<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> Thanks to all of you who responded. Many people agreed that the human factor can render an otherwise safe ingredient unsafe for some celiacs. A surprising number of list mates reported that they have become ill after eating supposedly gluten-free foods, and had not really considered manufacturing errors as a possible cause. A professional dietician on the list summed it up nicely: "There is no way I would personally want to guarantee somebody else's work." The level of gluten sensitivity covers a wide range, and some Celiacs, particularly extreme reactors like my wife, may have other allergies as well and may be responding to another component in a particular product. It simply boils down to tailoring your diet to your personal level of gluten sensitivity. To quote one responder, " ... most celiacs need to understand that the distilled products are fine for them IF they aren't sensitive to them." If you react to a food, it doesn't really matter whether it is theoretically gluten-free or not, just stay away from that product. As Sgt.Phil Esterhaus used to say - "And, hey - let's be careful out there." I was asked to explain how I thought distilled products could be contaminated by the original product. I replied as follows: >I have never seen a commercial distillation facility, but based on >my 26 years of experience as an industrial electrician /electronics >tech in a facility that does exotic powder metallurgy, I would not >be surprised to find missmarked vessels, improperly cleaned >equipment, worn equipment, leaky valves or seals, worn heat >exchangers / condensing coils, contamination from airborne >particulates when equipment is open to the atmosphere, contaminated >cleaning agents, questionable raw materials - you are at the mercy >of your suppliers - as well as the ever present human factor. > >Most products are built to a specific dimensional and/or chemical >tolerence, and I would see no reason why distillation would be any >different. If a certain concentration of insect parts is considered >acceptable in food products, why would distillation be any different? > >As I mentioned in my original posting, my wife is an extreme >reactor. She lost over seventy pounds and nearly died because >medications that were supposed to be GF were not. The gluten in >each case was hidden in the supposedly inert binders. She has had >several reactions from GF foods that turned out to have hidden >gluten, so I call the manufacturer to confirm the GF status of each >and every food or medication that enters our house. I have also >gone nose to nose with misinformed ER doctors. It is literally a >matter of life or death. We have recently changed our e-mail, but have previously posted from [log in to unmask] so some of our adventures with gluten should be in the archives. -- As always, these are our experiences only, thus no warranty is expressed or implied, Your mileage may vary. Look both ways before you cross the street. peace steve & deni weber Valparaiso Indiana USA [log in to unmask] (previously [log in to unmask])