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

Dear Listmates,

After my experience with the Dr. Atkins shake mix (bought a quantity and found
out later they were NOT gluten free - got reimbursed by Dr. Atkins), I
was curious to see whether or not they had updated the product
information on their website.  When I did a search for "gluten" only the
Atkins baking mix listed, yet I know for a fact that the shake mix and
some of the bars contain gluten.

So, naturally I wrote to them and told them this information and again
reiterated how important it was for celiacs to know about gluten in products.

Here's their reply, and I have to confess I'm not particularly impressed.
They
had no comment about the information on the website and their explanation of
the gluten content gives the impression that ethics are not part of the
corporate culture, but following the letter of the law is.

Helen

Dear Helen Aqua:

Thank you for your inquiry.

All of the Atkins Syrups and Ready to Drink Shakes are gluten-free.

The following Atkins Advantage Bars are gluten-free: Almond Brownie,
Chocolate Coconut, Chocolate Macadamia Nut, Chunky Peanut Butter,
Chocolate Peanut Butter, Chocolate Raspberry and Banana Colada .  The
Praline Crunch, Chocolate Mocha Crunch and the three flavored Breakfast
Bars: Cherry Almond, Lemon Poppy and Blueberry Pancake are not gluten-
free due to the soy 'crunchies'. The four flavored Atkins Shake Mixes
are not gluten-free, primarily due to the use of glutamine peptide in
the Lipo-ProTM protein blend.

The Brownie, Blueberry Muffin, Pancake & Waffle Mixes are not gluten-free due
to the use of Wheat Gluten.

The Atkins Bake Mix by definition is gluten-free, even though oat fiber
is listed on the Nutrition Facts panel.  According to the FAO/WHO,
"products containing greater than 0.30% (300ppm) protein from wheat,
rye, barley, and oats, etc. should not be labeled as gluten-free."
Products with 0.02-0.03% (200-300 ppm) gluten are "borderline gluten-
free", while those products containing less than 0.01% (100 ppm) gluten
are considered gluten-free.

The oat fiber that we use in our Atkins Bake Mix is purchased from
Canadian Harvest (Cambridge, MN) as Snowite 300.  This Snowite 300
product is an extract of the oat hull, which botanically speaking is a
modified leaf.  Based on studies performed by Dr. Bruce Hamaker at
Purdue University, the Snowite 300 product has gluten levels of 800 ppm.
In our Atkins Bake Mix , Snowite 300 is formulated at a 5.5% level,
which dilutes/drops the maximum gluten content of our mix to 88 ppm.
Thus, this level is below the 0.01% (100 ppm) level required to allow a
gluten-free claim.


We hope this information will be helpful to you. If you still need
further assistance, please feel free to e-mail us again, or contact our
Customer Support Department by phone at 1-800-2-ATKINS, Monday -
Thursday 8 am to 7pm EST and Friday 8am to 6 pm EST. If you are calling
from outside the U.S. and Canada, please reach us at 631.738.7370

Sincerely,
Lisa Candido
Customer Support
Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

1-800-2-ATKINS

-----Original Message-----
From:   [log in to unmask] ([log in to unmask])
Date:   Sunday, January 20, 2002  12:16 PM
To:   [log in to unmask] ([log in to unmask])
Subject:  Products: Gluten in Shake-Mix products


Have the ingredients for the Atkins shake mixes now been changed so that
they no longer have gluten?  If so, how will I differentiate between the
old product and new formula product?  Is there a different code on the
packaging?

I'm celiac, so this is vital information that will be the deciding factor of
whether or not I can buy this product.

I'm also interested in that when I did a search for gluten, the only
item that came up was the baking mix, yet I'm sure that a couple of the
Atkins bars also contain gluten - like the Praline.

Thanks,
Helen