Gluten free restaurants serve dishes with gluten

A study of Melbourne restaurants has found many promoting dishes as gluten free are serving food containing levels of gluten that can be dangerous to people suffering from coeliac disease.

The findings, published in the Medical Journal of Australia on Monday found that nine per cent out of 158 samples of “gluten-free” dishes from 127 randomly selected restaurants within the city of Melbourne council contained detectable gluten. They were not compliant with the Food Standards Australia New Zealand definition of gluten free.

Coeliac disease is an auto-immune disorder causing the immune system to attack the bowel after the ingestion of gluten. Gluten is the protein found in grains such as wheat, spelt and barley.

It sees people suffering from the disease developing severe reactions, such as diarrhoea and stomach pain. It also puts them at risk of developing serious conditions in the long term such as cancer, infertility and osteoporosis.

The study also found that only 10 per cent of food service staff had good knowledge of the Food Standards Australia New Zealand standards.

“Lots of staff believed that spelt was gluten free for example, and maybe this is because it is often promoted as an alternative to wheat,” Dr Jason Tye-Din, laboratory head at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, and a gastroenterology consultant at Royal Melbourne hospital told the Guardian. “But it is not safe for people with coeliac disease.”

Dr Tye-Din led the study.

He said franchise businesses tended to do better when questioned about coeliac disease.

“We speculate perhaps this is because their staff get uniform training and there is a higher degree of consistency,” Dr Tye-Din told The Guardian.

He said he and his team had undertaken the study because they were baffled by patients who were not getting better despite following a strict gluten-free diet.

Leon Getler 29th May 2018.