I Work In A Bakery

[Lori L.]

I believe I am gluten intollerant or I have celiac disease. I have had the bloodwork and allergy testing and all came back negative. The allergist had me start a gluten free/milk free diet. Within a day and a half of starting the diet, I feel better than I have in years. I have also tested the gluten and milk products and was miserable after consuming them. This is the problem: I own and work in a bakery (cake and cookie shop). My employees make the dough and bake the cakes and cookies, but I do handle them after they are baked. I know there are flour particles in the air too. Is it safe for me to continue being in the bakery?

[ShayFL]

No.

You need to find someone to take over your duties there. Way too much CC....Way too much!

I say this in fun. You could sell that one and open a "Gluten Free" bakery.

[Ursa Major]

Lori, you will NEVER get completely well if you keep working in your bakery. If you truly are gluten intolerant, then it simply is not safe.

[dksart]

Time for a career change! Either that or sell all of your equipment and get new stuff to start a fabulous gluten-free shop.

I sure wish a Gluten-free bakery would open up around here.

[Katester]

My goal after going gluten-free is to open a gluten-free bakery or restaurant in a couple years. Sounds like a great opportunity for you if you're interested. =)

[Lori L.]

My goal after going gluten-free is to open a gluten-free bakery or restaurant in a couple years. Sounds like a great opportunity for you if you're interested. =)

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I'm a sort-of well known sugar artist in my industry and have worked hard for 12 years to get my business to where it is now. I don't think I have the energy to re-vamp the business to that extent. I also doubt that my area would sustain it if I went to gluten free.

I'm new at the gluten-free thing and am trying to figure out how damaging my being here might be.

Thanks for any help you can offer!

[Jestgar]

If you aren't the one doing the baking, can you limit your time in the shop to before the baking? If you're at the front counter, can you install a big fan, and a door between the front and the bakery section so there's no flour dust where you are?

[PeggyV]

I wear a mask and latex gloves on the rare occasions when I bake dinner rolls now. I really miss baking gluten bread, gluten-free bread just isnt as much fun

[bakingbarb]

I believe I am gluten intollerant or I have celiac disease. I have had the bloodwork and allergy testing and all came back negative. The allergist had me start a gluten free/milk free diet. Within a day and a half of starting the diet, I feel better than I have in years. I have also tested the gluten and milk products and was miserable after consuming them. This is the problem: I own and work in a bakery (cake and cookie shop). My employees make the dough and bake the cakes and cookies, but I do handle them after they are baked. I know there are flour particles in the air too. Is it safe for me to continue being in the bakery?

I really think this is a personal choice not one people here can make for you. As you stated you put a lot of time and hard work into your bakery becoming what it is today. If it were me I would not give that up. I would love to be in your shoes regardless of the celiac (which yes I have).

I still bake for family and friends regular gluten full items.

I think it is wrong to tell you that you have to give up your bakery. All I have ever wanted is to bake for people and if you told me I had to give it up I would tell you where you could go!

Quite frankly this is your decision to make. If being there is making you sick then by all means spend less time there otherwise I don't see what the issue is. You are not ingesting the stuff. Sorry but I am so passionate about wanting to bake and own my own place that this really set me off. I have to say I really am offended by the responses you got here.

If there is documentation that being in the bakery makes you sick then show it to me.

[ShayFL]

No one is trying to be mean in here. We are all trying to help. Often the first response isnt the best one, but comes from good hearts.

Protective gear might be the ticket. I wear gloves when I paint now. I resisted them for sooooo long, but I DO NOT want all of the paint chemicals I use everyday going into my skin. I love to paint, but it isnt worth getting sick over. I also wear a mask when I use certain texture mediums and such because they give off fumes.

I have not given up painting or my studio, but I take A LOT Of precautions.

[dksart]

I really miss baking gluten bread, gluten-free bread just isnt as much fun

It will get better and better as you go along. Keep experimenting with flour/starch blends, different leavening agents and gums/gelatin until you find the best texture as well as taste. (Remember to make breadcrumbs out of the not-so-beautiful ones!) When you finally make a Gluten-free loaf that has the perfect crumb and your bread smells and sounds the way it's supposed to, you'll know that everything is going to be just fine.

Also, do you have a website where we could see some of your sugar work? I really admire the delicacy of such art.

[labbott]

Bakingbarb, I think it is great you are still able to bake gluten items for friends and family. Most people wouldn't dream of it for fear of cross contamination. I personally am newly diagnosed and am EXTREMELY sensitive to gluten right now. One of threads on the forum talked about how sensitive some people are and one woman said she can't walk down the bread aisle without getting a headache. Being so new to all this I thought well that is just ridiculous but it turns out she wasn't ridiculous at all. If my husband even opens a loaf of wheat bread with me in the room I get a screaming headache. I went to visit a friend and she fed her kids gluten waffles and I ended up with a migraine and I am not prone to migraines. So I tested this and turns out I get a head ache in the bread aisle now too. Holy cow!! Using expletives just thinking about it. So from what I have gleaned from some of the other threads on the subject of sensitivity is while you are newly healing you may be EXTREMELY sensitive. And yes, airborne wheat can make you sick and wheat dust can stay in the air for up to 2 days. Complete healing can take 1-2 years at which point I may not be so sensitive. And I have to believe it will get better. I can't go visit friends or family right now because I just get sick being anywhere near gluten.

So to Lori I think you do need to protect yourself at the very least. Even if you aren't experiencing symptoms you still may be ingesting wheat and damaging your intestines. When I first went gluten-free I was still able to cook gluten foods for my husband but after about 2 months I would just feel awful even if I touched a piece of bread then at about 4 months I noticed how severe my reaction was just being in the room with a bag of bread. So be on the lookout for your reaction to gluten to change the further you get down the gluten-free path. I would protect yourself for now. And if you are really sure you have a problem with gluten you may need to look at adding some gluten-free items to your bakery. You would have to learn all about cross-contamination and how to avoid it but that would allow you to stay involved in the day to day and not have to revamp your whole business and still keep yourself healthy. There is a bakery in Tampa that manages both gluten and gluten-free breads and the celiacs I have talked to all say it is safe and they have never had a problem so I know it is possible to make both types in one location. It would allow you to test your market then too to see what the demand would be in your area. Check with all the health food stores in your area and I bet they would love to have fresh gluten-free bread to sell. Even if they have to keep it in their freezer it is still fresh and locally made. And most autism families are Gluten-free Casein-free now too so the number of american families who are striving to be gluten-free is on the rise. Good luck to you Lori. I have a headache just thinking about your job!

[gfp]

If there is documentation that being in the bakery makes you sick then show it to me.

You can be as offended as you like but it will not change the FACTS....

You can believe what you want.... but it will not change facts...

You really sound like you are not going to accept the facts but ....

I'm going to post the FACTS once, if you want to argue then don't bother ... I am not arguing back.

source:

Open Original Shared Link

1)

Air sampling was done in a UK bakery and a flour mill with an eight-stage cascade impactor to determine the size of airborne flour particles. The concentration of captured material was determined by a competitive inhibition radioimmunoassay. Comparison of the different sites revealed that

8.79% and 52.14% of the particles in the bakery dough-brake and roll-production areas had a diameter < or = 6.0 microns, respectively,

and

19.7% of the particles in the flour mill packing area were of this size. We conclude that in dusty areas up to 20% of the airborne flour particles are of a diameter likely to allow them to be deposited in the bronchial airways and alveoli.

2) Everything we breath will end up in one of two places....

Back in the oropharynx or in the lungs...

This process is known as the Mucociliary Escalator

(we once had a med student here who was so ignorant she didn't even know this basic biology)

The cilia of the respiratory epithelium beat in concert cranially, effectively moving secreted mucus containing trapped foreign particles towards toward the oropharynx, for either expectoration or swallowing to the stomach where the acidic pH helps to neutralize foreign material and micro-organisms. This system is collecively known as the mucociliary escalator and serves two functions: to keep the lower respiratory tract sterile, and to prevent mucus accumulation in the lungs.

The mucocilliary escalator is vital for the movement of mucus up the respiratory tract to the pharynx. The mucus layer is biphasic with a serous, sol layer in which the cilia beat and, above this, a viscoelastic or gel layer. Due to the viscous properties of this upper mucous layer, the tips of the cilia catch in the layer, which may contain particulate matter, and drag it cranially toward the oropharynx.

