The Question about Cheese

At my last group appointment (which lasted 2 1/2 hours PLUS I found out I lost 10 pounds!), the question was in regards to cheese.  I had read about shredded cheese being dangerous as they use wheat flour to keep it from clumping in the bag.  I started to wonder and did some more research on cheese/dairy products and gluten.  Here's some of my findings:

• Cheese, itself, does not contain gluten until the manufacturer adds it.
• Shredded cheese and cheese products often have gluten added either in them or as a powder to keep shredded cheese pieces from sticking together
• Cottage cheese and yogurt sometimes contain gluten in one of the added ingredients.
• Block cheeses are typically safe; however, you can always contact the manufacturer just to be sure.
• Veined cheeses, such as bleu cheese, are not safe because the molds (veins) are usually started from bread cultures.
• AVOID cheese products containing oat gum
• Gluten-Free Cheeses/Dairy Products by Brand:
• Bel Laughing Cow:  all products (www.laughingcow.com)
• Blue Bunny:  Regular and lite sour cream
• Blue Bunny Yogurt:  all Lite 85; all Regular EXCEPT Banana Cream Pie, Lemon Berry and yogurts with Crispy Rice
• Borden:  all dairy products including egg not in a can
• Breakstone:  Regular Cottage Cheese and Regular Sour
• Healthy Choice:  Cheeses, all varieties
• Kraft:  Natural cheeses - cheddar, brick, blue, fet, Swiss, colby mozzerella, ricotta, parmesan, romano, Monterey Jack, Velveeta
• Land O Lakes:  All natural products and processed cheese and yogurt; NOT American Cheese (www.landolakes.com
• Market Day:  American and String Cheese
• Meijer:  Cream Cheese, Sour Cream, Shredded Cheddar, Shredded Mozzerella
• Crystal Farms:  All excluding Cheese Loaf, Singles and Hot Pepper
• Daisy:  Sour Cream (www.daisybrand.com)
• Dannon:  Plain low-fat, Plain non-fat and Plain natural (www.dannon.com)
• Dean's:  Sour cream
• Eagle:  Sweetened Condensed Milk
• Frigo:  Blue Cheese, Cheddar Shred, Feta, Gorgonzola, Grated Parmesan, Grated Romano, Mozzarella Chunks, Mozzarella Shred, Parmesan Shred, Parmesan Wedges, Pizza Shred, Provolone Shred, Provolone Slices, Ricotta (all types), Romano Shred, Romano Wedges, String Cheese, Taco Shred (www.saputo.com)
• Philadelphia:  Cream cheese - unflavored
• Prairie Farms:  All Cottage Cheese and Sour Cream
• Reddi-Whip:  All toppings
• Sargento:  All Natural Cheeses, NOT imitation Mozzarella Shredded Cheese (www.sargento.com)