<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>
I believe two issues are being muddled together here. I'd like to sort
them out, and discuss each issue separately.
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Issue #1: Is there gluten in distilled vinegar
and distilled alcohol in FOOD products?
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There have been many posts in the past on this issue, and it was
discussed at the recent International Celiac Symposium. The experts
agree: distilled vinegar and distilled alcohol should be gluten-free.
This view was expressed by:
-- Donald Kasarda, a grain chemist from the USDA, at the symposium.
-- Bonnie Tyler, a celiac who is also a chemical engineering
professor, on the list in a post to this list on April 7, 1998.
(To read that post, go to
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/celiac.html
Click on "April 1998, week 1", click on "Vinegar", then click on
"Vinegar (69 lines)".)
-- Ann Whelan, who publishes the respected, independent newsletter
_Gluten-Free Living_, and who has investigated the issue
thoroughly.
By the way, if you go back and re-read the recent posts on this issue,
I think you'll find that none of them argue against this view. The
point of contention had to do with additives added to the liquor
product AFTER distillation. Which brings us to the second issue...
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Issue #2: Is there gluten in distilled liquor?
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First, be advised that in the USA alcoholic beverages are NOT regulated
by the FDA; they come under another agency altogether. The following
comes from a talk by Felicia Satchel, a Consumer Safety Officer for the
Food and Drug Administration, as summarized in the August 1995 issue of
_The Sprue-nik Press_ (which I edit):
There are four federal agencies involved in food product regulations.
The USDA regulates meat and poultry products, but not seafood and
game meats. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms regulates
alcoholic beverages that contain 7% or more alcohol; this excludes
products such as wine coolers. The FDA regulates the remaining food
products available to consumers. To further confuse things, the
Federal Trade Commission, not the FDA, is responsible for ensuring
that all advertising is truthful and not misleading.
That means the labeling laws used for foods in the US don't necessarily
apply to alcoholic beverages. This allows for the possibility of
additives in liquors that are not necessarily listed on the label.
Bonnie Tyler covered this well in a second post to the list, again on
April 7, 1998. Here are some excerpts from her post:
Distilled liquors commonly contain many ingredients that do not
go through the distillation process. These ingredients may contain
gluten. As has been mentioned previously and is discussed at the
following web site (http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/Vineyard/
1256/ga.htm) gluten has been detected in distilled liquors. The
distilled liquors which the Flemish society analyzed, contain many
ingredients that are added after distillation.
(To read that post, go to
http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/celiac.html
Click on "April 1998, week 1", click on "Clarifications of Distilled
Alcohol", then click on "Clarifications of Distilled Alcohol (31
lines)".)
Unfortunately, the web site Bonnie refers to is no longer available;
I would like to have read more about the Flemish society's tests.
The following comes from "Gluten Restricted Gliadin Free Diet", a
booklet from the Dietary Dept. of the University of Iowa Hospitals
and Clinics, pg. 14 (published 1995 or earlier, when Dr. Joseph
Murray was there):
Would You Like a Cocktail? Here is a list of alcoholic beverages,
and their GF status:
Gluten-free Might Be GF, Might Not Not Gluten-free
----------- ---------------------- ---------------
Wines Vodka Beer/Ale
Tequila Rum Whiskey
Aquavit Brandy (Cognac) Gin
Liqueurs-Cordials
In recent posts Dave Westheimer has quoted what ATF (that's the
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms) allows to be added WITHOUT
DISCLOSURE ON THE LABEL. I believe Dave's got his facts correct, and
they can certainly be checked by anyone else.
In the USA, given that ATF regulations (and not FDA food labeling laws)
apply to liquors, it seems reasonable that in SOME distilled liquors
there may be additives which are not on the package label. Bonnie's
comments also support this. So I think it is advisable to make sure a
distilled alcoholic beverage either has no unlisted additives, or
contains only gluten-free additives. Don't depend on the ingredients
listed on the package.
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To summarize:
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1. Distilled alcohol and distilled vinegar, when listed as ingredients
in FOOD products in the USA, are gluten-free.
2. Distilled alcoholic beverages, due to different labeling regulations,
may have additives not listed on the label, and those additives may
contain gluten.
------- Jim Lyles --------
----- [log in to unmask] ------
-- Holly, Michigan, USA --
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