Does Gluten Free really mean Gluten Free?
A look into restaurants and how they are failing to provide safe food options for the celiac community.
For most people going out to eat is an exciting experience, being waited on, not having to plan a meal or cook, it is a luxury many people look forward to after a busy week.
As for me, it is a dreaded task met with a large sense of anxiety. Hoping that when I mutter the words “may I please get that gluten free” the staff knows to change their gloves and to not use the same utensils that had just previously touched multiple different sources of gluten.
I have learned after being gluten free for eight years where I can eat safely and where I will get sick, but I still go through the emotions of fear and frustration every time I attempt to eat out.
However, I am not alone in my reality, for 1% of the population, approximately 3 million individuals, are living with celiac disease and experience similar concerns to mine when dining away from home.
People with celiac disease find it challenging to find restaurants that they can trust to not gluten them. One consumer survey specifies that nearly 16% of U.S. adults choosing to be gluten free still fear getting ill when eating out. It is important to examine why, even with the increase in gluten free options available today, so many gluten free individuals are continuing to find it difficult to eat out.
A common misconception for many restaurants attempting to go gluten free is that as long as the actual ingredients do not contain gluten, then it is safe for a celiac to consume. Yet, they fail to consider cross contamination. Celiac’s need their meals prepared gluten free from start to finish.
Research has suggested that one-third of foods advertised as “gluten-free” in the U.S. contain trace level amounts of gluten. Meaning that foods being marketed off as safe for celiac’s, have the potential to make them sick.
These trace amounts were primarily detected through restaurants neglecting to do their due diligence in ensuring safe gluten free practices, prior to introducing gluten free options onto their menus.
With no laws currently put in place to hold restaurants accountable for ensuring certified gluten free foods, and restaurants placing disclaimers on their menus in order to protect themselves, just in case they do gluten a celiac, it can be hard for the gluten free public to find eateries that will ensure their safety.
Audrey Tool, Doctor and former chair member for the Northern Colorado Celiac Foundation, mentions “gluten is not like a peanut allergy, it is a slow killer. So, I think there is less incentive for restaurants to guarantee that their food is gluten free because there is not an immediate reaction”.
Still, if a celiac does consume the detected amount of gluten, 20ppm of gluten or less, there is a greater risk of them being diagnosed with cancer, neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases.
While some may argue in opposition and say that eating out is not a necessity, so why should restaurants go through so much trouble in providing gluten free food.
With the cost for gluten free products being estimated to be around 242% more expensive to manufacture compared to other products, and as result more expensive for restaurants to purchase. It can be hard for non-gluten free folks to comprehend why restaurants should invest so much effort and money to provide for, what appears, to be a relatively small population.
However, to put the population of people living with Celiac disease here in the U.S. into perspective, epilepsy effects 2.7 million, 2.1 million Americans have rheumatoid arthritis and only 1.5 million individuals are affected by lupus. Celiac Disease impacts more people in the U.S., coming in at 3 million individuals, than all these commonly referred to chronic illnesses.
So, what does this mean for restaurants and other eating establishments?
It means that there is a large population that is required to follow a strict no gluten diet here in this country and we are willing to pay the two-dollar up-charge for a cauliflower pizza crust.
It also means that restaurants should invest more time and effort into ensuring food safety for the celiac community, by abiding by the certified gluten free guidelines.
How can restaurants improve?
As, previously mentioned above, Audrey Tool, states, “I always feel better when my food comes out on a different colored plate or has a toothpick saying gluten free, just so I am reassured that the front and back staff were in communication regarding my food. It’s nice to have a little something that acknowledges my allergy.”
Another option for restaurants here in Fort Collins, is MenuTrinfo, a company that comes in and trains restaurants and staff on how to properly handle food allergies. One of their programs is specifically set to train on gluten free conduct and certify restaurants gluten free menus to fit the FDA guidelines.
Betsy Craig, CEO of MenuTrinfo, said, “ninety percent of the restaurant’s that come to us, who are serving gluten free options, are not actually gluten free. Yet, by the time we are through these restaurants are practicing safe gluten free procedures”.
Eating out should be an indulgence everyone can partake in, including those with celiac disease. It is important that restaurants start taking gluten free seriously, because we are tired of being scared to eat out and packing our purses full of food just in case.
