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Is There Anything Safe To Eat At Ice Cream Or Frozen Yogurt Shops?

HavaneseMom

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HavaneseMom Explorer
HavaneseMom
Posted

Hi Everyone,

I am just wondering if there is anything you know of that we can safely eat from Ice Cream or Frozen Yogurt Shops?

When I was first diagnosed, I ordered some hand scooped frozen yogurt that I was told was gluten free, and then my husband pointed out that the scoops they use to get the frozen yogurt out are used in all of the tubs, so there would be a high risks of cross contamination and I didnt eat it. So I think the good hand scooped ice cream and fro yo are out of the question.

Do you feel comfortable getting soft serve ice cream or fro yo in a cup if they tell you it's gluten free? Can we trust that they machines are cleaned well between flavors, etc? There are a bunch of self serve type frozen yogurt places popping up around here that claim all of their flavors are gluten free, but don't publish ingredients. I'm not sure if I should just trust them?

By the way, that hand scooped frozen yogurt I was told was gluten free and ordered in fact wasn't. It was at TCBY and my instinct told me to look it up the ingredients on their website and it did contain gluten! It was a good lesson, but now I am so suspicious.

Is it just best to give these places up?

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kareng Grand Master
kareng
Posted

TCBY has soft serve that is gluten-free. The website lists which are, but I noticed that the couple they say aren't gluten-free have no gluten ingredients. It is the flavors like birthday cake they say aren't gluten-free. However, they look gluten-free. There is no actual cake in them. I get TCBY and Dairy Queen. I don't do the scooped stuff because there are always bits of broken cone in them.

I think most of the soft serve yogurt is gluten-free but you might want to read the ingredients first.

Just looked - TCBY does have cookies in the cookies and cream.

HavaneseMom Explorer
HavaneseMom
Posted
  • Author

Hi Kareng.

 

I'm glad to hear you get TCBY and Dairy Queen soft serve. If you eat it, I feel safe eating it :).

I'm guessing TCBY has a good procedure to clean between flavors, but I will ask at my location just to make sure, in case a flavor with gluten was in the machine before a gluten free flavor.

I see McDonalds soft serve vanilla is gluten free too.

 

Thanks!

LauraTX Rising Star
LauraTX
Posted

Most soft serve at fast food places is okay if you get it in a cup, usually easy to look up on their website.  Chik fil a, Mcdonalds, Dairy Queen, and Sonic come to mind.  Anything scooped is generally going to be CC'd.  Braums in TX and OK has gluten-free soft serve frozen yogurt I like to get-in a cup.  Some places that have an ice cream line, if they aren't busy, may be able to get you a scoop out of an unopened container in the back with a clean scoop.  But I don't have faith in how well they wash the scoops (when I worked at a ice cream/burger place in high school they never washed them!) and its a pain, I can just buy a half gallon and eat it at home, haha.  

 

As far as the frozen yogurt places go that serve multiple flavors, I generally avoid those places as there are a lot of knock off places that make many dubious health claims about their product, and I don't know how well they clean the machines.  If it is a chain and you are able to get some confident answers and there are no gluten containing products used in the machines, I would eat some but definitely avoid the little toppings bars that people make a mess in.

Darissa Contributor
Darissa
Posted

We are very careful due to cross contact; But we have found a few places we love. Not sure what part of the country you live in. Here in Arizona we have a place called Zoyo yogurt. You go in and they say right on the label if it is gluten free or not. They do a great job of cleaning. We have eaten there many times (too many!! haha) and have never had a problem. We NEVER get the toppings. They are all in a shared area, and everything spills into all the different containers. So what could be safe, is never safe.  But we love the yogurt. I've tried other places. You really just ought to go in and talk to someone. Some places are more knowledgeable than others. Some have no idea!! Hope you can find a safe place close to you. Its a fun date night with the kiddos. And my teenage daughter likes it since she can go with friends and actually enjoy something thats good and safe!

HavaneseMom Explorer
HavaneseMom
Posted
  • Author

Thanks everyone for the great advice and tips!

I am in Michigan, so we don't have some of the places that were mentioned, but the self serve frozen yogurt trend has finally made it's way up here and I am seeing them all over now. One local chain in particular claims all of their yogurt is gluten free and I have asked about it several times and am always told they are all gluten free because they are made from syrups. Um, the last I knew being made from a syrup didn't make something gluten free. I would like to think that management has done their research and knows what they are talking about, but I would really like to see the ingredients myself. Another local chain does have some flavors marked as containing gluten and list other allergens too, so I think I would be more comfortable going there since they seem to be very allergen aware. I think the chains that have all of the ingredients listed online will give me great peace of mind too.

