Would You Trust “Gluten Free” at Pizza Hut

There’s a difference between Gluten-Free and Gluten-Free Safe. Any restaurant can make a Gluten-Free item. But that doesn’t necessarily mean it won’t have particles of gluten in it. Unlike foods sold at retail, restaurants are not inspected by the FDA. Restaurants can in fact call what they make “Gluten-Free” even when it’s not. I’ve never heard of a local or county health department testing to verify “allergen-free” claims. Without any FDA oversight on labeling to contend with, restaurants seem to have free-reign to make any advertised claim that they choose to.

However, let’s assume that the restaurant’s intentions are pure. Those of you who have seen my previous entries regarding allergen-free issues know that I refer a lot to acclaimed expert Betsy Craig of Menu Trinfo. Betsy talks a lot about designated cookware, designated utensils, designated and isolated work areas, and even designated and isolated ovens. Just because wheat goes into an oven doesn’t mean that it’s all going to come out. If a bakery makes both gluten and gluten-free products, the possibility of cross-contamination is high. Even without human fault. It’s in the fucking air.

Before I figured out that I was intolerant to gluten, I used to audit Krispy Kreme. I’d come home after those jobs with hives on my hands and sometimes a scratchy throat. I couldn’t figure out why. Just going into a bakery can make someone intolerant of wheat sick. 

So how safe does one think she’ll be going into a pizza place where flour is tossed around?

Pizza Hut has a partnership with Boulder Brands’ Udi’s. I love Boulder Brands. And I think the ability to have gluten-free pizzas is almost a dream come true.

Here are some of the safety measures Pizza Hut takes:

Well, so what. Flour has particles. Keeping them in the same unit is dangerous in itself.

This makes it quite clear that the environment 1) is not a completely designated gluten-free environment and 2) has the potential to have contaminants.

I have no idea how they can make this claim. It seems totally impossible to periodically check that and make that claim. There can be wheat in the library, and no one would know it.

Note that their certification does not include TESTING. Most certification programs for restaurants are educational and training only.

In making “gluten-free” items available, Pizza Hut’s actions accentuate the need for oversight in the restaurant industry regarding allergen-free claims. I’d be interested in seeing laboratory test results of the products as well as the air that they claim has no flour dust.