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Gluten-free diet draft

Eating gluten-free

Grocery stores often include an aisle to consolidate gluten-free food items. Sections like this are a good resource for people following a gluten-free diet.

Restaurants prove to be another source of cross-contamination for those following a strict gluten-free diet. A study conducted by Columbia University Medical Center found that 32% of foods labeled gluten-free at restaurants contain above 20 parts per million of gluten. Cross-contamination occurs in these areas frequently because of a general lack of knowledge about the needed level of caution and the prevalence of gluten in restaurant kitchens. If cooks are unaware of the severity of their guest's diet restrictions or of the important practices needed to limit cross-contamination, they can unknowingly deliver contaminated food. However, some restaurants utilize a of training program for their employees to educate them about the gluten-free diet. The accuracy of the training varies. One good resource to find these safer restaurants is Find Me Gluten Free, an app and website that allows people following a gluten-free diet to rate the safety of different restaurants from their point of view and describe their experience to help future customers.

File:Gluten-free labeling.jpg

A common method for labeling gluten-free products at a grocery store is to label the item shelves with a large gluten-free symbol to attract the customers' attention.

Easily locating gluten-free items is one of the main difficulties in following a gluten-free diet. To assist in this process, many restaurants and grocery stores choose to label food items. Restaurants often add a gluten-free section to their menu, or specifically mark gluten-free items with a symbol of some kind. Grocery stores often have a gluten-free aisle, or they will attach labels on the shelf underneath gluten-free items. Though the food is labeled gluten-free in this way, it doesn't necessarily mean that the food is safe for those with gluten-related disorders, as a compilation of studies suggest. See more information about the current regulations for food labeling in the designated section below.

Additional Evidence

One specific study, for example, found that labeled gluten-free items often contain more gluten than the CODEX recommended amount.

Bibliography

• https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/903083
• https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9020115
• https://doi.org/10.1080/10408398.2018.1541864
• https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa051_016
• https://www.findmeglutenfree.com/search
• https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clnu.2020.10.053
• https://doi.org/10.3390/nu10091274
• https://celiac.org/about-the-foundation/featured-news/2018/10/hidden-gluten-in-restaurant-foods-labeled-gluten-free/#:~:text=The%20researchers%20found%2032%25%20of,contamination%2C%20particularly%20when%20dining%20out.
• https://celiac.org/about-the-foundation/featured-news/2019/10/why-you-should-be-tested-before-going-gluten-free/#:~:text=Getting%20tested%20for%20celiac%20disease%20can%20help%20you%20discover%20what,is%20approved%20by%20the%20FDA
• https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/get-tested/
• https://www.fda.gov/food/nutrition-education-resources-materials/gluten-and-food-labeling
• https://celiac.org/gluten-free-living/dining-and-social-eating/