Cross Contamination Question

[rutland]

Me and my boyfriend recently got back together after being broken up for the past 2mos. It was during this time that I discovered my gluten intolerance/or celiac disease (wasnt officially diagnosed, but responded positively to the diet) I had been very sick during those past few months. Last week he asked me to go out to dinner and I told him Id rather cook in because Im not sure I want to chance it right now. So we went out shopping and cooked at home.

We were about to saute up some garlic in some butter and I noticed crumbs all over the container of butter he had. I told him that I dont want to use it because of the CC factor and he was like STEF!!!!!! are you crazy just take a spoon and scoop it out. IT WILL BE FINE! he said. So I did. Reluctantly. But now I feel irresponsibe for this. Its just that its so hard to educate people about this when it does seem extreme. even to me.

Because Im new to all this I dont know what is overkill or not. I keep hearing about the CC issue and I guess a part of me finds it hard to believe that tiny amounts of gluten can cause damage. Its easier when Im at home and I have my own condiments, but its a little difficult when your at a friends house and they use their stuff that is likely contaminated.

I guess Id like to get some opinions on how others manage their diets when its sooooooooooo easy to come in contact with gluten when everyone else in your life is consuming it. I could easily become obsessive compulsive about this. I mean just because bits of gluten touch your food, does this really mean that the whole thing is ruined? Thoughts?

[schmenge]

I when I was first diagnosed and read about people with separate butter containers, toasters, etc. I thought it was overkill and I just needed to do some due diligence. But then I learned that, at least for me, it does matter and I know have separate butter, etc. All it takes is an crumb. Now, I imagine that if there is a crumb or tow sitting on top of the butter tub, you could scoop that out of the way. But given a choice, I'd rather not.

[CarlaB]

Gluten is poison to your body. Would you scrape rat poison off the butter and still use it? Why not? Probably because you'd be afraid some was still left on it!!

Even a very small amount can cause a reaction ... and certainly does for me. I like to think of it like this, and use this to explain it to people -- If you're exposed to one person who has the flu or a hundred, you get the same flu. You don't get it worse because you were exposed to more people with it. In a similar way, your immune system reacts to a little bit of gluten.

[happygirl]

ditto the above two posts. I def thought it was overkill. But, I am extremely sensitive and learned. Gluten is gluten is gluten. Think of it like rat poison (numerous people on this board have posted this example, including Carla, and it helps me remember). Would you dip your knife in butter that had touched rat poison, even potentially?

It is a personal decision, but you will probably find that the majority on this board will say that cross contamination is just as important as using ingredients that are gluten free. I would not eat something that I do not know what has been in it. Plain and simple. My family and friends know that if they cook for me, it has to be 1. gluten-free ingredients and 2. free of CC. Not an option...I just won't eat it if I am 100% certain.

I hope this helps. We have separate butters, mayos, dips, etc. in our house and it worked fine (until I was dx with other intolerances). We all have moments of doing something we 'know' we shouldn't....it is a learning process and very difficult. But, the goal is to learn as quickly as possible and make smart, logical decisions that will help our health. And if you agree with this, you will need the 110% support of bf.

Laura

[Guest ~jules~]

ditto the above two posts. I def thought it was overkill. But, I am extremely sensitive and learned. Gluten is gluten is gluten. Think of it like rat poison (numerous people on this board have posted this example, including Carla, and it helps me remember). Would you dip your knife in butter that had touched rat poison, even potentially?

It is a personal decision, but you will probably find that the majority on this board will say that cross contamination is just as important as using ingredients that are gluten free. I would not eat something that I do not know what has been in it. Plain and simple. My family and friends know that if they cook for me, it has to be 1. gluten-free ingredients and 2. free of CC. Not an option...I just won't eat it if I am 100% certain.

I hope this helps. We have separate butters, mayos, dips, etc. in our house and it worked fine (until I was dx with other intolerances). We all have moments of doing something we 'know' we shouldn't....it is a learning process and very difficult. But, the goal is to learn as quickly as possible and make smart, logical decisions that will help our health. And if you agree with this, you will need the 110% support of bf.

Laura

I use the separate butter, condiments, toaster, cutting board, pan, and I even have a certain counter in my kitchen that is for me only (small area ) I love my husband dearly, but I also KNOW my husband. He'd probably gluten me twice a week or more if I didn't do these things, he's just sloppy thats all, so I'm not taking any chances....I have a whole board of people here who educated me on cc, and have heard the stories about it happening, thats enough for me to take even a crumb seriously, I don't want to get sick anymore I'm tired of it...

