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Hello.

Recent posting(s) about Oral B Satin Floss have questioned (in good judgment) the gluten status of this product. I contacted Braun (the manufacturer) to ask for more information and received in response a form letter that stated that "gluten is not added as an ingredient but that [Braun is] unable to guarantee gluten-free status due possible manufacturing processes of raw materials". Not very helpful.

Given the ambiguity of this response, I called Braun yesterday. I spoke with the Manager (Tina G.) of Customer Service. Tina assured me that gluten is not added as an ingredient nor is gluten included in the manufacturing processes of Oral B Satin Floss and Satin Tape.  For example, no manufacturing equipment is dusted with flour, nor is flour used in manufacturing of these products at Braun.  She stated that Braun cannot rule out the remote possibility that raw materials could potentially have come into contact with gluten at some point prior to Braun's receipt of these materials. She assured me that Braun knows of no reason why they would have come into contact with gluten, but that they choose to err on the side of conservatism. 

This sounds to me like another example of a manufacturer's fear of legal liability. Tina said that she sincerely wished that the Marketing Dept of Braun would relent in their approach to dealing with this question so that she could reassure the many people having gluten-sensitivity that these products are safe.  However, as a representative of Braun, she must abide by their practices - thus these products cannot be recommended as safe.  I asked Tina to report to Braun's Marketing area that thousands of people will be unable to purchase these products due to their approach on this matter.  

I will contact Johnson & Johnson (Reach) to see if this company is willing to verify gluten-status on the Reach Dental Flosses as an alternative choice.

Sincerely,
Teresa

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