Quite an interesting combination, no?! I thought it'd be nice to document my company inquiries here for others.

My kids love their Quaker instant oatmeal in the morning. Last week, I actually wanted to join them, but then thought better of it. I made the right decision. I contacted Quaker to ask about the gluten status of their oats. Oats are such a sticky situation for those with Celiac. While they don't contain gluten themselves, oats are often grown near, harvested alongside and stored with other gluten containing grains. Some can tolerate it and some can not. Here's the reply from Quaker:

Thanks for your inquiry about gluten free products. While we don't maintain a list, I'm happy to provide current information about Quaker Instant Oatmeal, as well as other Quaker products, and gluten.

Unfortunately, we can't guarantee Quaker Instant Oatmeals, or any of our other grain products are gluten free. Even when gluten is not present in any of the ingredients, the grains in our products could be grown, harvested, or stored with other gluten-containing grains and thus may contain trace amounts of gluten from those other grains. We understand many individuals sensitive to gluten can't tolerate even small amounts.

However, you may be interested to know that we've just introduced gluten free Quaker Large Rice Cakes. You can identify if the Quaker Large Rice Cakes are gluten free by looking on the package; there will be a "gluten free" label located just above the Nutritional Facts panel.

There are seven tasty flavors of Quaker Large Rice Cakes available, including: Apple Cinnamon, Butter Popcorn, Caramel Corn, Chocolate, Lightly Salted, Unsalted, and White Cheddar. While the Rice Cake recipe hasn't changed, all of the Quaker Large Rice Cakes labeled gluten free were tested to ensure they meet the proposed FDA standard for gluten free products. We strongly encourage you to look for the gluten free label before purchasing any product and consult a health professional for any dietary questions.

I also recently injured my back. In seeking relief, I decided to try Tiger Balm Red. That stuff is great! Almost instant relief that lasted a few hours. After a few days, I ended up with a terrible contact reaction. From what I could tell of the ingredients, which I read before buying, Tiger Balm did not contain gluten or lavender, my other allergen. But, I decided to contact the company just to make sure.

Tiger Balm Red contains camphor, menthol, cajuput oil, mint oil, clove oil and cassia oil. It is gluten/lavender-free.

Looks like I need to add something else to my allergen list. I'm pretty sure I'm fine with clove. I believe cajuput and cassia are possible irritants. One day I'll get it figured out.