Thanks again!

Nikki2777 Community Regular
Nikki2777
Posted

I believe Mr. Softee in a cup is Gluten Free, but you may want to check.

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  • 4 weeks later...
Seeking2012 Contributor
Seeking2012
Posted

The day after my diagnosis I was feeling pretty down in the dumps so DH took me to Marble Slab and I talked with the employee in there and he knew what Celiac was and said that someone who has Celiac works there. I was relieved and it greatly improved my mood. He said all the ice cream that doesn't contain cake is gluten-free. But I didn't think about the scooper, which would be cross-contaminated because it also scoops the ice cream that does have cake in it.

 

But they had a gluten-free cookie too, so I got that along with the ice cream. I probably did get a trace amount of gluten from cross-contamination from eating there, though. To avoid all cross-contamination you probably need to purchase gluten-free ice cream at a grocery store or make it at home.

cap6 Enthusiast
cap6
Posted

We travel a lot and during the summer and my partner and sister are always stopping for an ice cream.  Sort of a bummer to not have the scooped stuff.  Once in a great while you may find a place that will get a fresh carton, open it for you and super carefully wash the scooper but that's pretty rare and I usually hate to ask.  I'll have a soft serve iuf they have it, if not....I go without :( and save my calories for wine when we get home.  :D !!!

brendygirl Community Regular
brendygirl
Posted

We go to frozen yogurt places like Yogli Mogli (Atlanta area) and even the FRO-yo bars at Racetrack gas stations (fancy, newer locations). They all have allergens listed on the machine for each flavor where you pump it yourself. I also go to Baskin Robins and ask for a new scoop and a new container from the back. I also eat Mc Donald's and Dairy Queen soft serve.

  • 3 years later...
Scarlettsdad Contributor
Scarlettsdad
Posted

Does anyone know if the soft serve frozen yogurt at Ikea (if it matters, I live in Toronto, Canada) is celiac safe to eat? I assume it would be, but not sure.

ravenwoodglass Mentor
ravenwoodglass
Posted
4 hours ago, Scarlettsdad said:

Does anyone know if the soft serve frozen yogurt at Ikea (if it matters, I live in Toronto, Canada) is celiac safe to eat? I assume it would be, but not sure.

You may want to go at a slow time and ask to see the ingredients or talk to the manager and see who makes it and give them a call. I would think it would be safe but best to be sure.

Jmg Mentor
Jmg
Posted
4 hours ago, Scarlettsdad said:

Does anyone know if the soft serve frozen yogurt at Ikea (if it matters, I live in Toronto, Canada) is celiac safe to eat? I assume it would be, but not sure.

This info may be out of date as its from 2013: Open Original Shared Link but it says that it's NOT safe to eat. Although it lists it with a cone, so maybe if you can get it in a cup it may be ok?

 

 

Scarlettsdad Contributor
Scarlettsdad
Posted
3 hours ago, ravenwoodglass said:

You may want to go at a slow time and ask to see the ingredients or talk to the manager and see who makes it and give them a call. I would think it would be safe but best to be sure.

 

2 hours ago, Jmg said:

This info may be out of date as its from 2013: Open Original Shared Link but it says that it's NOT safe to eat. Although it lists it with a cone, so maybe if you can get it in a cup it may be ok?

 

 

Thank you. Here is what I found (from Ikea Canada). The frozen yogurt alone (without cone) seems to be fine, correct?

ikea.PNG

Jmg Mentor
Jmg
Posted
1 hour ago, Scarlettsdad said:

Thank you. Here is what I found (from Ikea Canada). The frozen yogurt alone (without cone) seems to be fine, correct?

Looks ok, though no ingredients listed for the Lingonberry sauce?

I eat McDonalds Strawberry sundae without problem here in UK. Next time I'm at Ikea I'll check the yogurt sundae out :)

 

 

Scarlettsdad Contributor
Scarlettsdad
Posted
10 hours ago, Jmg said:

Looks ok, though no ingredients listed for the Lingonberry sauce?

I eat McDonalds Strawberry sundae without problem here in UK. Next time I'm at Ikea I'll check the yogurt sundae out :)

 

 

Here are the ingredients for the Sundae (and Lingonberry sauce). They also look safe wrt being gluten free.

sundae.PNG

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