Tainted Gluten-Free Meal Nearly Kills Australian Woman

"For Ms Williams’ part, she said she has “lost faith in going out for dinner and it’s going to take me a long time to be able to go out and do that without fear of this happening.”

Been there I order gluten-free and inquired when it was brought to table it was gluten-free. It wasn't. My immune system reacted right away in the first bite, but after that and joining the forum here I learned join the conservative no eating  out crowd.

I hope Ms. Williams recovers quickly.

"Coeliac Australia’s Cathy Di Bella said restaurants can’t use a “may contain traces of” disclaimer to offset a claim that food is gluten-free. Any restaurant that advertises gluten-free food should take necessary measures to ensure that their gluten-free items are if fact free of gluten. "

This would be ideal however as many stories on the forums remind us, the marketplace and knowledge of gluten free preparation measures are often sub par.

I learned from the forums here it was best to not eat out as the call ahead arrangement bit failed me. My health took a dive , I sought diagnosis, and my health has not returned to what it was prior to that incident.

be safe everyone...

I had wonderful gluten free pizza at a restaurant that was really trying to do it right for several years and everything was great until I picked up a pizza to go one night.  I'm very glad I was home when I are it because I was immediately hit with a reaction of vomiting and diarrhea to the point that I passed out.  We tracked it down to the change in sausage vendors. The sausage on my gluten-free pizza was made with beer!

I really do think that gluten free is too difficult for most commercial kitchens. I do have a few places I can safely eat at and I treasure them.  My favorite BBQ place took bread out of the kitchen entirely.  It sits over by the sauce in a closed container and they don't automatically slap bread on your food like most BBQ places do. But they have 3 family members with Celiac.

This is not unusual here in the U.S., but I am disappointed to find it happening in Australia.  I've visited the Sydney area twice in the past few years, and found that -- compared to the U.S. -- the staff at Aussie eating places have far more knowledge of what gluten is, which of their dishes contains gluten, and how to avoid cross-contamination.  One waiter, finding out that I have celiac, was so happy to let me know that the chips (fries for us Americans) were fried in a dedicated fryer -- only to come back after checking with the chef to tell me that, sadly, they occasionally cooked with gluten in that fryer.  I appreciated so much that he knew what was what, and made appropriate inquiries and corrections.  But this was my experience throughout the Sydney area, and in Tasmania.  Not only did the staff have better knowledge than their American counterparts, they took me seriously -- with none of the eye-rolling attitude you sometimes see here.

I’ve  posted about this before.  Sushi mislabeled as crab instead of imitation crab put me in an ambulance to the ER.  The problem is that I am also diabetic. The vomiting took my blood sugar to subterranean levels.  Be VERY careful if you are on insulin.

Unfortunately I travel for work so I have to eat out and am totally dependent on restaurants to provide gluten free.  I often end up ordering salads with dressing on the side.  It's scary to get something like gluten free breads, or buns or breaded items, pasta, etc that they say are gluten free.   You just never know.  Tacos on corn tortillas and they give them to you on flour and then say "oh, I forgot"