Gluten-Free In Australia Or England!?

[sarahd047]

Hi! I am from the United States and would like to study abroad in either Townsville, Australia or Lancaster, England. I was wondering if anyone knows if it is easy to find gluten-free food at the stores or in restaurants. I know in the US I can find it in a lot of places and just dont want to be somewhere for three months and always have to worry about what I can and can't eat. Thanks!!!

[gf-soph]

I live in Sydney, and the major supermarkets stock a good range of gluten free products. According to google, Townsville has a coles, woolworths and IGA, which all stock a good range of products. I think you'll be fine

For dining out, I'm not sure about Townsville specifically, but if you google the queensland celiac society I'm sure they can give you a better idea of the dining situation there.

[georgie]

You would be fine in Australia. Our standard for gluten-free is pretty much better than any other place... 5ppm where in UK it used to be 200ppm and they are slowly converting to 20ppm. I know I react to trace amounts of gluten and 20ppm would be too much for me... and Australia's standard seems much better.

This link shows quite a few places in Townsville.

# Townsville

* Benny's Hot Wok on Palmer Street, Townsville, has a special gluten-free menu which indicates what you can and can't eat.

[sarahd047]

Thanks so much!!! This just made me really excited! Now I know I can definitely go to Australia to study abroad!

[Cranberry]

You'll be fine in Australia!!! It's probably easier to get Gluten Free products here than it is in America. A lot of restaurants cater for us folk too so its all good!

[GlutenFreeSY]

You'll be fine in Australia!!! It's probably easier to get Gluten Free products here than it is in America. A lot of restaurants cater for us folk too so its all good!

The UK is getting better, especially over the last 6 months I have noticed. More ranges, more restaraunts and better labelling

Happy travelling

[India]

Hi Sarah,

Sorry this is a late reply, as I've only just seen this thread. Hope it's useful though.

I went to Lancaster University, though I wasn't gluten free at the time. I can tell you that there is a Sainsbury's supermarket in the town centre and they are very, very good about labelling food for coeliacs and have a good gluten-free food range. Other food stores in the town (e.g. Asda, Marks & Spencer) also sell gluten-free bread/cakes etc too. The Wetherspoons pub chain has one or two pubs in the town and they label their menus; I'm not sure about other restaurants though. Buying food on campus wouldn't be great - there aren't many places anyway to buy groceries and the takeaway places probably wouldn't be reliable - but most people spend a lot of time in town anyway.

I can also tell you that I'd definitely recommend Lancaster for many other reasons - I loved it.

Allie

[amber]

Hi! I am from the United States and would like to study abroad in either Townsville, Australia or Lancaster, England. I was wondering if anyone knows if it is easy to find gluten-free food at the stores or in restaurants. I know in the US I can find it in a lot of places and just dont want to be somewhere for three months and always have to worry about what I can and can't eat. Thanks!!!

I think you will be fine whether you chose to go to the UK or Australia. It probably depends on where you prefer to be. I haven't personally been to Townsville but I do know that the weather is warm all year round. It is a tropical part of Australia but it is an isolated town. Do not expect the sophistication of bigger cities such as Sydney or Melbourne. As far as gluten free goes you can easily buy gluten free food in supermarkets. There is good awareness throughout Australia though some places are better than others. I can't comment specifically on Townsville itself. Perhaps contact the coeliac society of Queensland for some more info.