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	One of the nice parts about heading toward middle age is that you can find all your favorite music in the bargain bin. - Ken Floyd

Gluten-Free Market Goes Mainstream

Yahoo News, AP

Thursday 28 July 2005, 9:50 am
Keywords: News Articles , Health Topics

By CANDICE CHOI, Associated Press Writer

Now manufacturers are rolling out gluten-free equivalents of everything from pizza crusts to doughnuts, buns and cakes. Once banished to the dusty bottom shelves of obscure grocers, the gluten-free revolution is surfacing in the aisles of major supermarkets.

At Wal-Mart, "gluten-free" products are hitting the shelves this month. The retailing giant is requiring suppliers to identify whenever gluten is used in its private-label products, said Bob Anderson, general merchandise manager of the company's Great Value brand.

What makes the market appetizing is that it's no flash in the pan. Celiac disease is an incurable, lifelong condition, said Pam Cureton, a clinical dietitian at the University of Maryland Center for Celiac Disease.

The only way to manage the condition is to banish gluten — a trickier feat than one might expect. Wheat, rye and barley are in products ranging from soy sauce to beer to modified food starch. Even the slightest trace can wreak havoc on the digestive system for weeks.

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