Thursday, January 15, 2015

Natural Products Expo West: Gluten Friendly is Garbage

Gluten-free is not a trend. It was like over five years ago when Gwyneth Paltrow was on a Gluten-Free diet and everyone wanted to be like her. G-F foods have become prominent; they’re staples, and they’re necessary.

Gluten-Friendly is garbage. I have monthly meetings at Souplantation. Beyond the salad offerings, nothing is guaranteed to be gluten-free. As a matter of fact, because they bake and fry a lot, the vegetables don’t come with a guarantee that they aren’t contaminated. But they periodically have a Gluten-Friendly muffin or some sort of baked good tucked away in a bin in the corner. Let me tell you, not only is this potentially dangerous, but it’s an affront to people who are allergic to gluten.

Why? For one, this terminology propagates the idea that people have a choice. I don’t. And millions of others don’t either. I’d love to go back to eating a load of French bread for dinner. I’d die if I did that. Secondly, even if people are trying to wipe out gluten from their diets because there is wheat and other gluten flying around the kitchen, there’s no guarantee that it’s indeed Gluten-Friendly. For something to be entirely gluten-free, there needs to be a separate kitchen with designated utensils and equipment only used for gluten-free ingredients. EVER.

Thirdly, I did grab one of those ‘Friendly’ muffins. It was described to be ‘Free.’ I read the sign carefully, noting the terminology. I could have gotten really sick if I didn’t.

So if your restaurant or company is thinking about making ‘Friendly’ offerings to those who don’t want gluten, don’t. If you want in on the market, open up a designated facility. Otherwise, leave Gluten-Free to the ones who are committed to it.

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