<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Hello fellow listmembers, I can really identify with the frustration of calling food manufacturers to get ingo of the GF status of their products. I have learned one thing, tho. NEVER talk to the customer service reps or anyone in marketting. They don't know anything. Go directly to the "food engineer" or "food technician" as they are called here. You sometimes have to be specific in a large company because food technicians specialize.For example, there are food technicians for soups, sweets, etc. IF anyone would know anything, it's them. They should also be able to tell you if there might be cross contamination since they oversee the production lines. I have called numerous local food companies here and for the most part, they are quite helpful. A good many of them even know what celiac is before I get to explaining it. The problem is with the many, many products that are imported, where there is no local address except the importer. They REALLY know nothing, nor do they care. So to my request. I have a favor to ask of someone who is willing to make a call for me/anyone else interested in the subject, since the matter of maple syrups has been brought up. The problem of prepared syrups seems to be the origin of the caramel. I was about to suggest that it might be easier to buy maple flavor and make it yourself, adding sugar, water and maybe GF vanilla extract, but then I took out the maple flavor we have in the house and I noticed that it too has caramel listed in the ingreds. The product is called MAPLEINE Imitation Maple Flavor, made by "Crescent". All it says on the box is that it is distributed by Han-dee Pak, Inc. in Hunt Valley, MD. No other info. Would someone be so kind as to call and find out the status of this product since it would be prohibitively expensive for me to do it? Thanks in advance. Of course, pure New ENgland maple syrup is probably the most healthy and it doesn't have any chemicals... May we all be inscribed for another year in the Book of Life, Sharon Marcus Israel