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

I just had an lesson in caution from Vitamin World, one of the major vendors 
of supplements.  I was in an increasingly bad gluten crash for over a month. 
I finally listed all the changes in that period.  I had not eaten out.  I 
had added 4
items from Vitamin World that are suggested for Celiacs.  The store people
had said they were gluten free.  So I called their corporate product 
information line.  The first level person read the ingredients to me and 
said they were gluten free.  I said what are the ingredients in the flavors. 
He did not know.  He agreed to transfer me up to the next level of 
specialist.  She said please
wait while she got this week's listing of formulations.  The lists showed 
her
all the ingredients instead of the restricted list on the bottles.  She said
some were probably safe, and one probably had gluten even though it did not
have wheat.  Note that the answers were tentative.  That was the sort of 
situation I was afraid of.

My observations are:

1.  Vitamin World store and first level product information personnel only
guess at gluten free status based on the label ingredients.

2.  Ingredient lists include items such as flavors which do not have their
component ingredients listed.

3.  Products are run through a weekly least-cost formulation program, so
what they manufactured last week may not be the same as this week.

4.  Formulation to be gluten free is not on their agenda at this time.

I have used a few of their products for several years with no problems.  Now 
that I know the lack of concern about gluten, I must say this does not fit 
in my GF life style and I am looking for a safer source of vitamins and 
minerals.

Are there companies with a broad line of GF labeled vitamin and mineral 
supplements?

Roger in WA

Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC