Cross Contamination?

[BrittLoves2Run]

How serious do you take Cross contamination at your home? Should I have separate pots and pans? colander? What about dish sponges? What thinks should I think about replacing? My family think i'm crazy when I talk about this saying "I'm sure it's not THAT bad" and things like that

What items do you keep separate at your house??

[navigator]

My house is completely gluten free. My husband eats gluten out of the house but at home he is gluten free to ensure that there is no cross-contamination. My son-in-law does the same. It's a huge issue and will prevent healing taking place. It's a steep learning curve and a lot for you and your family to get your heads around. I found the cross-contamination issue the most difficult one to get people to really understand and take seriously but it's all about perseverance and education. Good luck!

[lynnelise]

If your pots and pans are scratched then yes you should buy new. Definitely a new colander, toaster, and dish sponges. My house is 95% gluten free. For the most part if my family wants gluten they can eat it outside of the house. Occassionally my husband will buy a gluten snack but it's always in single serving containers and he is careful not to contaminate anything with it.

[sa1937]

Brittany, you might want to check this recent thread for additional ideas: http://www.celiac.co...you-get-rid-of/

[BrittLoves2Run]

Thanks everyone!! I will buy new things for myself! I don't know that i'll be able to get my house 100% gluten free as my boyfriend is obviously fine. And Sylvia, I will check out that thread!

[domesticactivist]

We decided to make our house 100% gluten free for simplicity's sake last year. It made a huge difference in our son's health. He stopped getting glutened all the time!

The past two months I have been doing a gluten challenge. While I tried to be super careful and obviously was up to date on all the details of being gluten-free and not contaminating things, I managed to gluten my son a couple times. I felt so bad for having made him sick with my carelessness.

Even if your bf wants to keep eating gluten, it would be better if he could stick to keeping gluten safely at restaurants and friend's houses, and eat gluten free at home. (and of course remember to wash up when he gets home, brush his teeth before kissing you, etc)

[BrittLoves2Run]

We decided to make our house 100% gluten free for simplicity's sake last year. It made a huge difference in our son's health. He stopped getting glutened all the time!

The past two months I have been doing a gluten challenge. While I tried to be super careful and obviously was up to date on all the details of being gluten-free and not contaminating things, I managed to gluten my son a couple times. I felt so bad for having made him sick with my carelessness.

Even if your bf wants to keep eating gluten, it would be better if he could stick to keeping gluten safely at restaurants and friend's houses, and eat gluten free at home. (and of course remember to wash up when he gets home, brush his teeth before kissing you, etc)

I checked out the link about getting your house gluten free. WOW. What an overwhelming piece of information!! It seems like so much. I know it has to be done, but WHEW! I emailed a restuarnt today about how they prepare those gluten free items then I get from family members "well it's not like your going to stop breathing!" I've only been reading about Celiac for about a month and discovered I had it 5 days ago, but I understand that you should not ingest ANY! I feel like my family will NEVER understand this. *grumble*

[kareng]

Show them some info from Celiac Experts:

Open Original Shared Link

Q: Is it ok if I ingest some gluten if I do not experience any symptoms?

No. The majority of patients with celiac disease experience no symptoms when they ingest gluten, either intentionally or unintentionally. This led to the concept that patients, especially children may grow out of the disease. In addition, patients also consider that it is doing no harm to them. However the ingestion of even small amounts of gluten results in damage to the small intestine--regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms--and puts the patient at risk for resulting complications including malignancies and osteoporosis.

Open Original Shared Link

The gluten-free diet is a lifetime requirement. Eating any gluten, no matter how small an amount, can damage the intestine. This is true for anyone with the disease, including people who do not have noticeable symptoms. It can take weeks

[Katrala]

We use tape (duct tape with peace signs and fun designs) to identify equipment that is gluten-free only.

You need separate just about everything. Definitely sponges. We buy colored "fun" ones for gluten-free and the plain ones for gluten. Each have their own plastic basket to sit in.

And, yes, it's that bad. But also no, it's not. You can't spend your life worrying that some tiny bit of gluten has made its way into your food. If you take good precautions the problems will hopefully be few and far between.

[domesticactivist]

It will get less overwhelming as time goes on. You'll make some mistakes at first, but it will get easier. Cut yourself some slack - while no gluten is safe, a tiny bit of cross-contamination as you get things figured out is not the end of the world. Some cc from time to time is inevitable. Gluten is all over the place! The idea is to do your best to minimize your exposure so that when you do get it by accident that's *all* that you've gotten.

As for those relatives, once you have all the details straight in your own head you'll be able to better communicate with them. No doubt they've seen plenty of "gluten-free" people cheat and don't really know to take it seriously yet.

If you do get symptoms, they may not be as instantly dramatic as "not breathing" but they are serious nevertheless. It wasn't very long ago that they used to think people "outgrew" celiac, or that it was ok to eat it if your symptoms were mild. Now we know that there are serious long term health consequences for celiacs who continue eating gluten. My friend's dad was one of those folks, he ended up dying of a cancer specifically associated with celiac. Here is a fact sheet from the University of Chicago that your relatives may take more seriously: Open Original Shared Link

Some people never get it. You just have to learn to set your own boundaries and take responsibility for your own food.

[Monklady123]

I have decided not to stress about it too much. I definitely have my own colander since it's practically impossible to get a metal colander completely clean. Mine is pink.

We use a toaster oven so there isn't the same worry about crumbs as there would be in a regular toaster. I put my toast on a piece of foil just in case, but I don't worry about it more than that.

We take cold cereal out of its original boxes and put it in tall plastic containers. I have my own labels "gluten free container". Even if it's empty no one is allowed to put any other cereal in there.

I have my own peanut butter, my own jelly,and my own margarine. That's about it.

[wildwood]

In our house, any kitchen item that is to be used for gluten free only (colander, storage containers, whisk, etc) is red in color. I got the idea on this forum. It has worked out very well in our home. I write gluten free on the lids with marker for peanut butter, jelly, etc. It was a little easier in our home because there are no young children so we all understand how important it is not to cross contaminate/mix things.

[MomGoneRunning]

This forum was so helpful and full of good ideas to help prevent cross contamination! Thank you all responders ans OP for posting the question.

[Adalaide]

I know that without a gallbladder I have no business using a deep fryer. Last week I found a really nice one on sale though and my husband needed a new one so we just bought 2 so I can have french fries occasionally. I just used pink nail polish to mark the dial on mine and the handle of the basket.

After noticing yesterday morning that the new non-stick frying pans look like someone took a fork to them (out of 4 adults I'm the only one who knows that it is never okay to use metal in non-stick pans) I decided I needed my own pots and pans. Now, instead of lamenting the fact that I have no oven save cookware I have a shiny new set of copper bottom stainless steel pans. I figure if someone else uses them at least I can get them clean, unlike non-stick which if scratched up I can never use again.

I haven't gotten around to getting a toaster yet, but it is on my list for when I find one I like. I'm not a huge toast eater so it isn't a priority for me.

I won't touch a blender anyone else uses because even if it's glass it has that rubber seal on the bottom. I picked up a bullet style blender that I can use for smoothies and such.

Other than that, just some basics like cutting boards, measuring cups and spoons, pyrex for storage, dishcloths and my own space in a pantry. Also all of my own containers of anything spreadable. (PB&J, butter, mayo) I tell myself I won't stress about it but it is something I worry about. I don't want to be doing everything I am for no reason at all. If I don't worry about CC sharing a kitchen with 3 other adults I may as well just stuff a loaf of bread in my face.