Everyone loves a morning tea shout or celebration at work, however, for our colleagues with coeliac disease, this may bring on some anxiety wondering if there will be suitable food options for them.

So, how do we make our workspaces more coeliac-friendly? Whether it’s work functions or staff kitchens, there are a few things we could consider.

Provide gluten-free options

Before an event, ask the team if anyone has any dietary requirements! Once you know someone is gluten-free, make sure to include gluten-free options. If you have snacks available for the team, provide gluten-free options by checking allergen information on labels, either in the ingredients list which will have ‘wheat’ in bold, or in the allergen declaration under ‘contains’ or ‘may contain’, or looking for gluten-free claims on the front of packs. If there is a staff cafeteria, talk to the chefs about ensuring there are always gluten-free options available.

Know your sources

When arranging catering, check that they have gluten-free options and procedures in place to prevent cross-contamination. Just because a restaurant sells sushi and salads, doesn’t mean they don’t touch other gluten-containing foods in their kitchens.

Avoid cross-contamination

Having gluten free options is great, but only if it does not touch items containing gluten! Encourage this by arranging gluten-free catering on separate tables with separate utensils, and clearly labelled that it is gluten free. If you have a staff cafeteria with toasters, check to see if one can be dedicated as gluten free to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.

Be inclusive

We can all enjoy gluten-free foods in the workplace, those with coeliac disease should not feel that they are missing out! We can promote foods like fruit, nuts, macarons, mousse, and heaps more!

Finally, food is central to our lives and should be enjoyable for everyone, and having coeliac disease should be no exception.

Article provided by: Deb Sue, NZ Registered Dietitian (Woolworths New Zealand Nutritionist for over 6 years) with input from Jamila Chen and Amara Dawson (who are completing a Master of Dietetics  - see photo above)

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