Jump to content

  • 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:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

Glutened On Multiple Occasions At Pf Chang's

jmreed

By jmreed
in Gluten-Free Restaurants

Recommended Posts

jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted

Hi... I just joined the forum, but I'm not new to it. I've been here the last 9 months searching for foods my newly diagnosed Celiac Wife.

While I can eat gluten, I have better internet (and cooking) skills than my wife, so this forum has been an invaluable resource for me. I want to thank everyone who has posted helpful information.

My other reason for the post is to warn everyone about the possibility of getting glutened at PF Chang's. They do have a gluten free menu, but the gluten free food is only a modification of gluten full food. That means the gluten free food is difficult for servers to identify it in a rush. My wife has been given gluten filled food there on two different nights. Both times the server assured her it was gluten free before she ate it.

Below is the letter I wrote to PF Chang

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


JustCan Explorer
JustCan
Posted

So sorry to hear your wife had a bad experience at PF Changs. At the PF Changs we go to we were told that the gluten-free food will always come out on plates that say "PF Changs" around the rim whereas the regular food comes out on plain white plates. It always seems like someone different brings out the gluten free food and they always say "Gluten Free Singapore Street Noodles" or whatever it is as they set it down. They also have a gluten-free soy sauce but only certain people on staff are allowed to get that from what we've been told. I may just have a good location that takes extra precautions but the different type of plates seems to be a big help. Hope your wife is feeling better!

gfgypsyqueen Enthusiast
gfgypsyqueen
Posted

So sorry to hear your wife is having those problems at PF changs! I love that place. I have had similar "break downs in the process" at other gluten-free menu restaurants. I just had this happen about a month ago and I am still recovering!!! I hate to give up on a restaurant since we have so few good ones to choose from. But in the end, writing corp is the best! I guess we all now know to include a copy of our receipts with these letters. Let us know the outcome.

hez Enthusiast
hez
Posted

I am so sorry your wife got sick. Everytime we eat out we take a risk. We as individual's have to weigh the risk. For me I am very sensitive so the risk is very high. I am careful when I eat out and really do not eat out very often. I am also very careful at home since I am the only one with celiac! I tend to not complain to restaurants when I do eat out. I feel like (in my instances) they did all they could to insure a safe meal and I am grateful for the gluten-free menu.

Hez

jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author
I am so sorry your wife got sick. Everytime we eat out we take a risk. We as individual's have to weigh the risk. For me I am very sensitive so the risk is very high. I am careful when I eat out and really do not eat out very often. I am also very careful at home since I am the only one with celiac! I tend to not complain to restaurants when I do eat out. I feel like (in my instances) they did all they could to insure a safe meal and I am grateful for the gluten-free menu.

Hez

I agree... I worry that my complaining will make it less likely more restaurants will take the innitiative to have gluten free menues. Restaurants who offer a gluten free menue increase their chances of complaints due to cross contamination issues.

On the other hand, I think when a restaurant offers a gluten free menue, the expectation that they will serve you food without gluten is much higher.

These weren't issues of cross contamination. They gave her the wrong food. It looked like the gluten free dish. But it isn't.

Thanks for the kind words!!!

jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author
So sorry to hear your wife had a bad experience at PF Changs. At the PF Changs we go to we were told that the gluten-free food will always come out on plates that say "PF Changs" around the rim whereas the regular food comes out on plain white plates. It always seems like someone different brings out the gluten free food and they always say "Gluten Free Singapore Street Noodles" or whatever it is as they set it down. They also have a gluten-free soy sauce but only certain people on staff are allowed to get that from what we've been told. I may just have a good location that takes extra precautions but the different type of plates seems to be a big help. Hope your wife is feeling better!

I wish they had a similar system in Sacramento... It doesn't appear that they do. The only differences I have discovered are the gluten free sauce is a little lighter in color and less spicy.

Where is your location? I will suggest that they use plates to mark the food everywhere.

Thanks for the good wishes!

Jake

home-based-mom Contributor
home-based-mom
Posted

To those who prefer not to complain after being glutened, there are non-confrontational ways to let the management know what happened, and Jacob did this very well. This needs to be done for three reasons:

1) Someone's health and safety was compromised

2) If you don't tell the manager that something went wrong, they will assume that everything was OK, and the problem will never get fixed because it won't be addressed.

3) Somebody else will get sick.

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):

Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):


jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author

Why is it that so many of the messages on this forum are pinned? The pinned posts automatically post before any other mesages.

Since so many of the posts are pinned, the new ones are impossible to find. Who has the right to make posts pinned? It seems to me that there are a glut of pinned messages making them all unimportant. In every other forum i've been on there are at maximum 5 pinned posts (those that are deemed important). I have been trying to find the newest posts and gave up after searching through over 1000 pinned posts.

Just an observation...

