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Subject:
From:
Kathy Alexander <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Fri, 14 Mar 1997 13:34:32 -0600
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<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Thank you to so many people for sending me replies to my question about
Bob's Red Mill.  Only one reply directly addressed my question about whether
there was a danger of cross-contamination at Bob's.  That person has chosen
to use the flours anyway, and her child has not noticed any negative
effects.  The other replies either said they had not had any problems from
using Bob's flours, or asked for the results of my inquiry.

HOWEVER, before I received the reply re: cross-contamination, I called
Bob's.  The male who answered the phone was extremely polite and honest with
me.  He explained how Bob acquired the millstone and how it is used.
Unfortunately, wheat flour and rice flour (any maybe others, I wasn't clear
on that) are indeed ground on the same stone.  The employee of Bob's
hastened to add that air is used to clean the stone between different
flours, that water cannot be used to clean the stone, and that "about 100
pounds" of rice is ground and diverted to animal feed (after wheat is
ground) to clean the stone before any rice flour is ground to sell for human
consumption.  He said tapioca flour is ground elsewhere, and the equipment
at Bob's used to package it is thoroughly cleaned between flours.  He
invited me to tour the mill when I am in the area next summer, which I said
I might do on a day when wheat was not being ground (and it apparently is
ground frequently).

I am sad to say I will no longer be using Bob's flours, because the absence
of obvious ill effects is not a guarantee intestinal damage has been
avoided.  And, although I am certainly no expert on flour milling, 100
pounds of rice does not seem like much to me; I go through a 25-pound bag of
rice in no time.  Also, the reason I posted my question originally was I had
noticed a post referring to a cross-contamination problem about a year ago
at Bob's (I asked whether the problem had been corrected), and because two
celiac friends and I had recently become quite ill after eating a variety of
supposedly gluten-free baked goods--at least one of which had been made with
Bob's flour.  We called the manufacturers of all ingredients used, and Bob's
was the only response which did not 100% guarantee GF status to their
product.  I will miss the convenience of purchasing these flours in the
grocery store and encourage you all to do your own research and come to your
own conclusions.

The Gluten Free Pantry, on the other hand, received nothing but the highest
of accolades (except for one respondant who mentioned a problem with guar
gum and thought the texture could be better in some products), and they
satisfactorily answered our questions re: GF status of their products.

Again, I have no financial connection to either of these (or any other)
suppliers.

--Kathy A. in Illinois (USA)

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