Todd sez:
>Have you called the various companies to find out which ones use
>flour as an extender?  It is my understanding that wheat *does*
>have to be listed on the label.  For example, many flavored
>potato chips use wheat flour as the base to which the flavoring
>is added; others use other things.  These will always be listed
>on the label.
I'm another one that is super sensitive to grain products, so I've had to
make more of a study of this than anyone ought to have to do.  I can get
quite sick from licking a stamp.

I've found that, in fact, there are several situations in which grain
products can be introduced without having to be listed.  Ground spices
with flour extenders are an example of  "grandfathered" practices.  The
use of these extenders in these products pre-dates regulation, and thus
don't  have to be listed.   Calling the company is a good idea, but not
fool-proof.  You will find that people aren't tuned in enough to
recognize it.  There are lots of stories of people calling to ask if
something had wheat, corn or any other grain product in it, and being
told something like, "None of those, just.....and some flour."  Sticking
to grind-your-own is safest. Grind-your-own tastes so good, why not?

Another one of these examples is butter.  Your standard grocery store
butter has various things in it to color and flavor it.  Either the
coloring/flavoring agent itself is grain-based, or it is packed in a
grain product as a vehicle or base.  This does not have to be listed,
because the butter lobby got these chemical/grain  brews defined as
standard elements not needing to be listed.  This grain product
introduced as an unlisted vehicle to some other listed product is all
over the place, too.

Another one is the use of flours to keep foods from sticking to the
machinery in the packing plant.  Canola oil, which I'm also sensitive to,
is often used to clean equipment between runs and doesn't have to be
listed.  As these are introduced as aids to packing and processing, not
"ingredients", they don't need to be listed.   Another one is
cross-contamination from a grain product processed on the same equipment
or adjacent.

If you really need to avoid grain products strictly, you need to stay
away from pre-processed, pre-packaged anything.  There are a very few
producers who take this seriously enough for those who are quite
sensitive.