.  Only we can protect ourselves from that by
knowing exactly what we're eating.

-Christie in Phoenix