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

Many posters to this list ask a question of the form:

Does anyone know if (food or medicine - fill in the blank) is
gluten-free?

I would like to suggest that we avoid doing this for the following
reasons:

1) You are likely to get incorrect or misleading information.

Many summaries of responses to such posts read like this:  'I had
responses from 15 people, 10 said they use the product and have no
problem, 2 said they have a reaction.....'  These are anecdotes, not
facts. If you read the posts to this list, you know that people react to
gluten in many ways and many are asymptomatic. Also, keep in mind that a
reported reaction to a specific food may be to something other than
gluten.

2) Information can be outdated.

Manufacturers products and formulations change all the time. You can't
assume that the ingredients in a product will always be the same.

3) Formulations differ in different countries.

Responses from Canada may not apply to the U.S and vice-versa.

4) It does not help get reliable information out to celiacs or encourage
manufacturers to do so.

Instead, I urge everyone to:

1) CALL THE MANUFACTURERS. There is an 800 number on every label. Use
it. Question the manufacturer's customer service representatives
carefully and respectfully. If you question their understanding or the
accuracy of their response, call again and ask a different
representative or ask for a supervisor. This way, the information you
get will be direct and current. The other benefit is that it lets the
manufacturers know we are here and interested in their products. Believe
it or not, customer service organizations track the topics of their
calls and the more calls they receive on a subject, the more attention
it is likely to get.

2) POST YOUR RESPONSES TO THIS LIST. Information direct from the
manufacturers is likely the most reliable. A brief summary that includes
the date, manufacturer's name, the product(s) and their gluten status is
all that is needed. If a manufacturer is non-responsive, report that too
so that other list members can either avoid their products or preferably
add their voices to the mix by also calling that manufacturer.

I believe that this is a quicker way of getting more accurate
information than posting a question to this list.

If you are still tempted to post an "Is _____ gluten free?" question,
try searching the list archives first. All posts are archived and you
can do a quick search on any topic at the following address:

http://maelstrom.stjohns.edu/archives/celiac.html

Joel

-------------
Joel Elias
Pittsford, NY

* Visit the Celiac Web Page at www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html *