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Hello Everyone,

  I am on a quest to determine whether or not Blue Veined Cheeses should be
accepted in a Gluten Free Diet.  I have contacted over 100 individuals from
farmers, to cheese makers, to microbiologists in search of an answer and
still have not secured a definitive answer.  This is right up there with
the 'Oats Debate' where it seems that every man, woman and child are on
their own in making this decision.

   I have read through 'Gluten Free Food Guides' offered by many
associations and individuals, both in hard copy and online and it seems to
be about 50/50 as to whether the molds (which are often grown on Glutinous
substances), would carry over detectable amounts of Gluten into the
cheeses.  I am fully aware that NO amount of Gluten is acceptable in the
Gluten Free diet, but my question is... would any Gluten actually be
present on the finished product?  If this is so, would that not be the same
as suggesting that a cow that ate Glutinous grains would produce milk that
contained Gluten?  since the mold cultures actually feed from the offensive
grains in the first place.

  Kraft Kitchen had listed their 'Danish Blue Cheese' and 'Chunky Blue
Cheese Dressing' on their 2001 Gluten Free list, but I have not received a
reply from them since requesting specific information pertaining to exactly
how they determine that these products are in fact Gluten Free.  It seems
to me that the corporation is beginning to see that they have to set some
concrete guidelines in this matter and have not yet decided just what they
will be.

  The latest response I have received to my ongoing query was from a
Stilton producer in England.  He explained that the mold cultures are in
fact started on wheat based substances, then freeze dried before being
introduced and allowed to spread on the cheese.  The proportions were one
ounce of mold culture used in approximately one ton of cheese.  It would be
uncertain how much Gluten would actually be passed on to the mold when it
was first created and when you would further extrapolate that over the life
of the mold culture as it grew and spread over a mass of one ton of
cheese...  would one expect that Gluten would be present in the final
product?

  I'm quite interested to learn how the list members view this matter and
will be happy to post a summary.

  Thanks in advance for your input !

  Lisa