<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I often have a problem with candy, even OCCASIONALLY from manufacturers many people trust as being GF -- or from companies that fully disclose all gluten on their labels. The end result is that I've gotten quite gun-shy. For me, I think the problem might be mostly about cross-contamination, as I know that I am extremely sensitive to this. With candies, this can be an even greater problem for me -- as I'm pretty sure that one of my most severe reactions is to malt (which is derived from barley) or barley, itself. And I think candy companies often use both. Neither of these are required to be disclosed on a label under the new law, though the really big candy companies such as Hershey's and Nestlé seem to be quite responsible about this. This past Christmas, I *think* I had a mild reaction to a new type of Hershey's kisses (Cherry Cordials) -- but that has been my only bad experience with Hershey's. And, even with that, I'm not 100% sure that it was these candies (though I am probably 80% sure, after eliminating other things). There was no gluten listed on the label, but my fear was that it was a short-run, seasonal item and perhaps their manufacturing process wasn't as strictly constructed as the Kisses products the make all of the time. I've thought about writing to Hershey's, in fact, encouraging them to look into it, because my c-c reactions frequently have turned out to be correct. I've never had any problem with any Hershey's Kisses in the past. BUT, that said ... the following is just personal opinion. Brach's strikes me as the type of company that may only be listing wheat because they have to. And my greatest doubts are that they always disclose either barley or malt on their labels -- they are not required to do this, so I figure it is possible that they do not do it. The other day, I stood in our local CVS and looked over the various candies from Brach's, and saw that SO MANY of them have glucose syrup that is derived from wheat (I do not think all glucose syrup comes from wheat, but Brach's does). There were so many that had wheat on the label, that all the buzzers went off in my own head about cross-contamination. I figure with that many products that do have wheat (and not knowing if they responsibly label other non-wheat glutens), that is NOT a candy for me to even hold in my hand! ;-) I have an observation to make, though. It seems to me that most of the candy manufacturers who have a HUGE base of children as customers are being very responsible about labeling. Now, while Brach's makes a number of "kid" products, a lot of their products are not really so much kid-oriented, such as their bread-n-butter boxed chocolates. And they do pretty much zero advertising to kids. Godiva is another company that makes almost nothing they say is GF, and also do not go after the kid market. I know there are others I've investigated that have disappointed me in their response about gluten -- but again, they make adult-oriented products, not mass-market products for children. But Nestlé, Hershey's, M&M-Mars, etc., seem to generally have their acts together on this point. I suspect, from a marketing point-of-view, they are perhaps seeing that so much celiac disease, autism and other diseases are being diagnosed in children who are being treated with a GF diet, that they cannot afford to lose their reputation among this base of customers. As a grown-up, I figure I reap the rewards of their efforts! ;-) [As an aside, I have also never had a reaction to a Kraft product that showed no gluten on its label -- though not primarily a candy manufacturer, I think they are one of these companies that realizes they must be responsible when it comes to KIDS. When the label of a Kraft product does not say it contains gluten, my own experience has led me to trust that it does not, even from cross-contamination.] Well, enough of my personal ideas about all of this. Don't know most of the above for sure, in any of the above cases ... just based on my observations, personal experiences and my excessive love of chocolate. It is known, now, that dark chocolate has many health benefits, and quite a lot of chocolate is GF. If only they could remove the calories ... sigh. *Support summarization of posts, reply to the SENDER not the Celiac List* Archives are at: Http://Listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?LIST=CELIAC