Jump to content
This site uses cookies. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. More Info... ×
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Record is Archived

    This article is now archived and is closed to further replies.

    Melanie Weir
    Melanie Weir

    Gluten-Free Dining Out

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.
    Gluten-Free Dining Out - Photo: CC - Unique Hotels Group
    Caption: Photo: CC - Unique Hotels Group

    Celiac.com 04/16/2012 - Can I eat our at restaurants if I’m on a gluten-free diet?

    Eating out gluten-free is not as easy as it seems.  If you Google "gluten-free restaurants," your bound to find a selection of gluten-free menus and gluten-free yelp reviews.  However, a global definition for gluten-free does not exist in the restaurant world.

    Celiac.com Sponsor (A12):
    Many times, restaurants, bakeries and deli’s offer gluten-free options like salads (with menu side notes like: order salad without croutons or order meat without bread).  If we define gluten-free as less than 20ppm, then the following factors must be followed to ensure safety from gluten contamination (please note this is only a partial list):

    Eating Salads Out

    1. Use of a Separate Strainer: Using a strainer that has been used for pastas or other gluten products, can result in cross contamination.
    2. Salad Dressing: Many salad dressing utilize gluten containing ingredients like malt vinegar, spices, natural flavorings, wheat, etc.
    3. Vegetable Chopping Board: A vegetable chopping board must either be completely sterilized or a gluten-free dedicated board must be used.
    4. Knife: Knife must be sterilized with heat before being used on gluten-free ingredients.
    5. Prep Area: Salad prep stations are often housed beneath shelves filled with bread.  If bread is stored above the salad prep area, then the area cannot be safely maintained as gluten-free.  On an additional note, croutons and other gluten products should not be allowed in the gluten-free prep area (1/6th of a bread crumb is all it takes to be contaminated with gluten).
    6. Salad Toppings: If a topping like chicken, nuts, tofu, peppers or onions are sautéd or prepared on a grill, then the grill and the ingredients must be maintained as gluten-free.

    Gluten-Free on the Grill

     

    1. A grill must be cleaned before a gluten-free product is cooked on it. A separate area for gluten free foods to be cooked is ideal, but not always possible in restaurant settings.
    2. Many meats are marinated in sauces containing gluten before they are cooked.

    Gluten Free Pizza & Bakery Products

     

     

    1. If an exhaust fan is used in the oven, a screen must be used.
    2. Pizza toppings for gluten free pizza should be housed in a separate area.
    3. Cannot be prepared in a facility that uses gluten containing flours, because flour dust in the air settles on food.
    4. Mixing utensils, wooden spoons, scrapes in bowls and cutting boards must be sterile or maintained for just gluten-free products.

     



    User Feedback

    Recommended Comments

    Guest Ross

    It isn't necessary, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG) to have the toppings for a gluten-free pizza stored in a separate area.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Gloria Brown

    Posted

    Though once not so sensitive, I now get sick just sitting in a restaurant from breathing gluten which has become suspended in the air and forgetting to wash my hands afterwards from gluten oils on my fingers have picked-up, creating a second-hand contamination (so to speak).

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Draca

    Posted

    It isn't necessary, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG) to have the toppings for a gluten-free pizza stored in a separate area.

    Use common sense: if the toppings are not stored seperately they may become contaminated. Who cares what the GIG says. People need to learn to think for themselves.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Jill

    I understand the cleanliness and cross-contamination concerns, but I don't see why knives and cutting boards must be sterilized. Sterilization kills bacteria and viruses but does not get rid of gluten. If you heat a knife that has gluten on it, you will just end up with toasted gluten! Careful washing is sufficient to rid utensils of gluten. Sterilization is not necessary.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Dawn

    I'd like more info on heat sterlization. Sterilized gluten sounds like a cross-contamination misunderstanding. I wouldn't eat wheat pasta even if it' sterile. Why not thoroughly wash and rinse knives (assume design and materials don't dictate the knives cannot be adequately cleaned)?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest blueraiderfan10

    Posted

    It isn't necessary, according to the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America (GIG) to have the toppings for a gluten-free pizza stored in a separate area.

    Yes. this is according to GIG but to be "glutened" just because one wants a pizza is not worth it. (Believe me I know.)

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Ellen

    Posted

    What's this about sterilizing and heating the knife? This has nothing to do with gluten. I find it annoying when others, let alone others on a gluten-free diet, don't understand the difference between a pathogen and a protein. You cannot "kill" gluten with heat. This might seem like a small matter to pick at, but when we don't understand our own diet and promote ignorance like this, how can we expect other people to understand and take us seriously?

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Suzanne Thomson

    Posted

    That's a good checklist and it would be great if all restaurants followed these procedures, but in reality I am not convinced that they do. I seem to get glutened every 1 in 3 visit to a restaurant.

     

    I'm also confused about the sterilization of the knife part though! Washing it would make more sense.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Joy Rogers

    Posted

    As much of an issue for me is the restaurants that say they have gluten-free items or a gluten-free menu, but seem to be using it as a ploy. I've been to a number of restaurants that claim to provide gluten-free items, but the reality is their choices boil down to either a stripped-down salad or a bland piece of meat and steamed veggies while still charging the full menu price. Grrrr... seriously?! It's not that hard to cook hearty, flavorful meals! I've figured it out, and I am sooo not a trained cook!

