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Celiac.com 12/25/2018 - Recently, a bit of a dustup kicked off in New Zealand, literally, over what celiac shoppers see as the placement of gluten-free flours beside or beneath standard wheat flours that are not gluten-free. The news website Newshub recently ran a photo of shelves at Ponsonby Countdown that showed gluten-free flour beside the regular flour. "That's bad, because flour puffs everywhere, contaminating everything near it," one shopper told Newshub, asking to remain anonymous. A Countdown spokesperson told Newshub on Tuesday the store will be reviewing the placement of gluten-free flour. In all fairness, with store shelf space a scarce commodity, stores have a tough job. In general, customers overwhelmingly like similar products placed close together. So, the thinking goes, gluten-free flour and standard flour are both flour, so they belong together on the shelf. Of course, for people with celiac disease, the two products are distinct, and most celiac want the products separated for safety reason. "However,” said the Countdown spokeswoman, “we completely understand how the placement of gluten-free flour next to plain flour may concern some customers and we'll review this." It sounds like the company will be listening to their gluten-free shoppers and looking to find a way to place their gluten-free flour safely for people with celiac disease. Stay tuned to see how the story resolves. Read more at: Newshub.co.nz

Celiac.com 02/23/2018 - A quest to brew gluten-free beer from chestnuts that started as a lark and developed into an obsession has resulted in a proper, award-winning lager. Christchurch brewer Hamish Jones will tell you that his quest to brew gluten-free beer from chestnuts began about six years ago, in an effort to please beer-loving cousin with celiac disease. A few years later, in 2016, Jones started The Nuts Brewing Co., and Jones' Cheslic Lager was born. Cheslic is a naturally crafted chestnut lager. Recently this unique brew won the Morton Coutts Trophy, presented by the Brewers Guild for outstanding innovation or achievement in the NZ brewing industry. Judges commended Jones' innovation in creating a beer that "appeals to a growing section of society who have been deprived of beer and forced to drink only wine and cider". "Although chestnuts have been used as an adjunct in beer for some time, the use of them without any barley, to produce a gluten-free beer on a commercial scale, is a worldwide first and furthermore the nuts are locally grown," the trophy citation said. Jones said that, even though brewing with chestnuts was a fickle business, the resulting product is "not as bitter, it's slightly closer tasting to cider than it is to beer." Jones has other plans to produce other gluten-free beers, including a five per cent pale ale. Currently, Cheslic is stocked in a range of local New Zealand retailers in Christchurch, including Fresh Choice in Parklands and Merivale, New World South City, The Beer Library, The Bottle-O Elmwood and various others. Stay tuned for more great stories about gluten-free beer breakthroughs worldwide. Source: stuff.co.nz

Celiac.com 11/29/2017 - Wellington's Victoria University is the first institution of its kind in New Zealand to receive a full Celiac accreditation for its residence dining halls. Under a new partnership between Coeliac NZ and Compass, the company that provides food and support services to the six residence Halls at Victoria, the university achieved gluten-free accreditation through independent auditing company SGS in August 2017. Compass caters to resident university students with a range of food allergies and intolerances. The company already has a robust allergen management system in place, but wanted to do more to improve their gluten management practices. As part of its Dining Out program, Coeliac NZ helped Compass to further sharpen their focus on gluten management. "Providing safe food for residents is essential for [student] wellbeing and the success of their studies. The program has given us added confidence around managing safe gluten-free food service throughout our kitchens and dining halls," says Compass Group Dietitian Margaret Thorson. As part of the program, the entire Compass team, everyone from dietitians and site managers, to front-of-house workers, conducted an intensive review of entire process of gluten-free food preparation and practices.This included delivery, storage, food preparation, cleaning, service and communication. Compass staff also completed the Coeliac NZ online training focusing on gluten management. Coeliac New Zealand General Manager, Dana Alexander, says the organization is incredibly proud of the work done with Compass to offer safe gluten-free dining at Victoria University Halls of Residence, which helps take away one of the biggest challenges for people living with coeliac disease – eating meals they haven't prepared themselves. "Our Dining Out Programme provides the food service industry with the knowledge and skills to prepare safe gluten-free food, free from the risk of cross-contamination via utensils or food-prep surfaces. They can confidently tell customers they're delivering a reliably excellent gluten-free dining experience," she says. Read more at: scoop.co.nz