Darn210 Enthusiast
Darn210
Posted
Why is it that so many of the messages on this forum are pinned? The pinned posts automatically post before any other mesages.

Since so many of the posts are pinned, the new ones are impossible to find. Who has the right to make posts pinned? It seems to me that there are a glut of pinned messages making them all unimportant. In every other forum i've been on there are at maximum 5 pinned posts (those that are deemed important). I have been trying to find the newest posts and gave up after searching through over 1000 pinned posts.

Just an observation...

Jim, "pinning" doesn't mean the same here as in other forums. When a topic is pinned, it means that it has been reviewed by a moderator for appropriate content and that it is located in the correct subforum. No topic will stay at the top. It will always be ranked by which topic was posted/replied to last. If you want to see which topics have had posts made to them since the last time you visited the forum, click on "View New Posts" located next to "My Controls".

JustCan Explorer
JustCan
Posted

The PF Changs location that uses different plates for gluten-free food is in Warrington, Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia). It might be worth suggesting that as a standard to their corporate office as you mentioned. Of course, I'm someone who avoids eating out other than PF Changs and a gluten-free pizza place nearby. Hopefully my PF Changs continues to do a good job!

jerseyangel Proficient
jerseyangel
Posted
The PF Changs location that uses different plates for gluten-free food is in Warrington, Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia). It might be worth suggesting that as a standard to their corporate office as you mentioned. Of course, I'm someone who avoids eating out other than PF Changs and a gluten-free pizza place nearby. Hopefully my PF Changs continues to do a good job!

Hi,

Is this the Changs in the same complex as Wegman's in Warrington?

We moved to PA last fall and am still finding my way around :)

jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author
Jim, "pinning" doesn't mean the same here as in other forums. When a topic is pinned, it means that it has been reviewed by a moderator for appropriate content and that it is located in the correct subforum. No topic will stay at the top. It will always be ranked by which topic was posted/replied to last. If you want to see which topics have had posts made to them since the last time you visited the forum, click on "View New Posts" located next to "My Controls".

Oh... Ok...

Thanks for the help! knowing that will make the forum more easy for me to navigate.

jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author
The PF Changs location that uses different plates for gluten-free food is in Warrington, Pennsylvania (outside of Philadelphia). It might be worth suggesting that as a standard to their corporate office as you mentioned. Of course, I'm someone who avoids eating out other than PF Changs and a gluten-free pizza place nearby. Hopefully my PF Changs continues to do a good job!

Thanks! I will pass on this suggestion to PF Chang's Corporate!

zansu Rookie
zansu
Posted

My PFChangs has also gone to the "old" plates with PFChangs name on them as the gluten-free plates. I still special order mine as well -- without scallions since I don't like them and it flags the dinner as mine not someone else's ginger or lemon chicken. Someone on here orders the lettuce wraps with the rice noodles on the side for the same reason.

jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author
My PFChangs has also gone to the "old" plates with PFChangs name on them as the gluten-free plates. I still special order mine as well -- without scallions since I don't like them and it flags the dinner as mine not someone else's ginger or lemon chicken. Someone on here orders the lettuce wraps with the rice noodles on the side for the same reason.

Good ideas... If they won't mark the food for us in Sacramento, special ordering could really help. I'll pass that on to my wife. I love PF Changs and she doesn't want to go there any more.

Thanks!

  • 2 weeks later...
jmreed Rookie
jmreed
Posted
  • Author

Here is an update. I am glad to see that PF Chang's took the issue seriously and has made the procedural modifications necessary to minimize these occurances. My wife and I will return there very soon. :D

On 2008-03-29 Jacob Reed wrote:

FYI - Since I have not received any updated response, I am now posting the above on glutenfreeforum.com.

It is important that people with celiac

Archived

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

Go to topic listing

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):



    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):



  • Recent Activity

    1. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens. I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium. I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells. When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly. This is safe...
    2. Jane02
      - Jane02 replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency. I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently...
    3. knitty kitty
      - knitty kitty replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      Hello, @Jane02, I take Naturewise D 3. It contains olive oil. Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets. Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking. Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the...
    4. Scott Adams
      0

      Penobscot Bay, Maine: Nurturing Gluten-Free Wellness Retreat with expert celiac dietitian, Melinda Dennis

      until
      Hello! Join me and treat yourself to a four-day, three-night restorative gluten-free retreat in a peaceful, private coastal retreat setting near Penobscot Bay in Maine. Dates: April 10-13, 2026 Enjoy engaging classes...
    5. Scott Adams
      - Scott Adams replied to Jane02's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      9

      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product.
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):

  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      133,327
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748
    dnamutant
    Newest Member
    dnamutant
    Joined
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):

  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.6k
    • Total Posts
      1m
  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):

