<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>> I want to thank the 8 people who responded to my question......Hickory Chips GF? The following messages were received. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess it is possible to be allergic to anything, but there is an area here that could explain your problem. Sometimes when they smoke thick meat products they inject fluids in to the meat. This is usually a salt solution to help in the curing process. If the processor that smoked the ham used flavorings in this salution it could posibly contain some of the offending grains. I don't think that the hickory chips would contain any thing that could hurt you unless you are allergic to hickory. I realize that this isn't an answere or a solution to your problem, but maybe a direction to consider. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Let me venture to guess that like all processed meats, HAM, can have flavorings, nitrates, lots of salt, etc. Buffets should be avoided - unless you are happy with lettuce and oil and vinegar. Be safe. Some ham is gf safe. Can you get Hormel Cure 81 in your area? Its from MN. It does have nitrates. Better yet, if you live in a large urban area - locate a natural meats store, etc. I doubt its the hickory chips. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I wonder if they use "charcoal" than add the chips? Charcoal uses wheat to hold it together. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hickory chips come from Hickory trees. They should be absolutely gluten free. However, sometimes, people can get stomach troubles from smoked foods (smoke foods are known to cause stomach cancer). Another scenerio: the smoking may actually be a "flavour" (a liquid smoke for instance). In this case, we all know that liquid "flavourings" in most forms can contain gluten. Ask them if they actually smoke the ham using chips, or if they use one of these liquids. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Hi, my husband gets sick whenever he eats smoked items. We have basically given up on eating anything smoked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ If the hickory chips are made from hickory sawdust and are manufactured with glue then they are not GF. I had this same problem with Charcoal Briquettes. My husband found pure wood charcoal Lumps is what they call it. This is GF. I suggest you ask the buffet management wether it is hickory wood or manufactured hickory chips. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I'm interested in seeing your summary about it. I am, however, shocked that you can eat ham from the deli without any problems. Since going on this diet 2+ years ago, I've stayed far, far away from deli's....too worried about cross contamination, not to mention the "natural flavors" and other questionable ingredients. Maybe the ham that you're eating has something more than just hickory chips added during the curing process? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I will be interested in your summary. The problem may not be only in the flavor agents applied to the surface of the ham. I believe that some hams are injected with solutions - like turkey, or other poultry - which is designed to improve appearance, increase weight and act as a perser-vative. As the contents of those solutions is not certain I avoid such products. In a deli situation we can never have access to the contents of the product, so I avoid all such products in those circumstances. Where they are sold packaged we do have access to the label, and that can be of some help, though not conclusive, as the contentent requirements do not resolve the issues as they do not contain the necessary information without additional work. - End of Comments - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I did check with the company that makes the ham for the buffet. The ham, hickory chips and the netting around the ham are GF. The hickory chips are using for the smoking and the netting is dipped in a liquid smoke which is GF. The ham that I get from the deli is not smoked and I do not have any problems with it. Marilyn/Maizy MedSupport Celiac Chat Host Monday (weekly) Celiac Live Chats From 8-10 PM EST at: http://www.medsupport.org/celianav.htm