It is now over four years since the launch of our Dining Out Programme (DOP) – and recently The Mad Butcher in Glen Innes has also adopted the programme, making this store the only accredited coeliac safe butcher in New Zealand, and that’s something worth celebrating.

For those of you who are new to Coeliac New Zealand, or just haven’t heard about the DOP yet, here’s a little background information about the programme and why we developed it.

The importance behind the gluten free claim

With the right education and support people newly diagnosed with coeliac disease can adapt to the strict gluten free diet and find it easier to prepare their own meals at home. They learn to carefully read food labels on packaged foods and combined with the naturally gluten free foods like fruit and vegetables; meat, fish, and chicken; eggs, milk, and cheese; nuts and seeds; and all kinds of grains like rice, millet, quinoa, and amaranth they start to accept and adhere to the lifelong diet.

However, whilst plain fresh cuts of meat, including beef, poultry, lamb, and fish are gluten-free by ingredient, readymade marinated dishes, breaded or floured meat cuts typically contain wheat (and therefore gluten) and can be problematic if incorrectly labelled. Similarly, sausages, hot dogs, hams, and imitation deli meats frequently contain gluten and are unsafe for people with coeliac disease or non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.

Awareness of being coeliac safe

It is one thing for cafes, restaurants, and artisan food suppliers to be aware of gluten free diets and offer options with gluten free ingredients. But it is another thing to guarantee the food is coeliac safe, and that the business has taken the necessary precautions to remove all risks of cross-contamination. Failure to stand by a gluten free claim and to understand that even trace amounts of gluten can trigger an immune response and make someone with coeliac disease very unwell is both irresponsible and misleading.

Greener Pastures partners with The Mad Butcher

Bevan McKenzie, owner of Greener Pastures is more pedantic than most people about eliminating the risks of cross contamination, whether that is in terms of allergens or strictly following cleaning procedures in his butchery. He totally stands by his gluten free product claims – not only ensuring all products are accredited with the Crossed Grain Logo and tested annually by Asure Quality, the premises at The Mad Butcher Glen Innes which he will now use to make his products is accredited with the DoP.

Michael Morton & Dan Adams from The Mad Butcher agreed that they too wanted their staff to be knowledgeable about coeliac disease, after all demand for gluten free meat products was increasing to about every 1-2 customers daily. Both businesses wanted to guarantee to their customers that their gluten free claims were independently audited by a recognised certification scheme and backed by Coeliac NZ.

 Commitment going forward

Bevan had spent years perfecting his gluten free sausage recipe to ensure it’s not only high in protein and uses less meal as a binder, but it also combined only natural ingredients and was preservative free. Similarly, his Greener Pastures gluten free bacon is cured using organic solar dried sea salt and is naturally dry cured for more than 10 days. With the backing of The Mad Butcher, it is their hope that being part of the DOP will mean that those with coeliac disease will feel assured that their health and wellbeing are being taken seriously – and that they will feel confident in the butchery meats they purchase in store or online. As demand for coeliac safe gluten free meat increases you can expect to see their product offer expand.

As the number of hospitality and catering outlets across the country are accredited to the Dining Out Programme standard – which we hope to see continue to rise over the coming years, we are most excited to have The Mad Butcher, Glen Innes on board.

Visit instore or order online for overnight NZ wide. The Mad Butcher Glen Innes