living with a child with coeliac disease

[Amanda Downey]

trying to get my head around cross contamination. i have 3 teenage children who all love to cook only one of them is coeliac and we are struggling with cross contamination and starting to notice symptoms in my son. we already have separate toasters and butter what else do we need? 

do i need a separate sponge to was dishes?

will a colander used to drain gluten pasta be safe to use on gluten free pasta after its been washed?

whats the best chopping board to have?

do we need separate cutlery/ utensils?

[trents]

In an ideal world the answer would be "Yes" to all your questions. However, I would focus on porous cooking equipment such as cast iron skillets and wooden utensils and cutting boards. Also, don't use the same toaster and toaster oven/oven racks when toasting or baking. Clean counter surfaces thoroughly. The answer to your question depends in large part on how sensitive your celiac child is to very small amounts of gluten. The amount of gluten needed to cause a reaction will differ from one celiac to another. Another important kitchen practice would be to keep the non-gluten food items in separate places or at least separate well marked containers from the gluten ones.

Everyone in your family should be tested for celiac disease, regardless of whether they are symptomatic or not. One large recent study done by the Mayo clinic showed that 44% of the first degree relatives of those already diagnosed with celiac disease had celiac disease themselves when tested. Earlier studies showed much lower rates among family members, more like 10%. Celiac disease can be "silent" in the initial stages with few or no symptoms. But best to catch it early before damage to body systems is done.

Edited February 1, 2022 by trents

[Scott Adams]

This is an older article, but may still be helpful: