"gluten Free" Items That "got You"

[Larry Gessner]

In researching this to learn more I have come across many, many complaints from the public with restaurants and coffee shops that cant seem to get it that cross contamination is a real problem. We live in a small town and I am sure that every other small town is dealing with trying to provide a gluten free food ( without doing the right things)

When it comes to the big companies it seems like they aren't doing their homework when creating the products.

Does the medical field have any way to rate a person's gluten intolerance as to severity? It sounds as if this all becomes trial and error after a person has been diagnosed.  I am interested in this because I would like all of my gluten intolerant friends to be able to live a normal life so I appreciate forums like this where people can share ideas. Perhaps the certification standards for gluten free facilities and the people in research and development need more training. 

[kareng]

7 hours ago, Larry Gessner said:

In researching this to learn more I have come across many, many complaints from the public with restaurants and coffee shops that cant seem to get it that cross contamination is a real problem. We live in a small town and I am sure that every other small town is dealing with trying to provide a gluten free food ( without doing the right things)

When it comes to the big companies it seems like they aren't doing their homework when creating the products.

Does the medical field have any way to rate a person's gluten intolerance as to severity? It sounds as if this all becomes trial and error after a person has been diagnosed.  I am interested in this because I would like all of my gluten intolerant friends to be able to live a normal life so I appreciate forums like this where people can share ideas. Perhaps the certification standards for gluten free facilities and the people in research and development need more training. 

non Celiac gluten sensitivity can vary, I suppose.  celiac disease is always " severe".  Less than 20 ppm has been established as the highest amount of accidental gluten that may be safe.  But  we aim for 0.  

 

I don't really understand your comments about " the certification standards for gluten free facilities".  If the facility is certified, they must meet the standards of the certifying entity.  Some are less than 10 ppm -so stricter than the law requires.  

[Larry Gessner]

One of the problems faced with any gluten free facility or any facility that is allergen free, is that employees that work there may not be aware that they are contaminating the products. this came to light during a conversation with an inspector who had relayed an incident where an allergen free facility was being inspected and during that inspection the inspector decided to check the trash in a packaging room. To the inspectors surprise there was a half eaten snickers bar in the trash. The entire facility was shut down and an investigation revealed that one of the employees was starving and snuck the candy bar into the packaging room. No one witnessed this, but to be safe the owner did a voluntary recall  of all the product that was packaged that day and a through cleaning of the facility had to be done. So my point is that even with the best measures in place someone still violated a stand fast rule with no regard for the people who would consume that product. These are the kind of things I put into our training so that employees know that if you violate a rule like that you might cause someone to become ill or die from them being exposed to an allergen. Everyone who works at a food facility is trained in allergen management. What I believe should be done is more examples of recalls shared and the consequences that the contamination caused. 

Just wearing gloves only separates the skin from the product. If a worker is sweating and they run their hand across their face, they deposit their sweat onto the glove and that possibly gets transferred to the product. We all do involuntary things like this until we are made aware of the problems they pose.

Since I work in a food industry, I have a concern when I read all of the problems associated with Celiac afflicted people experiencing gluten exposure from supposedly gluten free products.  This problem needs to be addressed on a larger scale.

I listened to a podcast the other night from a woman who is celiac and she will not purchase any pre-packaged gluten free mixes because she cant trust them. This problem is new to me and I am trying to understand where the root of the problem is so that if there is anything I can do to help, I make it part of what we do at our plant.

I realize I have a lot to learn and my goal is to find a solution that works for you and everyone who is afflicted by this.