My 18 year old daughter, who has Celiac disease, recently ate a Post Brand Cereal that is labeled as "gluten free." She has eaten this cereal before, but this was a new box. Within 10 minutes, she had a violent Celiac reaction - severe stomach pain, diarrhea, vomiting. It lasted about two hours. She has had this reaction to gluten in the past, so we know the symptoms. There are test kits available to test for gluten. If did such a test and discovered gluten in this cereal, would we have a case against Post? Not only did the cereal cause a two-hour reaction in my daughter, but when those with Celiac disease eat gluten, it actually kills villi in their small intestines, causing further digestion problems and, over time, can actually lead to colon cancer and other health issues. It is an autoimmune disease, so the process of avoiding gluten is very important. We trusted that a cereal marked in this way was accurate.
My husband also has Celiac (it's a hereditary disease), and he often eats this cereal as well.
Since gluten free labeling is not yet regulated by the Federal Government, I don't know what tactics Post might use to deny liability. Would we have any case here?
