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I would like to add two ideas to the ongoing debate over trace amounts of
gluten.  They are related to each other.  The first idea concerns the degree
of control that we have over our diets.  The second idea concerns the
cumulative effect of ingesting small amounts of gluten.
 
If you have knowledge that a food may be contaminated with minute traces of
gluten and you share that knowledge with me, I can make my own decision to eat
that food or not.  If, however, you decide that the amount of gluten in the
food is so miniscule that it doesn't warrant a caution, I am denied the
opportunity to decide for myself.  Further, if your reason for withholding the
information is to keep me from becoming alarmed, you have treated me like a
child.
 
Eating food ONCE that has a tiny nip of gluten is not the issue.  The danger
is in eating this food regularly.  If there are several foods containing small
amounts of gluten and I am eating them all on a daily basis, either because I
don't know that they are contaminated or because I don't think it matters, it
may seriously undermine my health.
 
I've been on a gluten-free diet since October of 1966, which certainly
qualifies me as an old-timer among this group.  Unfortunately, it took me
about 25 years to understand that the only risks I can take are carefully
calculated, fully-informed risks.  If I eat Corn Pops for breakfast,
McDonald's fries for lunch, then have dinner at an unfamiliar restaurant,
followed by two Advil for my headache, there is a compounding of risk which
can't easily be analyzed.  We see it here all of the time: people reporting
that they have no idea what they could have eaten to make them ill.
 
On the other hand, if I avoid as many as possible of the marginal foods on an
everyday basis, I can decide occasionally to take a calculated risk.  I can
decide to eat dinner at a carefully-chosen restaurant with my family on a
special occasion, knowing that I won't repeat the experience soon.  If
something goes wrong, I won't be left guessing whether it was Corn Pops,
fries, or Advil.
 
Please continue to tell us everything that you know about gluten
contamination.  We are adults here, and can decide to accept or reject
according to our own beliefs.  With due respect to Mr. Kasarda, knowing people
who have celiac disease and being a person who has celiac disease are worlds
apart.
 
Margaret Greeno