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Cross contamination

Johnny55400

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Johnny55400 Apprentice
Johnny55400
Posted

I have been recently diagnosticated with Celiac. I do not have any symptoms, and I am kind of skeptical. Yet, I decided to trust the blood test and biopsy conclusions and start the gluten free diet.

What does cross contamination exactly mean? Obviously cross contamination is a serious concern for people affected with the presence of little gluten that make them sick. If you don’t get sick when exposed to cross contamination, is it still an issue and will damage your little intestine even though you do not ingest gluten? If you prefer: does cross contamination exposure a problem because you may be sick or because it is going to cause intestinal damage? Or both… 

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Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted
4 minutes ago, Johnny55400 said:

If you prefer: does cross contamination exposure a problem because you may be sick or because it is going to cause intestinal damage? Or both… 

Both, any time the tiniest amount of gluten residue or crumb goes through your intestines it will trigger a antibody reaction and your immune system will wreak havoc on your body, this reaction can go on for weeks-months of ongoing damage weather you notice it or not. And over time can lead to nutrient deficiency, allergies, complications, other auto immune disease, and even cancer.

Cross contamination can happen from touching gluten food then your food, touching a door handle someone that was just eating a doughnut touched then you touch it then touch your mouth or food your going to eat without washing it off. Cutting boards with gluten crumbs, wooden spoons with gluten embedded in the fibers, scratched pots/pans that might contain gluten in the scratches and not wash off.

Cross contamination is common in restaurants due to cooking utensils, poorly cleaned plates, people handling your food, shared pots, pans, spices, etc.
Cross contamination in a packing facility for food, example of a current one, company makes a sauced vegetable frozen product with wheat in it, they use the same packing machine but stop the line, hose it down then start the plain veggies through it....the plain veggies are going to have chances of containing gluten. This can happen with snack mixes, dried foods, flours etc. This is why many of us avoid stuff in a shared facility.
Condiment jars and butter containers can get crumbs in them from people sticking spoons back in them

Johnny55400 Apprentice
Johnny55400
Posted
  • Author

So it is impossible to be 100% sure that you have not been exposed. The only sign that you have been exposed is when you get sick. Scary!

Ennis-TX Grand Master
Ennis-TX
Posted
3 minutes ago, Johnny55400 said:

So it is impossible to be 100% sure that you have not been exposed. The only sign that you have been exposed is when you get sick. Scary!

You look for food that are certified gluten free, as in they tested it below 20ppm to ensure it is safe, you also learn certain brands to trust, and as always whole foods are safe. A apple is a apple, a banana comes with a safe built in wrapper, eggs do not contain gluten...you learn other things and brand to trust.

You learn to wash your hands before handling food, and right after getting in the house, rinse off fresh produce before eating it, and not eating out except at places you trust and have measures in place for celaic with this diet....or eat a gluten free only restaurants.

IF you suspect your stilling getting CCed constantly you can go get the blood test again and see where your antibody numbers are, in those of us with them this can be a indicator of still being constantly exposed and damage being done. Due to the time it takes for antibodies to build up in the intestines and get to the blood stream it is not very effective at detecting the occasional CC. They are working on some new methods for seeing if your adhere to the diet with mixed results.

For testing food...like processed food you want to be sure is gluten free, they have testers like NIMA Tester that can detect gluten in food. They also have enzymes that can break down "SOME" of the gluten and would be great if you suspect CCed food....not a miracle pill but I did notice it reduced my symptoms of my last CC and I had none of my normally lingering effects.

Johnny55400 Apprentice
Johnny55400
Posted
  • Author

Thanks. Very informative.

 

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    • Mari
      My only proof

      By Mari · Posted

      Years  ago a friend and I drove north into Canada hoping to find a ski resort open in late spring,We were in my VW and found a small ski area near a small town and started up this gravelled road up a mountain. We  got about halfway up and got stuck in the mud. We tried everything we could think of but an hour later we were still stuck. Finally a pickup came down the road, laughed at our situation, then pulled the VW free of the mud. We followed him back to the ski area where where he started up the rope ski lift and we had an enjoyable hour of skiing and gave us a shot of aquavit  before we left.It was a great rescue.  In some ways this reminds me of your situation. You are waiting for a rescue and you have chosen medical practitioners to do it now or as soon as possible. As you have found out the med. experts have not learned how to help you. You face years of continuing to feel horrible, frustrated searching for your rescuer to save you. You can break away from from this pattern of thinking and you have begun breaking  away by using some herbs and supplements from doTerra. Now you can start trying some of the suggestions thatother Celiacs have written to your original posts.  You live with other people who eat gluten foods. Cross contamination is very possible. Are you sure that their food is completely separate from their food. It  is not only the gluten grains you need to avoid (wheat, barley, rye) but possibly oats, cows milk also. Whenever you fall back into that angry and frustrated way of thinking get up and walk around for a whild. You will learn ways to break that way of thinking about your problems.  Best wishes for your future. May you enjpy a better life.  
    • marion wheaton
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By marion wheaton · Posted

      Thanks for responding. I researched further and Lindt Lindor chocolate balls do contain barely malt powder which contains gluten. I was surprised at all of the conflicting information I found when I checked online.
    • trents
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By trents · Posted

      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

      By BlessedinBoston · Posted

      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      My only proof

      By knitty kitty · Posted

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