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest Tiki

    I know how cross contamination can happen. I am not sure how this helps me dining out as I am not in the kitchen cooking myself.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites
    Guest G B
    What's this about sterilizing and heating the knife? This has nothing to do with gluten. I find it annoying when others, let alone others on a gluten-free diet, don't understand the difference between a pathogen and a protein. You cannot "kill" gluten with heat. This might seem like a small matter to pick at, but when we don't understand our own diet and promote ignorance like this, how can we expect other people to understand and take us seriously?

    Gluten is a protein, all proteins can be denatured with heat: that is their logic.

    Link to comment
    Share on other sites


    Guest
    This is now closed for further comments

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Help Celiac.com:
    Donate
  • About Me

    Melanie Weir

    While studying abroad in England in 2001, I was introduced to Celiac Disease. I tried out the gluten-free diet, but was unsuccessful. In 2002, without knowing about my previous attempt at eliminating gluten from my diet, I was encouraged by a nutritionist to try out a gluten free diet. After keeping a food journal for a month, she noticed that my stomach problems and emergency room visits increased the more I consumed foods containing gluten. With the help of my nutritionist, I cut gluten out of my diet for 4 weeks and at the end of that 4 weeks, I was amazed. My itchy rash had gone away and I didn't get get sick after every meal. It was at that moment that I began researching celiac disease and the gluten-free diet. After almost 6 years of research and analysis of celiac disease & the gluten-free diet, I have opened a gluten-free store, "Gluten Free Specialty Market" in Downtown Sacramento, California. The goal is to provide both gluten-free products and gluten-free resources to the local community. With both a BA and AM degree in Psychology, my goal is to provide information about both the physical and psychological effects of celiac disease and gluten sensitivities.


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Related Articles

    Daniel Moran
    Celiac.com 05/20/2008 - I am going to be honest—I have not traveled outside the U.S.A. except for Mexico and Canada.  When I went to Mexico it was on a cruise ship, so that meant I could eat on the ship.  I would take snacks to tide me over or get a bag of chips.  Hopefully I will one day be able to tour the world and educate everyone on how to make true gluten-free meals for all of us.  I also hope that my when the time is right I will go on such trips with my loving wife.  So I will tell you how I would approach a trip to another country and you can decide if this is worth a try.
     Planning for the Trip (All per emails and internet and phone calls)

    I would contact the area chamber of commerce or tourist office in the country that I will be going to and see if they have he...


    Jill Schaefer
    Celiac.com 09/11/2008 - After a two-leg flight and multiple trains, Jeff and I finally stepped off the local Circumvesuviana train in sunny Sorrento, our first destination on the fabled Amalfi Coast. It was hot, or as the Italians say, molto caldo. We’d been traveling for nearly 24 hours straight, and as we lugged our bags along the final stretch of cobbled sidewalks toward Casa Astarita, we both felt exhausted, ravenous and more than a bit disoriented.
    Jill: Any nourishment from our 10-hour flight from Chicago to Rome had long since faded. However, American Airlines had made good on its promise to provide Jeff with decent gluten-free meals. The attendant had confirmed his special meal selection at the beginning of the flight, and at both dinner and breakfast he was among the first t...


    Connor Burns
    If you have ever traveled to Newport, RI then you know there are plenty of great restaurants to choose from. But if you have celiac disease or a gluten-intolerance then you know that dining out in an unfamiliar city is very difficult. Luckily, Newport has many gluten-free friendly restaurants that can easily be found if you know about them. I have comprised a list of celiac friendly restaurants in this scenic, colonial city. These restaurants have responded to a survey that was sent to over 100 restaurants and bakeries in Newport. All of the places listed have also stated that they are familiar with the necessary precautions that come with preparing gluten-free food such as avoiding cross-contamination. I have attempted to verify the accuracy of the statements provided by the restaurants...


    Melissa Reed
    Celiac.com 07/24/2014 - People that have celiac disease know one of the main concerns is avoiding gluten when they have meals. Their second biggest concern is the possible co-mingling of ingredients that can contaminate otherwise gluten-free food! So how do you eat at restaurants when you have celiac and still have peace of mind?
    Here is how:
    Before you are to go out to a restaurant call ahead and ask for the manager, find out if they do offer gluten-free meals that are carefully prepared for people with food allergy (If you are unable to call ahead go online and look the restaurant up to see if they offer a gluten-free menu or gluten-free meal selections, if need be email them). Also ask if the restaurant prepares gluten-free meals in a separate area, and if the restaurant...


  • Recent Activity

    1. - CatherineWang replied to B1rdL0ver's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      40

      Dealing with constant nausea and just feeling awful.

    2. - cristiana replied to BunnyBrown's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      3

      Recently had my esophagus dilated

    3. - cristiana replied to twe0708's topic in Post Diagnosis, Recovery & Treatment of Celiac Disease
      54

      How Long Do Celiac Patients Live?

    4. - Exchange Students replied to Exchange Students's topic in Parents, Friends and Loved Ones of Celiacs
      2

      Exchange Students who are celiac in need of host

    5. - Scott Adams replied to Exchange Students's topic in Parents, Friends and Loved Ones of Celiacs
      2

      Exchange Students who are celiac in need of host


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      120,161
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Nehad
    Newest Member
    Nehad
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      120.2k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):




  • Who's Online (See full list)


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Popular Now

    • Sunflowers06
      6
    • Momkaren
      10
    • Elizabeth M Blair
      5
    • B1rdL0ver
    • twe0708
      54
  • Popular Articles

    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
    • Scott Adams
  • Upcoming Events

×
×
  • Create New...