If you have celiac disease, you know how important it is to dine out at a restaurant that has gluten free food. More specifically, gluten free food that is celiac safe — meaning the gluten free food options that restaurants offer are carefully handled, cooked, and prepared to ensure there is no point of cross-contact.
Not too long ago, you wouldn’t see gluten free food options while dining out. While society has become more aware of gluten free food, and restaurants have expanded food options, they are not aware of the purpose behind a gluten free diet.
In order to be 100% safe while dining out, we need to be eating at restaurants and facilities that are 100% gluten free. The restaurant would need to cook with ingredients that they know are 100% gluten free.
There are restaurants that have gluten-containing food options that have a separate kitchen specifically for those that have celiac disease and request their food be gluten free. Additionally, some restaurants offer gluten-free food and do not have a separate kitchen that are willing to go the extra mile to make your gluten-free food as safe as possible. However, if a restaurant does have gluten-containing food options, they cannot guarantee that your food will be 100% gluten free.
It is obvious dining out can become tricky when you have celiac disease. Here is why:
Cross-contact
Cross contact — the most evident reason why dining out is so tricky for those that have been diagnosed with celiac disease. Cross-contact is when gluten-containing food somehow intertwines with food that is gluten free. Gluten-containing particles can be microscopic and can easily land on gluten free food. It can negatively affect someone that has celiac disease. This is the biggest reason why those who have celiac disease avoid eating out at places that offer gluten-containing food.
Young Employees / Part-time jobs
The majority of employees that work in the restaurant industry are young, and working part-time. Though you can’t expect someone to know what celiac disease is and how important a gluten free diet is for celiac disease patients, you can teach them. However, since many employees are young and working part-time they don’t care enough to learn all aspects of celiac disease and the importance of a gluten free diet. Furthermore, employers don’t take the time to train their employees, which leads me to my next point — extensive training requires effort, time, and consistency.
Training isn’t Extensive
Typically, training in the restaurant industry is not extensive. The training of employees normally consists of the basics that are required by the state with hands-on training and learning by trial and error.
Employers are aware that their employees will be there for a short period of time, leading to high turnover. It makes it difficult to train an employee because of the amount of time and money that may be needed to properly train them on gluten free food for celiac disease patients.
Why would the restaurant industry provide training that costs additional money and time for employees leaving soon? Your answer might be — because of celiac disease. Celiac disease is a very important health concern when dining out, however there are many other autoimmune diseases, allergies, etc. that are affected by food consumption. This would mean restaurants would not only need to pay close attention to celiac disease, but all food related health concerns, which would be nearly impossible, considering the time and money it would take for short-term part-time employees.
Celiac Disease is Not Well Known
Of course, celiac disease is not a well-known health condition. Furthermore, it’s very complex to dissect and explain. It is no surprise that many restaurants and their owners/managers are unaware of what it is. And we really can’t expect them to if they do not offer gluten free options. Sometimes, celiac disease is hard to grasp upon first hearing about it.
Gluten Free Diet as a Fad
The gluten-free diet has been recognized as a fad diet, leading restaurants to neglect the idea of cross contact. A lot of people prefer gluten free food because of no reason other than — they are trying to eat healthier. This is a well known idea of the gluten free diet, so many restaurants have created this idea that the customer is just trying to be healthy and the restaurant has possibly never been introduced to celiac disease or cross contact. Because of the gluten free fad diet, when introduced to celiac disease and gluten free contact, it can be hard to understand the concepts.
Recap
The above-mentioned list is reasons why it is so challenging to dine out if you have celiac disease. Because of the way in which the restaurant industry works, it is hard to ensure all restaurants and all employees are well aware of what celiac disease is, what is required, and what it can lead to if the gluten free diet is not implemented into the patient’s life. As always, this is why it is important for celiac disease patients to spread awareness as much as possible.
