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Hello List members:

Here is a summary of the NWF survey (finally). I apologize for taking so
long to get this out. I have been dealing with mid-term exams and all the
other stressors of school etc.
I wish to thank you all for your positive feedback and all the information
that I received.

I got 55 (!) responses to the survey questions:

here goes:


1.) Ethnicity/ ethnic background:

- British Isles (England, Scotland, Irish) - 22
- Mainland Europe (Italian, German, Dutch etc.) - 17
- Caucasian / White (nationality not indicated) - 10
- eastern Europe (poland, Hungary) - 6
- American - 5
- Canada - 3
- Jewish - 1
- West Indian -1


2.) Age Brackets:

- 0 - 20yrs: 5
- 20 - 40yrs: 12
- 40 - 60yrs: 31
- 60+: 7


3.) Other allergies:

- Lactose - 15
- Sulfa-drugs - 7
- Soy - 6
- Seafood / Shellfish - 3
- Other (mold, pollen etc.) - 17


4.) Flours preferred:

- Rice  - 45
- tapioca - 29
- Potato - 23
- Bean - 13
- Corn starch - 12
- buckwheat - 2
- Blends/mixes - 9
- other (quinoa etc.) - 5


5.) New products Needed:

- Snacks(crackers, pretzels) - 20
- Breads / rolls - 13
- ready-to-eat, fast food, travel items - 13
- Breakfast foods (cereal, bagels etc.) - 11
- Soup/Gravy mixes - 11
- Flour mixes (pancake, waffle, cake mix) - 8
- Other (pie crusts etc.) - 6
- Grocery store items - 3
- Preservative / sugar free- 2


6.) Perception of Food Industry response:

- Poor (lousy,terrible) - 12
- Not good enough (hidden sources of gluten) - 31
- Just right - 6
- Very Good (great) - 3


7.) What More Needs to be Done:

- Product Labelling (clearer ingredients, more honest) - 37
- More education (doctors, restaurants etc.) - 15
- Cheaper and more available food - 9
- Increased Public awareness - 6
- More research - 1


Conclusions:

From this survey,it is clear that  some of the biggest problems are the
lack of affordable, palatable, accessible gluten-free food such as
crackers, breakfast foods etc. in regular grocery stores (as opposed to
mail order or healthfood stores).
In addition, there is the problem of labelling (which the FDA has to
enforce) and public awareness/ consciousness as is the case with diabetes
and other metabolic disorders.
I think it is possible to get the mainstream food industry more involved
in addressing these issues and dealing with them.

Once again, I appreciate very much the response to the survey. I hope we
can get more research towards development of affordable gluten-free foods.

Lorraine.