From the oropharynx there are two possibilities: We sneeze or we swallow. (Both being involuntary actions)

(Said med student claimed not to swallow...)

Even if you sneeze you will not get rid of all the particulate matter.some will always end up in the stomach.

According to the study above only 20% reaches the lungs .... the rest is moved by the Cilli back to the oropharynx where we sneeze or swallow.

[ShayFL]

Great support post!

[Lori L.]

It will get better and better as you go along. Keep experimenting with flour/starch blends, different leavening agents and gums/gelatin until you find the best texture as well as taste. (Remember to make breadcrumbs out of the not-so-beautiful ones!) When you finally make a Gluten-free loaf that has the perfect crumb and your bread smells and sounds the way it's supposed to, you'll know that everything is going to be just fine.

Also, do you have a website where we could see some of your sugar work? I really admire the delicacy of such art.

I don't have a website, but you can find some of my competition cakes online by googling my name, Lori Cossou. I've also been on food network, so you might see me there occasionally. (I hope it's okay to put this info out. I'm new to this and don't want to get into trouble!) Thank you for your help and you're interest in my art!

[Lori L.]

You can be as offended as you like but it will not change the FACTS....

You can believe what you want.... but it will not change facts...

You really sound like you are not going to accept the facts but ....

I'm going to post the FACTS once, if you want to argue then don't bother ... I am not arguing back.

source:

Open Original Shared Link

1)

2) Everything we breath will end up in one of two places....

Back in the oropharynx or in the lungs...

This process is known as the Mucociliary Escalator

(we once had a med student here who was so ignorant she didn't even know this basic biology)

From the oropharynx there are two possibilities: We sneeze or we swallow. (Both being involuntary actions)

(Said med student claimed not to swallow...)

Even if you sneeze you will not get rid of all the particulate matter.some will always end up in the stomach.

According to the study above only 20% reaches the lungs .... the rest is moved by the Cilli back to the oropharynx where we sneeze or swallow.

Wow! I didn't understand very much of this, but what I did understand made sense. As far as whether I'm truly gluten intollerant or not, I don't have any proof from tests; my bloodwork was normal. I didn't do the biopsy, but started the gluten free diet and feel MUCH better. If I eat something that is questionable, I can usually tell by how I feel within an hour or two. There have been times when I've gotten headaches in the afternoon while I'm in the bakery and I wondered if it was from exposure. I'm hoping to find a doctor - I really love what I do, but I don't want to get sick again. By the way, my husband is very helpful and supportive. That means so much!! Thank you for your information. I'm sure learning alot!!

[Jestgar]

OK, I am seriously impressed.

[elonwy]

You do really pretty work. I can understand not wanting to give that up. I don't think you have to, but I do think its important that you protect yourself. I've gotten violently ill from ingesting airborne gluten, (flour is seriously poofy). My mom bakes gluten stuff all the time for my dad's VA buddies, and what she does it wear gloves and a mask, which seems to help her. You really only have to worry about it getting in your nose and mouth, though some people do have skin issues with gluten, and that'll be for your to decide your level of exposure there.

You may look a bit goofy decorating cakes wearing a mask, but I think you'll appreciate it in the long run

I don't think you should have to give up your livelihood and passion just for Celiac No Tastings though!

[Welda Johnson]

Hi Lori,

After retiring from teaching I worked in a bakery during the day and an ice cream parlor at night. I am intolerant of all grains, all milk & dairy, egg whites, and yeast. However, I never had any bad reactions from handling the flour or milk products (my symptoms present as asthma, so I know within 15 minutes of ingesting certain foods that they are a problem). I am 63 now and have had food issues since age 8, and have been on this strict diet for the past few years, and on a vegan diet for the past year. I have always been able to handle the foods that I cannot eat, and to cook them as well. The great thing about working in the bakery and ice cream parlor was seeing so many happy people, and sometimes I was able to share with others about Celiac, which made me feel really good. After I left those places, I spent a lot of time developing gluten-free, yeast-free, egg-free, milk & dairy-free bakery products, and spent a lot of time devising labeling which showed the ingredients, etc., then presented my ideas to the bakery where I had worked. They didn't seem to be interested. I am going to search the web for your sites, and want to say that I wish you the best in your quest to be healthy. I have found that this challenging condition leads us to places we might never have imagined. If you'd like to email me, my address is welda@att.net. Welda

