Pumpkin Patches/fall Events

[smsm]

I was reviewing discussions of the straw bales that are in pumpkin patches/hay rides/etc. in the past couple years and was hoping some of you can help me sort it all out. My daughter's birthday is in a few weeks and I would like to have the party at a pumpkin patch, but I can't tell how serious the risk is of being glutened at a pumpkin patch. My understanding is the "hay bales" are often made of straw from a gluten containing plant but the offending part that contains the gluten would rarely be there and this would make the risk of airborne gluten small and therefore breathing in any that could cause a reaction even smaller. Do you all go to pumpkin pathes, etc? Do you react? Can I breathe easy about this or is this another area of concern?

[Adalaide]

No self respecting farmer would bale the heads of wheat into straw or hay. It would simply be too expensive. Even if it were grass hay or straw though, there is no guarantee that if it has been rotated into last years wheat fields or something that there isn't traces of gluten in it or something. I actually keep a bale of hay in my living room without any problems. (I'm not a freak, I have a bunny.) I have no plans to avoid hay rides this fall. If you have an actual allergy that is life threatening you may want to do more research although I still doubt it would be an issue. Other than that, I'd simply recommend wearing garden gloves for the time you're on the ride and immediately changing clothes and getting them in the washer when you get home to ease your mind.

[smsm]

Thank you for the reply! I feel better - we are going to give it a try!