<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I do not know if this information applies to any other country than the US. You would have to check this information out for yourselves. Their letter is as follows: >>>> Thank you for contacting our office with your concerns about gluten in our products. The following Imagine Foods products are gluten free: SOY DREAM BEVERAGES, IMAGINE NATURAL GARDEN VEGETABLE SOUPS, IMAGINE NATURAL PUDDING SNACKS, and RICE DREAM DESSERTS plain Carob, Chocolate, and Vanilla flavors only. There are two primary areas of concern regarding the gluten content of our RICE DREAM products. They are: grain alcohol based flavoring extracts, and the use of enzymes grown on grain in processing. RICE DREAM BEVERAGE is made primarily from rice, it contains no whole wheat or barley ingredients. However, our patented enzymatic process utilizes enzymes, which are derived from various grains including barley, to convert the complex carbohydrates in brown rice to naturally occurring sugars. It is this process that gives RICE DREAM products their sweet flavor without the need for added sweeteners. The actual grains used to grow the enzymes are discarded after the enzymes are extracted. The barley protein in the final RICE DREAM BEVERAGE product, if present at all, would occur in parts per million amounts (less than 5 mg barley protein per 8 oz serving). In addition, the enzymes are essentially used up in the process, (broken down to peptides and amino acids). It is possible however, that gluten may exist in minute amounts in the final product. We are not required by the FDA to list on the product labels, the enzymes, how they are developed, or how they are used in the processing of our products. However, we certainly did not wish to mislead or endanger our gluten sensitive customers. In response to consumer requests, beginning in the fall of 1998, the Rice Dream Beverage container will be labeled to indicate the presence of trace amounts of gluten. Many gluten sensitive people are also advised to avoid grain alcohol based flavoring extracts. These types of extracts are contained in most of our products and listed as "natural flavors". The total volume of these extracts in a serving of any of our products is less than half of 1%. Furthermore, according to a representative from the USDA, a proper distillation of alcohol should not contain any gluten. One notable exception to this is our vanilla extract, and the flavoring extracts used in SOY DREAM AND IMAGINE NATURAL PUDDING SNACKS. These extracts are corn alcohol based and therefore acceptable in a wheat-free diet. Imagine Foods products that do not contain alcohol based flavoring extracts are the plain Carob and Chocolate flavors of RICE DREAM FROZEN DESSERT. Products that contain corn based alcohol extracts are: All flavors of SOY DREAM and IMAGINE NATURAL PUDDING SNACKS, and the Vanilla Flavor RICE DREAM FROZEN DESSERT. These products should all be acceptable in a gluten-free diet. We understand that there is no established "safe" level of gluten for Celiac patients. We hope knowing the amount of gluten which may be present in RICE DREAM will allow people, in conjunction with their health care providers, to make informed decisions about whether RICE DREAM products are appropriate for their diets. We have developed a process for utilizing a non-grain enzyme source for our RICE DREAM FROZEN DESSERT and IMAGINE PUDDING SNACKS product lines. RICE DREAM DESSERT and IMAGINE PUDDING SNACKS products produced after May of 1996 contain no gluten from barley enzymes. Unfortunately, this enzyme does not work for the processing of RICE DREAM BEVERAGE. If we can successfully meet our product requirements using enzymes grown on another medium, we will switch to them. Because of it's minimal gluten content we believe RICE DREAM can be a useful alternative for many people wishing to avoid gluten. Unfortunately, for the previously mentioned reasons, we are unable to absolutely guarantee the total absence of minute amounts of gluten in many of these products. I apologize for any confusion regarding this subject. Please contact me again if I can be of further assistance. Sincerely, Loretta Dunn Customer Service Manager >>>> I have only use their: Imagine Natural Garden Vegtable Soups and have found them to be great. I can buy them at my local grocery store (health food section) in North Dakota. You can contact Imagine foods at: their website. www.imaginefoods.com They even have some info on what is gluten free there. Besure to use the buttons at the bottom of the page. I have no financial interest in the company. Just trying to help out fellow Celiacs Jane