  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      @Jane02, I hear you about the kale and collard greens.  I don't do dairy and must eat green leafies, too, to get sufficient calcium.  I must be very careful because some calcium supplements are made from ground up crustacean shells.  When I was deficient in Vitamin D, I took high doses of Vitamin D to correct the deficiency quickly.  This is safe and nontoxic.  Vitamin D level should be above 70 nmol/L.  Lifeguards and indigenous Pacific Islanders typically have levels between 80-100 nmol/L.   Levels lower than this are based on amount needed to prevent disease like rickets and osteomalacia. We need more thiamine when we're physically ill, emotionally and mentally stressed, and if we exercise like an athlete or laborer.  We need more thiamine if we eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates.  For every 500 kcal of carbohydrates, we need 500-1000 mg more of thiamine to process the carbs into energy.  If there's insufficient thiamine the carbs get stored as fat.  Again, recommended levels set for thiamine are based on minimum amounts needed to prevent disease.  This is often not adequate for optimum health, nor sufficient for people with absorption problems such as Celiac disease.  Gluten free processed foods are not enriched with vitamins like their gluten containing counterparts.  Adding a B Complex and additional thiamine improves health for Celiacs.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine helps the mitochondria in cells to function.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins.  They are all water soluble and easily excreted if not needed. Interesting Reading: Clinical trial: B vitamins improve health in patients with coeliac disease living on a gluten-free diet https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19154566/ Safety and effectiveness of vitamin D mega-dose: A systematic review https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34857184/ High dose dietary vitamin D allocates surplus calories to muscle and growth instead of fat via modulation of myostatin and leptin signaling https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38766160/ Safety of High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation: Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Controlled Trial https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31746327/ Vitamins and Celiac Disease: Beyond Vitamin D https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11857425/ Investigating the therapeutic potential of tryptophan and vitamin A in modulating immune responses in celiac disease: an experimental study https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40178602/ Investigating the Impact of Vitamin A and Amino Acids on Immune Responses in Celiac Disease Patients https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10814138/
    • Jane02
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Jane02 · Posted

      Thank you so much @knitty kitty for this insightful information! I would have never considered fractionated coconut oil to be a potential source of GI upset. I will consider all the info you shared. Very interesting about the Thiamine deficiency.  I've tracked daily averages of my intake in a nutrition software. The only nutrient I can't consistently meet from my diet is vitamin D. Calcium is a hit and miss as I rely on vegetables, dark leafy greens as a major source, for my calcium intake. I'm able to meet it when I either eat or juice a bundle of kale or collard greens daily haha. My thiamine intake is roughly 120% of my needs, although I do recognize that I may not be absorbing all of these nutrients consistently with intermittent unintentional exposures to gluten.  My vitamin A intake is roughly 900% (~6400 mcg/d) of my needs as I eat a lot of sweet potato, although since it's plant-derived vitamin A (beta-carotene) apparently it's not likely to cause toxicity.  Thanks again! 
    • knitty kitty
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By knitty kitty · Posted

      Hello, @Jane02,  I take Naturewise D 3.  It contains olive oil.   Some Vitamin D supplements, like D Drops, are made with fractionated coconut oil which can cause digestive upsets.  Fractionated coconut oil is not the same as coconut oil used for cooking.  Fractionated coconut oil has been treated for longer shelf life, so it won't go bad in the jar, and thus may be irritating to the digestive system. I avoid supplements made with soy because many people with Celiac Disease also react to soy.  Mixed tocopherols, an ingredient in Thornes Vitamin D, may be sourced from soy oil.  Kirkland's has soy on its ingredient list. I avoid things that might contain or be exposed to crustaceans, like Metagenics says on its label.  I have a crustacean/shellfish/fish allergy.  I like Life Extension Bioactive Complete B Complex.  I take additional Thiamine B 1 in the form Benfotiamine which helps the intestines heal, Life Extension MegaBenfotiamine. Thiamine is needed to activate Vitamin D.   Low thiamine can make one feel like they are getting glutened after a meal containing lots of simple carbohydrates like white rice, or processed gluten free foods like cookies and pasta.   It's rare to have a single vitamin deficiency.  The water soluble B Complex vitamins should be supplemented together with additional Thiamine in the form Benfotiamine and Thiamine TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) to correct subclinical deficiencies that don't show up on blood tests.  These are subclinical deficiencies within organs and tissues.  Blood is a transportation system.  The body will deplete tissues and organs in order to keep a supply of thiamine in the bloodstream going to the brain and heart.   If you're low in Vitamin D, you may well be low in other fat soluble vitamins like Vitamin A and Vitamin K. Have you seen a dietician?
    • Scott Adams
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By Scott Adams · Posted

      I do not know this, but since they are labelled gluten-free, and are not really a product that could easily be contaminated when making them (there would be not flour in the air of such a facility, for example), I don't really see contamination as something to be concerned about for this type of product. 
    • trents
      Desperately need a vitamin D supplement. I've reacted to most brands I've tried.

      By trents · Posted

      Contact them.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.