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

Hi Again,

I wrote over a week ago, asking if anyone knew why brown sugar and guar
gum were listed on the Celiac Restaurant Card as "cannot eat".  I
received 9 messages, 6 of which asked for info to be passed on.  Three
messages contained info regarding the subject matter.  I also called the
Celiac Association.  Here is a summary:

One person stated that her Dominos Dark Brown sugar contained brown
sugar, cane and caramel color. She encouraged me to call the
manufacturer to find out for sure on brown sugar.  She also stated that
Guar Gum, because of it's high fiber content, may cause distress in
people with sensitive digestive systems.

Another person stated that it is her understanding that some brown sugar
is actually white sugar which has been sprayed with caramel color and or
caramel flavoring and that these ingredients are sometimes derived from
wheat.  She uses C&H sugar but urges all to call the company.

Another person said that in her CSA Cooperative GF Commercial Products
List, C&H and Meijer sugar are listed as GF.

I called CSA/USA today and they said that so many people were getting a
reaction from brown sugar that they decided to list it on the restaurant
card.  The culprit is invert syrups or dye/colorings (apparently this
can include caramel coloring).  A company does not have to list these
items on their packaging. (So apparently the word "PURE" on the label
means nothing!)  Apparently dark brown sugar is more suspect than light
brown sugar (my dark brown C&H sugar has nothing listed for ingredients)
but even with the C&H he recommended calling the company with the batch
# of the sugar and checking it out.  He felt it was important to list it
on the restaurant card as a restaurant would have no way of knowing if
their brown sugar was GF or not. As for the guar gum, he stated guar gum
is a prescription for constipation and unless you want loose stools, he
said you should not ingest it.

Thank you to all who contributed to this message.  Barb