[gfp]

ditto the above two posts. I def thought it was overkill. But, I am extremely sensitive and learned. Gluten is gluten is gluten. Think of it like rat poison (numerous people on this board have posted this example, including Carla, and it helps me remember). Would you dip your knife in butter that had touched rat poison, even potentially?

Absolutely and most rat poisions are nowhere near so toxic as gluten, indeed millions of people take them everyday as Rx medicines.

It is a personal decision, but you will probably find that the majority on this board will say that cross contamination is just as important as using ingredients that are gluten free. I would not eat something that I do not know what has been in it. Plain and simple. My family and friends know that if they cook for me, it has to be 1. gluten-free ingredients and 2. free of CC. Not an option...I just won't eat it if I am 100% certain.

I hope this helps. We have separate butters, mayos, dips, etc. in our house and it worked fine (until I was dx with other intolerances). We all have moments of doing something we 'know' we shouldn't....it is a learning process and very difficult. But, the goal is to learn as quickly as possible and make smart, logical decisions that will help our health. And if you agree with this, you will need the 110% support of bf.

And I agree with that 110%.... too.

Because Im new to all this I dont know what is overkill or not. I keep hearing about the CC issue and I guess a part of me finds it hard to believe that tiny amounts of gluten can cause damage.

Look its up to you but .... whereas there is no harm in overkill there is in CC.

When you are newly diagnosed you are at your most vulnerable both physically and mentally.

I firmly believe this decision should be taken later NOT before you try 100% gluten-free (and that means no CC) ...

You don't have to beleive it 100% right now... you can prove it to yourself by being 100% gluten-free and sooner or later like the rest of us you will slip up and realise.

[Nooner]

My beloved hubby is totally supportive but didn't believe a single crumb could make me sick until it happened. We had a meal where everything was safe except his flour tortilla, which only he handled. I got sick, and was thinking, great, now I'm getting sensitive to something else! Later in the evening he realized he had touched the shredded cheese after handling his tortilla, and I added some cheese to my food after that. So the next night, to test it, we had the same meal (leftovers), only I used different, freshly opened cheese, and I was fine. Now he's a believer.

Give your boyfriend some time, habits don't change overnight. You should do what you have to do for your health and sanity. He'll come around.

~Li

[gabby]

I will pass on some excellent advice I received.

In order to be a successful celiac, you need to be able to say NO with conviction, and with confidence. Even with a smile sometimes, and with a steely determination when required. this will be the most helpful tool you can take with you on your life journey.

Try it out:

question: Can't you just scrape the crumbs off the butter?!

answer: No.

question: Can't you just pick off the croutons?

answer: No.

question: Can't you eat something off the menu for a change?

answer: No.

question: can't we just share the pots/pans/cutlery/cutting board?

answer: No.

Oh, and the second most helpful bit of advice I ever received was this: once you have said No, you don't have to explain yourself. Nope. When the person says: why not? You just smile and say: the answer is still no. And then go about your business.

the first couple of times you try this, it might drive the questioning person a little batty. But keep to your guns. By the third or fourth time, it will no longer be an issue.

Hope this helps....

[ÆON]

I will pass on some excellent advice I received.

In order to be a successful celiac, you need to be able to say NO with conviction, and with confidence. Even with a smile sometimes, and with a steely determination when required. this will be the most helpful tool you can take with you on your life journey.

Try it out:

question: Can't you just scrape the crumbs off the butter?!

answer: No.

question: Can't you just pick off the croutons?

answer: No.

question: Can't you eat something off the menu for a change?

answer: No.

question: can't we just share the pots/pans/cutlery/cutting board?

answer: No.

Oh, and the second most helpful bit of advice I ever received was this: once you have said No, you don't have to explain yourself. Nope. When the person says: why not? You just smile and say: the answer is still no. And then go about your business.

the first couple of times you try this, it might drive the questioning person a little batty. But keep to your guns. By the third or fourth time, it will no longer be an issue.

Hope this helps....

I love this approach. ^^^

I'm new (1 1/2mos.) to this stuff too and I also thought that all this business about crumbs and separate jars was a bit over the top at first. I learned the hard way quickly that this is darn good advice.

I think that seeing how firm you are with avoiding contamination may help him realize that this is a really serious issue with your health.

[NoGluGirl]

I love this approach. ^^^

I'm new (1 1/2mos.) to this stuff too and I also thought that all this business about crumbs and separate jars was a bit over the top at first. I learned the hard way quickly that this is darn good advice.

I think that seeing how firm you are with avoiding contamination may help him realize that this is a really serious issue with your health.