[Welda Johnson]

Hi Lori,

After retiring from teaching I worked in a bakery during the day and an ice cream parlor at night. I am intolerant of all grains, all milk & dairy, egg whites, and yeast. However, I never had any bad reactions from handling the flour or milk products (my symptoms present as asthma, so I know within 15 minutes of ingesting certain foods that they are a problem). I am 63 now and have had food issues since age 8, and have been on this strict diet for the past few years, and on a vegan diet for the past year. I have always been able to handle the foods that I cannot eat, and to cook them as well. The great thing about working in the bakery and ice cream parlor was seeing so many happy people, and sometimes I was able to share with others about Celiac, which made me feel really good. After I left those places, I spent a lot of time developing gluten-free, yeast-free, egg-free, milk & dairy-free bakery products, and spent a lot of time devising labeling which showed the ingredients, etc., then presented my ideas to the bakery where I had worked. They didn't seem to be interested. I am going to search the web for your sites, and want to say that I wish you the best in your quest to be healthy. I have found that this challenging condition leads us to places we might never have imagined. If you'd like to email me, my address is welda@att.net. Welda

Lori, I just checked out your websites! Whew! You are good. I loved your creations, and, truly, you will be able to do whatever you want to do. I wish you many more successes.

[casnco]

I believe I am gluten intollerant or I have celiac disease. I have had the bloodwork and allergy testing and all came back negative. The allergist had me start a gluten free/milk free diet. Within a day and a half of starting the diet, I feel better than I have in years. I have also tested the gluten and milk products and was miserable after consuming them. This is the problem: I own and work in a bakery (cake and cookie shop). My employees make the dough and bake the cakes and cookies, but I do handle them after they are baked. I know there are flour particles in the air too. Is it safe for me to continue being in the bakery?

I would use a mask, fans to keep your area clean of flour dust, gloves, frequent hand washing. Keep your hands away from your face. Have seperate work clothes from casual clothes. Wash them seperately. You said you already feel better. If after time, all of this is not enough, you will know in your heart what to do. Good Luck! Hope you keep bakeing. And we all hope you learn gluten - free bakeing.

Debbie

[Rya]

What an accomplishment Lori!

I think it would be great if you could help everyone here by experimenting to find out what sort of precautions help you from getting glutened. I think lots of us would love to know what really works!

I'm firmly believe there is a way around everything.

[Rya]

Wow! I didn't understand very much of this, but what I did understand made sense. As far as whether I'm truly gluten intollerant or not, I don't have any proof from tests; my bloodwork was normal. I didn't do the biopsy, but started the gluten free diet and feel MUCH better. If I eat something that is questionable, I can usually tell by how I feel within an hour or two. There have been times when I've gotten headaches in the afternoon while I'm in the bakery and I wondered if it was from exposure. I'm hoping to find a doctor - I really love what I do, but I don't want to get sick again. By the way, my husband is very helpful and supportive. That means so much!! Thank you for your information. I'm sure learning alot!!

Supportive husbands are the best.

I have read in a few places that a response to the gluten-free diet is half the diagnosis. My own physician told me he did not think the tests available are sensitive enough, as I haven't been officially diagnosed either. Of course, doc mentioned this after I paid him over a grand...

[Lori L.]

Lori, I just checked out your websites! Whew! You are good. I loved your creations, and, truly, you will be able to do whatever you want to do. I wish you many more successes.

Thank you so much. I really enjoy what I do. I've been spending alot of time in the bakery working on my newest competition cake. The competition is the end of September. I'm beginning to wonder about symptoms I'm having and can't pinpoint it to anything I've eaten. So, it makes me think that it could be the flour in the air. I can't give up now - I've already put too much work into it, but I found a doctor that I think knows a thing or two about celiac disease (one of the people on this site gave me his name). I have an appt on Sept. 8th. I'm hoping he'll be able to advise me on what best to do. The days that I feel bad, if I think back, I've usually made a trip back into the kitchen while or just after cookie dough has just been made. My husband did put an additional air conditioner in the back so we could close off the "dough" kitchen, but we haven't added a door yet to close it off.

I'll keep you posted on what I find out works for me!

Thanks again!