Dedicated Facilities

[baiyongjie]

Hi, I have recently come to suspect I have celiac disease, but because of the difficulty and expenses involved with getting tested where I live (Japan), I am just going to try going gluten-free. If that solves my problems, I'll assume I do have celiac disease. Maybe someday if I go back to the States I'll do a challenge...

My question is, how important are "dedicated facilities"? I'm almost certain they don't exist here, and I'm assuming many of the gluten free varieties of traditional Japanese food are still made in facilities that produce the normal gluten containing varieties (foods like soy sauce, and miso). I'm really not sure about the processing of non-gluten containing grains. I know you can get rice and millet flour and I've seen whole sorghum among many other grains. But again, I don't know the processing conditions.

Very, very few people here seem to have heard of celiac disease, but there are people with wheat allergy. I don't think I am particularly sensitive. I do get an uncomfortable feeling in my bowels and some gas after eating a little gluten or drinking a beer, but I don't get full blown diarrhea unless I eat something like pancakes or pasta as my main dish. Because I don't seem to be so sensitive, should I not worry about cross contamination? Or is the damage still being done? Thanks for any help you can give me with this!

[ang1e0251]

If you have the ability to find out if a food is made in a shared facility, then do so. Ask about how the equipment is cleaned and see if you feel that is acceptable. Mostly you are just going to have to on feel. Does this food make you react? Some of us can eat food from shared facilities with no problem, others are very sensitive to it. Sorry it has to be a personal experiment but that is what has to be done for some foods.

[lovegrov]

Very little is produced in dedicated facilities, so it's your choice. I eat processed foods not made in dedicated facilities and I also eat out, which is always a crapshoot. It all depends on how sensitive you are and your own feelings. I am just medium sensitive and I choose to live a relatively normal life that includes going out, even if that does put me at some risk.

richard

[StephanieM]

Everyone is different in terms of their ability to tolerate minute amounts of gluten... My tolerance has decreased over time, so I am insanely sensitive now.. and get sick off the tiniest amount from cross-contamination. The challenge, is even if you don't have symtpoms, gluten can be damaging your system if there is gluten in the product.. I don't eat anything that says "made on equipment that also manufactures gluten"..

try and limit your exposure to processed foods and focus more on natural, maybe that will help?

Stephanie

[baiyongjie]

Thanks to everyone who replied! That's what I wanted to know. I rarely eat out and already eat few processed foods, so it won't be so hard to extend that. But as my wife is Japanese and cutting miso and soy sauce from our menu might be a little too much for her, I think I'll start contacting the companies that make gluten free varieties to see what their operating procedures are like. For me, bread was a huge part of my diet, and I want to keep making it somehow. I tried making bread with brown rice flour last night. It tasted fine, but it wasn't bread. Anyway, I know where I can find millet flour and lots of other whole grains (I might invest in my own mill), so I'll contact those companies too. Anyway, thanks again!

[ravenwoodglass]

Thanks to everyone who replied! That's what I wanted to know. I rarely eat out and already eat few processed foods, so it won't be so hard to extend that. But as my wife is Japanese and cutting miso and soy sauce from our menu might be a little too much for her, I think I'll start contacting the companies that make gluten free varieties to see what their operating procedures are like. For me, bread was a huge part of my diet, and I want to keep making it somehow. I tried making bread with brown rice flour last night. It tasted fine, but it wasn't bread. Anyway, I know where I can find millet flour and lots of other whole grains (I might invest in my own mill), so I'll contact those companies too. Anyway, thanks again!

It sounds like you have a good plan. One thing you do need to know is that most soy sauces are NOT gluten free. There are gluten free soy sauces available though, San-J makes Tamari which is a gluten free soy sauce.

You may also want to try some of the premade gluten-free breads or mixes. Gluten Free Pantry makes a great french bread mix that us wonderful for pizza and my favorite gluten-free bread is from Kinnickinnick. Be sure to read the labels on premade breads as many are par-baked and need to be microwaved or toasted to finish the cook.