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

As you will see several different opinions - as with many other
questions this is what makes deciding so difficult.  Thanks to everyone.


Also summary of annato:
I had not heard that annatto is unsafe.  It is a vegetable dye from a
tropical tree that is produced in extract and seed form.  As well as
being used as a coloring, it is also used as a spice flavoring.  If you
are referring to annatto in cheese, if the cheese also contains
natamyacin (also known as pimaricin), that is the ingredient that is
dangerous.  It is an antibiotic that is used as a natural mold
inhibitor.  I personally do not think antibiotics should be added to
food, especially for celiacs.  As you are probably aware from when the
doctor prescribed antibiotics for you, they get rid of not only the bad
bacteria, but the good bacteria.  And we celiacs need all the good
bacteria we can get.

I do hope this helps.
All the best,
Beatrice

In annatto you would have to worry about the carried.  Its made from
achiote seeds from a tropical shrub.  In puerto rican cookery, the seeds
are heated in oil to release the color & used to make yellow rice.  An
oil based color would be a natural choice to color cheese.  I believe I
saw a post that said some had called all the suppliers of annatto &
couldn't find anyone added anything that would make it unsafe.  I
usually save files like that, but

unfortunately I can't find that one.

The bigger problem w/ Kellogg's Corn Pops is that they are not make on
dedicated machinery. Years ago my kids lived on them.  They were made on

dedicated equipement but I suspect generic competion cut their market
share and they changed their process.  My son, then a teen, refused to
eat them several months before Kellogg's acknowledged that they had
changed their process.

Bev in Milwaukee


Annatto is perfectly safe all by itself. It's from the seeds of a
bush, and not related to wheat at all, and has no gluten by itself.
*But* it may be mixed with wheat flour or starch in processing
sometimes, and this is not always stated on the label, especially if
the processing was done in another country, before shipping it to be
used by a manufacturer in the USA (or elsewhere) to color or flavor
foods. So you can't tell if processed annatto is GF or not, unless
the manufacturer knows.

You can get the unprocessed annatto seeds in many Latin or Caribbean
markets; they are popular in many Latin American dishes, usually
ground up in a pestle, I believe, but I'm not sure. I've never cooked
with them myself. Several celiacs on the list enjoy cooking with them
without any problem.

Another problem with annatto is that many celiacs are allergic to it.
It isn't a gluten reaction, but an allergic one, which may have
similar symptoms, but does not damage the intestinal lining the way
gluten does.

Hope this helps,
Bobbi in Baltimore


Hi Cheryl,

    In its pure form, annato is a spice from seeds and used to color
cheese, butter, and Caribbean foods.  Who knows what some manufacturers
might add to it, but here is a source for the pure thing should you want
to know more about it.

http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-local/SoftCart.exe/scstore/
   p-penzeysannatoseed.htm?L+scstore+dcac2878+939859696

Holly
S


If it is simply annatto, then you should be fine. But if it is annatto
*color*, then you have this to consider:

Excepts from Ener-G Food's "Detailed Ingredients Listing":

Annatto Color
  Because ethyl alcohol and/or caramel color can be present in annatto
  color and is not declared, people with Celiac-Sprue should consider
  avoiding this ingredient.

Caramel Color
  The problem with caramel color is it may or may not contain gluten
  depending on how it is manufactured. In the U.S.A. caramel color must
  conform with the FDA standard of identity from 21CFR CH.1. This statute
  says- The color additive caramel is the dark-brown liquid or solid
  material resulting from the carefully controlled heat treatment of the
  following food-grade carbohydrates:
        Dextrose (corn sugar)
        Invert sugar
        Lactose (milk sugar)
        Malt syrup (usually from barley malt)
        Molasses (from cane)
        Starch Hydrolysates and fractions thereof (can include wheat)
        Sucrose (cane or beet)
  (Also acids, alkalis and salts are listed which may be employed to assist
  caramelization)


Where does everyone get the idea that annato is not safe? Annato and Annato
coloring are both safe. See on the following website:
http://www.celiac.com/forbiden.html


Try this website for an explanation for the problem with annato:

http://www.nowheat.com/grfx/nowheat/primer/controvl.htm

Tracey Wolfskill
mom of Kevin 2yo w/Celiac and Brian 6yo no Celiac
Fort Worth, TX, USA


Hello:
Annato is a spice! It's a hard seed that makes a lovely yellow orange color
when cooked. I use it all the time in Mexican cooking. To my knowledge,
there's nothing in it that would harm celiacs. It simply makes things
yellow.

Gina in Fort Collins, CO


This used to be on the forbidden list, but now is on the safe list.
Check it out:

http://www.celiac.com/forbiden.html

When I saw it on the safe list, I e-mailed that web-site and they said
there's been a ton of research that shows there is no gluten in annatto.
Maybe you'd like to e-mail and get the details.

Sidona/San Diego