Dear ÆON',

I know exactly what you mean. My parents do not understand. They think I am being a paranoid hypochondriac. It makes me angry. I am the only one that has to worry about being poisoned constantly. No one is careful. Dad will butter his toast by my coffee, not thinking twice about it. Mom will eat crackers by my food. Then, they act like I am crazy because I move my food! We cannot afford to get more pans for me to use, so what can I do? Anyone have any suggestions? I am tired of worrying every minute.

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

[debmidge]

As a wife to a celiac I learned that "love is having separate butter, separate mayo, etc."

[Leonard]

When you get glutened with cross contamination is the symtoms the same, much milder or different?

The reason why I am asking is that my stomach problems went away after taking gluten out of my diet. Some days I will still have a general feeling of being unwell. It's difficult to explain but it feels a bit like having a very mild flu, muscle aches, irretabiliy etc. It does not keep me from functioning properly but is incredibly annoying.

Cannot figure out what it is.

[taz sharratt]

Me and my boyfriend recently got back together after being broken up for the past 2mos. It was during this time that I discovered my gluten intolerance/or celiac disease (wasnt officially diagnosed, but responded positively to the diet) I had been very sick during those past few months. Last week he asked me to go out to dinner and I told him Id rather cook in because Im not sure I want to chance it right now. So we went out shopping and cooked at home.

We were about to saute up some garlic in some butter and I noticed crumbs all over the container of butter he had. I told him that I dont want to use it because of the CC factor and he was like STEF!!!!!! are you crazy just take a spoon and scoop it out. IT WILL BE FINE! he said. So I did. Reluctantly. But now I feel irresponsibe for this. Its just that its so hard to educate people about this when it does seem extreme. even to me.

Because Im new to all this I dont know what is overkill or not. I keep hearing about the CC issue and I guess a part of me finds it hard to believe that tiny amounts of gluten can cause damage. Its easier when Im at home and I have my own condiments, but its a little difficult when your at a friends house and they use their stuff that is likely contaminated.

I guess Id like to get some opinions on how others manage their diets when its sooooooooooo easy to come in contact with gluten when everyone else in your life is consuming it. I could easily become obsessive compulsive about this. I mean just because bits of gluten touch your food, does this really mean that the whole thing is ruined? Thoughts?

CC is a major issue for us all. my advice is better safe than sorry, people just dont understand, stick to your guns and keep yourself well.

[Guest adamssa]

I totally emphathize w/people not understanding. My parents refuse to believe cc exists! It's not so bad now when I am college, but I don't want to even go home for the weekend because they refuse to believe in it, and then we argue and I eat something that's contaminated in order to stop the arguing. Speaking of CC, do you guys worry about the grill?

Sara

[CarlaB]

Sara, I got glutened from a grill ... actually charcoal has wheat in it, so if it's not a gas grill, use natural charcoal.

Leonard, I get pretty sick with just a little gluten.

[quantumsugar]

Dear ÆON',

I know exactly what you mean. My parents do not understand. They think I am being a paranoid hypochondriac. It makes me angry. I am the only one that has to worry about being poisoned constantly. No one is careful. Dad will butter his toast by my coffee, not thinking twice about it. Mom will eat crackers by my food. Then, they act like I am crazy because I move my food! We cannot afford to get more pans for me to use, so what can I do? Anyone have any suggestions? I am tired of worrying every minute.

Sincerely,

NoGluGirl

NoGluGirl: I'm sorry, it's hard enough without people not understanding. My roommates were like this at first, until they saw how consistent I was (not just being crazy for fun) and how incredibly sick gluten made me. Hopefully they'll come around.

As for the pans... it's your decision, but I wouldn't use them. I shared at first, and kept getting sick all the time. Tinfoil works well for anything that needs to be baked. If you can afford to buy one pan (or save up to buy one): buy a ricecooker! I cook everything in it--rice, pasta, steamed veggies, boiled potatoes, stew... anything you'd make in a normal pot. I have one other pan (a cast iron skillet) that I rarely use, but I use the rice cooker almost every day. You can get one from Target for about $15. And if you need dishes, IKEA has some for 50 cents each or go to the dollar store.

[gfp]

NoGluGirl: I'm sorry, it's hard enough without people not understanding. My roommates were like this at first, until they saw how consistent I was (not just being crazy for fun) and how incredibly sick gluten made me. Hopefully they'll come around.

