Is McDonald's Safe for Gluten-Free Orders?

[Patrick-Tyler]

Hai Community,

I have doubt on  McDonald's? even it is dedicated to fryers and added gluten-free buns, I’d still be nervous about ordering there for my daughter who has celiac. Anyone else feel uneasy about trusting fast food places with cross-contamination? Would love to hear if anyone’s had good (or bad) experiences with gluten-free options at McDonald's or other fast-food restaurants.

Thank You...

[trents]

Welcome to the forum, @Patrick-Tyler!

I think most of us are at least a little nervous about eating at fast food restaurants, even McDonalds, who claims to offer gluten-free fries.  What does that mean? Only that gluten is not an intentional ingredient or does it also mean the fries are cooked in a dedicated frier? This has long been a question kicked around by our community and I'm not sure anyone has ever found a clear answer. I wounder what kind of an answer you would get if you went to a particular McDonalds and asked the manager, "Do you cook your fries in a dedicated frier or are other food products cooked in the same frier that you use to cook your fries?" 

Personally, I have eaten fries and meat patties (I take my own gluten free bread or just eat it as a lettuce wrap) at McDonalds quite a few times over the past 20 years since my dx without any discernable gluten reaction. But I am not a particularly sensitive celiac so what I get away with may not be safe for every celiac.

Edited November 9, 2024 by trents

[Scott Adams]

McDonald's has a gluten-free bun, are you in Europe? They don't have that in the USA but I hope they are coming here soon.

In the USA the fries are not considered gluten-free, even if they are made in a dedicated fryer, but many celiacs, including myself, have been eating them for years without issues. In Europe they don't have the same hydrolyzed wheat as an ingredient in their beef flavoring, like they do here in the USA. This is a controversial topic that I wanted to mention with you, but you can check the ingredients on the McDonald's website, as they can vary from country to country.

[trents]

Scott, could you elaborate on hydrolyzed wheat? Does that remove or deactivate the gluten protein?

[trents]

Here is an excerpt from this article: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC82695:

 

Studies have shown that various peptidases of fungal, plant, animal, or bacterial origin are able to hydrolyze gluten into harmless peptides. According to SDS‐PAGE pattern, proteolytic enzymes hydrolyze gliadins (Heredia‐Sandoval et al., 2016; Scherf et al., 2018; Socha et al., 2019; Wei et al., 2018, 2020). Bacterial peptidase (Krishnareddy & Green, 2017), fungal peptidase (Koning et al., 2005), and prolyl endopeptidases (PEPs) (Amador et al., 2019; Janssen et al., 2015; Kerpes et al., 2016; Mamo & Assefa, 2018) thoroughly degrade gliadin fractions to decrease gluten concentration and influence celiac disease. Aspergillus niger derived PEP (AN‐PEP) were assessed in clinical cases for their impact on modifying immune responses to gluten in celiac patients (Lähdeaho et al., 2014). Guerdrum and Bamforth (2012) reported that PEP addition in brewing technology decreased the prolamin and all of the identified immunopathogenic gluten epitopes in beer production (Akeroyd et al., 2016).

On the contrary, many of the recent investigations which employed enzyme‐linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), mass spectrometry, and Western blot analysis reported that PEP did not thoroughly destroy the whole gluten proteins (Allred et al., 2017; Colgrave et al., 2017; Fiedler et al., 2018; Panda et al., 2015), which indicates that beers treated with PEP are not safe for celiac disease patients.

Anecdotally, this excerpt supports what we hear from the celiac community on this forum with regard to "gluten free" hydrolyzed wheat products and that is that some still react to them while many don't.

[Scott Adams]

Hydrolyzed wheat is wheat protein that has been broken down into smaller components through a chemical or enzymatic process called hydrolysis. This ingredient can be found in various products, including cosmetics, personal care items, and some food products.

For people with celiac disease, hydrolyzed wheat is generally not safe to consume because it still contains gluten proteins, even in its broken-down form. Though hydrolysis reduces the size of these proteins, it doesn’t fully remove the components that trigger an autoimmune response in people with celiac disease. In food products, hydrolyzed wheat protein still poses a risk and should be avoided.

With regard to the McDonald's French fries, the total amount of hydrolyzed wheat in the flavoring is small, and the amount that ends up in an order of fries is even smaller, and likely below 20ppm. McDonald’s states that the fries are gluten-free by ingredient and free from cross-contact with gluten-containing foods in their dedicated fryers. Third-party tests and statements by McDonald's confirm gluten levels are below the FDA threshold for gluten-free labeling (20 parts per million or less).

So, while McDonald’s USA fries may be gluten-free based on testing, some people with celiac disease still approach them cautiously due to the past concerns and individual sensitivities.

[ShariW]

A couple of months ago, we stopped at a McDonald's while on a road trip. I ordered a cheeseburger with no bun, just lettuce & tomato on the side. No fried, nothing else. A few hours later, I had symptoms of having been glutened. So, no more stops a McDonald's for me!!!

[Scott Adams]

I've not tried that, and I only get their fries and a drink when I eat there.

[Aussie Celiac]

I've never had reactions to McDonald's but since being diagnosed celiac I don't go there anymore.