Cross Contamination

[sillyken]

I need to rant. I'm sure we all have days like this but if you could give me some thoughts on this I'd like some feed back. I work at a city Zoo. I love my job but tonight I was invited to a dinner for patrons. I went to the desert table and saw they had these little cups of pudding that looked tasty. I checked the ingredients and it said in big bold letters GLUTEN FREE. I was so excited because this happens so rarely as you know. After the second bite I realized the cooks had put cookie crumbs in mix. I am now having cramps and know that the next couple of days are not going to be fun. I've been gluten free for two years now and this is really beginning to get to me. I use to be the kind of guy that loved being spontanious. Now I feel that everything has to be planned. Is there a form letter that can be sent to the head cook about this issue? How do you protect yourself from these errors made by unthinking institutions.

Ken

[BamBam]

Celiac/gluten intolerance is just not known enough to become very public. As you know, there are no ads on the radio or t.v. regarding celiac/gluten intolerance, because there is no money to be made in the medical world from celiac. The only thing that cures us is a gluten free life, there is no magic pill or battery of tests that will "fix" us. That is why Celiac is not a known problem. So for any restaurant or cafe to post "gluten free" is almost unheard of. Some of the bigger restaurants will cater to a gluten free life, but not many of them do.

It is good that you checked the ingredients on the pudding, maybe next time, you just need to ask if they added anything to it.

I've been batting 1000 this past month, I ate Chinese Food with wheat containing soy sauce, I ate Wendy's chicken breast that has soy sauce injected into it, plus I was eating Dannon's Vanilla yogurt that is also not gluten safe. A friend, here on the board, has challenged me to "if you don't know it is totally gluten free, don't eat it." Sometimes just reading the ingredients is not enough, especially in a situation that you were in.

Personally, I have been calling some of the major food companies explaining that the Celiac way of life is going to become a major thing in the near future, there are thousands of us with it and thousands more to be diagnosed.

Maybe you could talk to the person in this cafe/restaurant and explain what happened, and maybe next time she could keep one or two serving plain and simple, the way you would like it. It never hurts to ask!!

bambam

[jenvan]

Ken-

It would probably be best if you could speak with the chef/manager ahead of time. Have you heard of dining cards? Those are nice to take with you to restaurants and have them given to the chef. I used one this week. I get mine here: Open Original Shared Link

I try and keep snacks with me so I can be more spontaneous...but I know it isn't the same. Lots of times I will bring something additional for me to eat when I go out, to supplement, or eat something before I go out so I'm not starving...