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After reading Mandy Kavanaugh's letter last night, I decided to call Malt-O-Meal myself.

The woman who took my call knew why I was calling as soon as I asked to speak to Shannon, the Consumer Affairs Manager. "Is this about the gluten free ingredients?" she asked. I said yes. She said she could answer my questions, so I asked her why her company had decided to start adding wheat starch to the cereals that previously contained gluten free ingredients.

She said Malt-O-Meal cereals are not made on dedicated lines and the company is concerned that if people don't see wheat in the ingredients they might think it's safe to eat and, because of the possibility of cross contamination, someone might have a severe allergic reaction and die. However, she said, the company is aware of the problems celiacs face because one of their own managers has celiac disease!!

I asked them if there were any plans to develop a dedicated lines and she said, "We certainly hope so but, until we can, we have to look at the whole allergen situation." She did say that Fruity Dynabites will continue to be made with gluten free ingredients even though the company will not say it is gluten free. She said the company will do this because Fruity Dynabites is made in an area that does not contain any wheat.

Malt-O-Meal Cereals is collecting comments from those who call in with their concerns and the woman I spoke with admitted that there have been many, many calls. If you'd like to call, you can reach them at 1-800-743-3029.

Lani K. Thompson
www.clanthompson.com

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