Responses from Manufacturers: January 2009

General Mills: Website copyright is for 2009

http://www.liveglutenfreely.com/products/default.aspx

Nature Made Vitamins: January 6, 2009
We recently received your e-mail regarding Nature Made Chewable Vitamin C 500MG.

We appreciate your question concerning the gluten content of this product.

We are unhappy to inform you that this product is not gluten free, barley is the gluten source.

We thank you for contacting us and hope that you will continue to use and enjoy Nature Made products with
complete confidence.


Note: Their ending line about continuing to use the product with complete confidence, when it was clear that I wouldn’t be able to use the product, inspired me to find another vitamin company altogether! Their label, last I checked still does NOT mention barley on the label.


Burt’s Bees: January 23, 2009


This company sent me an e-mail with a link to their website where I could research on my own. Of course, my method is to research first and then contact when I cannot find any useful information, so this was aggravating.


The link they sent was not helpful either, as the FAQ doesn’t mention gluten at all. I have noticed some grocery stores (ex: Kroger) putting gluten free stickers in front of some Burt’s Bees products, but I don’t know how they are sure they are safe, unless the labels have since been updated to specify they are gluten free.


I did try one of their lip balms that had been marked with a gluten free sticker, and it made my lips burn for hours – something I’ve never had happen from gluten. I was never able to figure out what ingredient would have caused such a reaction, but I’ve never tried their lip balm again!


I do use one of their apricot scrubs (GF status unknown), but since I don’t put it any where near my face, the chance of ingesting any is pretty slim!



ShiKai: January 26, 2009


Hello Amanda,

Thank you for your interest in ShiKai Products. Most of our products are gluten free. The products that may be of some concern to you is our hand & body lotions, our liquid hand soaps, and our shower gels. Our shower gels contain collodial oatmeal in them. Our liquid hand soaps and our new hand & body lotions both have wheatgerm in them. All other products are gluten free. Thank you and have a good day.

Karina


Follow-up, same-day, clarification:
All other products are gluten free that includes all of our borage products including the foot cream. The Vitamin E in our foot cream is derived from soy.

Karina
http://shikai.com/


Seventh Generation: January 26, 2009


Hi Amanda,

Thanks for writing to us.

I am sorry this was not clear when looking at the FAQ's.

None of our products are derived or contain gluten. They should be a good match for you.

I hope this helps you find the right products for your home. Please contact me if I can do anything further to assist you.

Sefton Hirsch

Consumer Insights

Seventh Generation



Neutrogena: January 27, 2009
Dear Amanda:

Thank you for contacting Neutrogena®. It is always important to
hear from our consumers, and we appreciate the time you have taken
to contact us.

A full list of ingredients is included in the ingredient
statements on our products’ labels. If you would like to discuss
a specific product’s ingredients in detail, please contact us at
1-800-582-4048 Monday through Friday between the hours of 8 AM
to 8 PM, Eastern Time. Any of our specialists would be happy to
assist you with your inquiry.

Thank you for your interest in our products.


Should you have any comments or questions in the future, please
feel free to contact us via our website, www.neutrogena.com, or by
calling our toll-free number, 1-800-582-4048. Our specialists are
available Monday through Friday between 8 AM and 8 PM EST and
will be happy to assist you.


Note: I am never impressed by this type of response. Body product ingredient lists are notoriously difficult to read, and I don’t fancy sitting in the Health-Beauty (HBC) aisle at the grocery store calling the company and have them define one chemical after another for me. This type of response generally turns me off of a company.


Estee Lauder: January 30, 2009, and February 9, 2009


Again, not impressed. I specified the products I was concerned about in my initial e-mail.

Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in Estée Lauder.

In response to your inquiry, as you may know, our product line is quite extensive. Therefore, in order to respond to your inquiry regarding gluten, we need to know the exact name and shade (if applicable) of the product(s) which you use or would be interested in using. We will then consult our laboratories and share our findings with you.

Again, thank you for taking the time to contact us.

Sincerely,

Noemi Miranda
Response Representative
Global Consumer Communications


Their follow-up:


Thank you for taking the time to contact us and for your interest in Estée Lauder.

A vast number of raw materials from many different suppliers and sources are used in the manufacture of Estee Lauder Companies' products. It is therefore not possible for us to fully guarantee that our products are completely free of ingredients that may elicit an allergic response in highly sensitive individuals who react to gluten. For example, it is possible that small amounts of a wheat sourced ingredient may remain on shared manufacturing equipment even after a thorough cleaning. We therefore recommend that you discuss this with your physician, because consumer safety is of utmost concern to us.

In response to your inquiry, the Beautiful fragrance may contain ingredient derived from wheat.

Again, thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts and concerns.

Sincerely,

Keimone Downer
Response Representative
Global Consumer Communications


Ragu: January 30, 2009
Hello Amanda,

Thanks for writing!

Common ingredients that may contain gluten are rye, wheat, oats
and barley, and noodles and pasta prepared with any of the
previously mentioned grains. HVP, TVP, flavorings, are likely to
contribute gluten as well, however, if they contain any gluten,
the source would always be listed in the ingredient statements.

Since product formulations change from time to time, we do not
have a printed list of products that identifies those products
that contain specific allergens or gluten. The best advice we can
give you is to check the ingredient list on the label.
Ingredients allergens as defined by FDA: peanuts, tree nuts, soy,
fish, seafood, wheat, eggs, and milk or dairy, as well as any
ingredient that may contain gluten are always listed on the label.

Therefore, WE SUGGEST READING ALL INGREDIENT LABELS CAREFULLY.

We hope this information is helpful!

Kind regards,
Your friends at Ragu



Note: I have never had a problem with the Ragu sauce I use for my made-from-scratch pizza. However, I always check the label to ensure nothing has changed since they indicate they will specifically list any gluten-containing ingredient on their label.