Lisa Jury Health Promotion Manager discusses how to tackle cross-contamination in various social settings this summer.

At a Shared BBQ
While eating gluten is a no-no for someone with coeliac disease eating gluten-free food cooked on the bbq or grill that has cooked gluten-containing food on it will cause cross-contamination. Pack your own bbq or take tinfoil or your own tray for your food to separate it from gluten-containing food. Make sure separate tongs are used on your food.

• Keep all utensils and cutlery separate during the preparation and cooking of gluten-free food.
• Always use clean surfaces and pots, and pans to cook gluten-free food.
• Avoid frying gluten-free food in the same oil as food that contains gluten.
• When cooking gluten-free pasta, do not use the same water as pasta containing gluten.
• Use a clean grill, pan, or toaster bag
  (these can be purchased from Coeliac New Zealand), when you are making gluten-free toast. This makes going away camping or to friends’ houses easy as you don’t need a separate toaster or sandwich maker just your own toaster bag.
• Read the labels to ensure items, sauces and condiments are gluten free.

At Christmas Celebrations at Work

Many workplaces host work shouts, shared lunches, and celebrations at Christmas. The challenge is that someone with coeliac disease is less likely to participate in these staff events because they don’t know how the food was prepared, what ingredients were used, and most importantly whether it contains gluten. To prepare for your work celebrations start the conversation by talking to your manager and educating them on coeliac disease and how it affects you. They need to be aware of your reactions to gluten and their obligation to accommodate your needs.
This may include:

Educate: don’t be scared to open the conversation with your team about coeliac disease. It’s always helpful for everyone to be educated about it and ask questions.

Inform: your colleagues the next time there is a celebratory event at work, where food is bought in by others. If it’s catered ensure the caterer is able to provide coeliac-safe gluten-free options.

Ask: employers/managers to inform staff with coeliac disease where possible when there are planned celebrations, so an alternative gluten-free option is available, or the staff member has time to prepare something. This will ensure the staff member is still part of the celebrations.