Rice and gluten

[Guest guest]

Since this came up once or twice here, I thought I'd post this

from the celiac group. I've *heard* you should avoid " enriched rice "

because it can contain wheat starch, but this person asked the company

and confirmed it.

-- The Glutenator

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After quizing 2 vitamin enrichment suppliers in the U.S., I discovered that

they usually pair the same type of starch used with the vitamin enrichment

with the product.

I then based this knowledge to contact a polenta manufacturer

(Golden Pheasant Polenta, The Polenta Company, South San Francisco,

California) who told me that their polenta contains a vitamin enrichment

mixture paired with corn flour.

However, after speaking to Hillhouse of Koda Farms who makes sweet rice

products, he disclosed that the vitamin enrichment mixture used in their

sweet rice flour/or sweet rice products contained wheat starch (see his

response below). He told me that those who had wheat allergies never

complained about their products. However, I explained to him that celiac

disease was not an allergy and it can be symptomless. More than a year ago,

I contacted this company who told me that no wheat was in the product and

that if I questioned the vitamins in the sweet rice, the company would not

research all the vitamins but a couple of them since it was too difficult to

research all of them (iron, thiamin, niacin, folic acid. When I asked to

have the folic acid researched, the vitamin enrichment supplier responded

that it was chemically synthesized and contained no gluten. However, when I

contacted the company again, Mr. Hillhouse discovered that it was a vitamin

enrichment " mixture " used in the rice that contained wheat starch.