<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

Summary to:  

Below is what I found when I went to the site www.tasteslikerealfood.com
which was posted by Theresa Brandon.  My concern is the "SPECIALLY
FORMULATED WHEAT STARCH*".
This is just one product description, the first one I looked at on the site.  That 
was enough for me.
Europeon standards are different than domestic.

Sponge Cake & Pizza Crust Mix

NET WT 12.9 OZ. (366 g) Makes 3 cakes. Mix contains less than 20 ppm total 
gluten content, which is certified as safe for celiacs according to
the European Union Codex Standard.


Ingredients SPECIALLY FORMULATED WHEAT STARCH*, RICE FLOUR, GLUCOSE,
POTGATO STARCH, SALT, VEGETABLE FAT (PALM OIL), RAISING AGENT 
(CALCIUM
PHOSPHATE, SODIUM HYDROGEN CARBONATE), THICKENING AGENT (XANTHAN 
GUM).

*This specially formulated wheat starch contains less than 200 parts per
million (0.02%) gluten, which is certified as safe for celiacs according 
to the European Union Codex Standard


Also found:

Whole Meal Bread Mix

NET WT 14.7 oz. (417g) Makes 1 loaf. Mix contains less than 20 ppm total
gluten content, which is certified as safe for celiacs according to the European 
Union Codex Standard.


Ingredients SPECIALLY FORMULATED WHEAT STARCH*, BUCKWHEAT (WHOLE 
GRAIN
AND FLOUR), PRECOOKED RICE FLOUR, GLUCOSE, BEET FIBER, POTATO FIBER,
SESAME SEEDS, POTATO STARCH, STABILIZER (E464), SALT, RICE STARCH,
VEGETABLE FAT (PALM OIL), RAISING AGENT (CALCIUM PHOSPHATE, SODIUM
HYDROGEN CARBONATE), THICKENING AGENT (XANTHAN GUM).

*This specially formulated wheat starch contains less than 200 parts per
million (0.02%) gluten, which is certified as safe for celiacs according 
to the European Union Codex Standard
 
SUMMARY:
 
Ditto!
 
..... 
Yes, the United States still has a zero tolerance of wheat starch.  The 
University of Maryland has been trying to change this.  If you travel abroad, 
you will find the Europeans are allowed so much wheat and gluten in their daily 
diets; it does not effect their yearly blood tests.  Theresa
 
 .....
By most standards in Europe this is considered GF. They have had this 
problem over there a lot longer than we have over here and they all seem to 
do ok. At least the ones we know.  ann/tx
 
 .....
I've had similar products and in Europe and they are fabulous. Everyone should 
do what they are comfortable with - of course -but I'd like to mention that 
people (specifically doctors and food companies) in the US are the ones with 
little or no knowledge about Celiac and gluten. This is NOT the case in most of 
Europe. Also, if you check the ingredients in Benefiber now, it is made purely 
from Wheat starch and the company was able to legally mark the product 
gluten free as there is no gluten shown when testing it for gluten, or it's less 
than 20 ppm. I absolutely can not wait to order this stuff from Norway. 
Yippee!      
 
..... 
I noticed that too.  I don't know why anyone would want to start eating
wheat starch.  It will be interesting to see how this company does.  But you
can be sure I won't be ordering it, eating or recommending it to our new
members.
 
..... 
 I have a scientific and personal dilemma with respect to the products that
are offered on the website that imports Scandinavian baking mixes. Yes, I
firmly believe that the mixes meet the Norwegian standards which also meet
the European standards. In terms on whether or not these products are
advisable for celiacs, I think that the UK celiac site sums things up pretty
well, at least from a European perspective:
http://www.coeliac.co.uk/glutenfree_living/eating_and_shopping/78.asp:"Codex
wheat starch (the special washed wheat starch that has had the
gluten removed to a level within the Codex standard) can be tolerated
by the majority of people with coeliac disease, although these products will
be labelled as containing wheat. Some people are more sensitive than others
to this low level of gluten and have symptoms if they eat products
containing Codex wheat starch. Those people who react to Codex wheat 
starch
need to choose products labelled as both gluten and wheat free."

There are a couple of studies from Finland  that show long-term ingestion of
products containing wheat starch is not harmful to celiacs: *
http://tinyurl.com/2phb6m* <http://tinyurl.com/2phb6m> and
<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12622768?
ordinalpos=1&itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubm
ed_RVAbstractPlus>
*http://tinyurl.com/2mhsfv.*

Although my left brain is totally happy with the science, the right brain
would not buy or consume products containing wheat starch. Why eat wheat
starch when I don't have to? There are lots of good things to eat that never
contained gluten in the first place. What happens if a batch is accidentally
defective? Has that ever happened before in the food industry? Besides, I am
not sure that I consider beet fiber something I would like to find in my
bread. I guess the Norwegian bread with beet fiber is miles better than the
bamboo fiber and methylcellulose found in some US bread products. Neither of
those two components is ever found naturally in human food.

All of this gets down to a matter of personal choice at the end of the day,
and we don't need to start flames on the topic. Some people will want this
product and others won't. But the good news is that the bread is probably
not going to hurt people.

Vic-Sunnyvale, CA
 
.....
Seems suspect to me, and I just wouldn't feel right feeding it to my family.  It 
also makes me wonder, if they're trying to market a product to the Celiac 
community, why include wheat starch at all?  Is there truly no alternative to 
it?  
 
Thanks for the heads up.
 
 
.....
While in England I ate the wheat starch in products with no aftereffects but I 
would prefer not to buy it here. Thank you.
 
.....

Visit the Celiac Web Page at Http://www.enabling.org/ia/celiac/index.html
Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC