Over Seas Trip.

[mouth]

Hi all..

Does anybody or has anybody ever gone on trip to Australia? I might be going.. dont know as of yet when.. Have to start the passport stuff. Like where to shop for gluten-free stuff etc.. Electircal appliance usage and stuff.. any help at all would be welcome..

THANKS MUCH.. HOPE ALL HAD A WONDERFUL gluten-free 4TH..!!

u can anser here or email me mightymouth1234@aol.com

[Mango04]

gluten-free food is pretty mainstream in Australia. You can buy it at the regular grocery stores and at the health food stores. A lot of chain fast food places and restaurants have gluten-free food too. It's generally a very easy place to travel gluten-free, especially if you don't have any other allergies or intolerances.

If you're bringing electrical stuff you can just pick up an adapter before you leave. Many shops, including the supermarkets carry them in Oz too.

[munchkinette]

Australia is easy. They have better gluten free food in all the grocery stores. I brought some home in my suitcase. FYI- the potato chips, tortilla chips, and candy often have wheat (or glucose syrup), and those things are my normal snacks here in the US. However, I found that gluten-free cookies were everywhere. Even in the snack bar at the Bridge Climb, even at the airport coffee stands.

The one thing you should watch out for is soy sauce. I think it's hiding in a lot of places, but the waiters seemed to be a lot more informed in general.

[amber]

Hi,

It is relatively easy to find gluten free food in Australia. There is a gluten free section in most supermarkets. The two main supermarkets are Coles and Safeway/Woolworths. You will be able to find gluten-free pasta, cookies, cereals, flours, cake mixes, pancake mixes etc. in this section. Some supermarkets have a better range than others. The bigger supermarkets are usually better. Also you will find products markets gluten free throughout the supermarkets such as rice crackers, corn chips, other savoury crackers etc. Bread is usually always available though it is expensive. It has gone up alot lately to over $5.00 per loaf.

The easy thing about buying gluten-free in Australia is that the labelling laws are very strict. All labels must state if there is an allergy causing ingredient so therefore by reading the label you will immediately know if it is gluten free. For example, if a product has maltodextrin as an ingredient but nothing in brackets after it then it is gluten free but if it said maltodextrin (wheat) then it would not be gluten-free.

Glucose Syrup (Wheat), Caramel (wheat) and Dextrose (wheat) are the exceptions to the rule as they are all gluten free because the processing of the product and it has no detectable gluten.

As far as awareness in restaurants etc. it is getting better all the time and even in small towns you can usually find a gluten free option. In fact some of the best places for finding gluten free restaurants I have been to have been in smaller towns.

If you do come please don't hesitate to ask for more advice as I can give you lots of suggestions especially in Melbourne plus other parts of Australia.

p.s. My celiac daugther had a gluten free hamburger and fries with belgian mayonaisse the other day in the city - yum!!