How Gluten Free Trusting Are You?

John making empanadas

I trust John 100% when it comes to him cooking us a gluten free meal. He has been with me on my gluten free journey from day one and he is as thorough as me when it comes to checking and cleaning. My heart tingles with love when I hear him asking someone if he can give their chopping board an extra clean 🙂 With anyone new to gluten free cooking I’m a little wary but I’m starting to put my trust (and my healthy villi) in the hands of my cautious parents and closer friends. My level of gluten free trust depends on who is cooking for me, what they are cooking and where they are cooking it.

Today I came across this article from an online US newspaper and it worries me a little.

A man in North Carolina has been accused of marketing and selling gluten free bread which was found to not actually be gluten free at all. The man in question sold the bread at the State Fair and customers who bought it complained that it made them sick. Whilst the man claims that he did not intentionally mislead customers, the fact is that a product sold as gluten free and in turn bought by celiacs and other gluten free people was not gluten free. This kind of mistake is not alright.

It got me wondering… To what extent do we place our trust in the manufacturers and sellers of our apparently ‘safe’ gluten free products? Who do you trust when it comes to preparing your gluten free dinner? The chef at your favourite restaurant? How about your mum? Your partner? Perhaps you only buy things that are labelled as gluten free or maybe you keep solely to products which are naturally free of gluten…

I have wandered around various farmers markets around the world and come across people who are selling gluten free bread and other baked goods. What they are selling always looks delicious and smells even better. Sometimes I buy something and sometimes I don’t. Simply accepting something as gluten free is not always possible. The fact that they used rice rather than wheat flour to make their bread is not enough. There are many outside factors to consider.

Would you trust a complete stranger enough to buy a bag of cookies that you were told were gluten free but weren’t labelled as so? If the ingredients were listed could you trust that the seller knew enough about the threat of cross contamination? Would you ask questions before you tried it or would you take the risk? Perhaps if the seller was celiac you would have greater confidence…

Similarly, when a friend or relative has offered to make you dinner to what extent to you leave them to it? It’s their first time at cooking gluten free. Do you have confidence that they know enough not to make mistakes or do you, like myself, keep a close eye on everything that’s going on? Have you offered to cook the meal yourself because you’re too anxious to leave it to them? Luckily I have very understanding friends and family who never object to me double checking every ingredient or rewashing a pot or bowl. A few of them have even joke that they plan to let their dirty dishes pile up when they know I’m coming over because they know I’ll do such a thorough job of cleaning them! 🙂

How gluten free trusting are you? I’d love to hear about it!