As for the pans... it's your decision, but I wouldn't use them. I shared at first, and kept getting sick all the time. Tinfoil works well for anything that needs to be baked. If you can afford to buy one pan (or save up to buy one): buy a ricecooker! I cook everything in it--rice, pasta, steamed veggies, boiled potatoes, stew... anything you'd make in a normal pot. I have one other pan (a cast iron skillet) that I rarely use, but I use the rice cooker almost every day. You can get one from Target for about $15. And if you need dishes, IKEA has some for 50 cents each or go to the dollar store.

I really agree....

I would rather use cheap Ikea pans than good quality CC ones.... it is just so not worth the risk.

Cast iron skillets and stainless can be really cleaned .. ultimately you can use emery paper or a drill attachment and strip back the metal and remove any scratches (if its cast iron you need to re proove it afterwards)

Also large amounts of oven cleaner ....

Really good enamel the same with the oven cleaner but teflon etc. you just can't and I know its heart breaking but its better to just get a cheap IKEA one than risk being sick IMHO...

If you really can't get new pans then you can fry some very strong food dye (like tumeric) into the pan and clean it until you can't see it anymore then fry some gluten-free flour and see if it turns yellow then repeat this 3 times....

[tracey*]

After my recent symptoms, I'm going to be more diligent with keeping things seperate

We couldn't figure out why I was SO SICK again last week, until my husband confessed that he had scraped jam off his toast and put it back into the jar (ewwww). I was eating the jam all last week!

I've also taught my husband the art of cleaning the toaster - he never does it and uses the toaster every day! ewwww.

So I'm another one that gets sick from breadcrumbs

[CarlaB]

After my recent symptoms, I'm going to be more diligent with keeping things seperate

We couldn't figure out why I was SO SICK again last week, until my husband confessed that he had scraped jam off his toast and put it back into the jar (ewwww). I was eating the jam all last week!

I've also taught my husband the art of cleaning the toaster - he never does it and uses the toaster every day! ewwww.

So I'm another one that gets sick from breadcrumbs

Unless you have a Toaster Oven, you should not share toasters, you just can't be 100% sure it's clean of crumbs.

[Guest adamssa]

are grills safe if charcoal isn't used, or do you need to worry about cc from spices and what not?

[CarlaB]

are grills safe if charcoal isn't used, or do you need to worry about cc from spices and what not?

If you have something else on the grill that has gluten, you do not want to use the same utensils or cook it in the same spot where they might touch. If the grill is contaminated by gluten, you want to be sure it's burnt off really good. I use gluten-free spices, but if you're using something with gluten, it is a concern. You can always cook the gluten-free food on a piece of foil to be safe, but be sure you're not sprinkling any gluten on it.

[gfp]

If you have something else on the grill that has gluten, you do not want to use the same utensils or cook it in the same spot where they might touch. If the grill is contaminated by gluten, you want to be sure it's burnt off really good. I use gluten-free spices, but if you're using something with gluten, it is a concern. You can always cook the gluten-free food on a piece of foil to be safe, but be sure you're not sprinkling any gluten on it.

Watch out for things like sausages that spit as well.....

I was going to mention the toaster too.

[tracey*]

Unless you have a Toaster Oven, you should not share toasters, you just can't be 100% sure it's clean of crumbs.

Yeah I know .. I've stopped using the toaster altogether. I just happened to be cleaning and noticed a very crumby (and scary!) toaster sitting there taunting me

[covsooze]

I had my last appointment with my psychiatrist a couple of weeks ago (yay ) and she asked me how I was physically. I'd just been glutened big time (by a so-called gluten-free product) and told her it might have been from just a crumb. I could see from her face for a split second 'is it OCD now?' !!! People are generally incredulous when I tell them about cc, or else just seem to ignore completely what I've just said, like it's something so crazy, they didn't hear it.

I reckon I must still be getting some cc from somewhere, despite having separate toaster, utensils etc.

The thing about cc that really gets me, is that I can't just kiss DH or DS (who manages to get crumbs round his face from seemingly nowhere!) spontaneously. <<<sighs>>>

[CarlaB]

I had my last appointment with my psychiatrist a couple of weeks ago (yay ) and she asked me how I was physically. I'd just been glutened big time (by a so-called gluten-free product) and told her it might have been from just a crumb. I could see from her face for a split second 'is it OCD now?' !!! People are generally incredulous when I tell them about cc, or else just seem to ignore completely what I've just said, like it's something so crazy, they didn't hear it.

I reckon I must still be getting some cc from somewhere, despite having separate toaster, utensils etc.

The thing about cc that really gets me, is that I can't just kiss DH or DS (who manages to get crumbs round his face from seemingly nowhere!) spontaneously. <<<sighs>>>

Susie, have you considered other intolerances? I kept thinking I was getting cc'd, but it was casein all along.