Many restaurants and food products are now offering gluten-free products for those customers on this special diet due to allergies, sensitivities, and those with Celiac disease. Gluten-free relates to foods free of gluten-cereal – this includes wheat, barley, rye and triticale. In fact, Celiac disease is more common than you think. In just the United States, there are nearly 2,000,000 sufferers. You can now understand the difficulties so many Americans have when trying find restaurants to cater to their needs and the opportunity your restaurant has to offer a solution.
Even America’s favorite healthy eating chain,Subway, is currently testing two gluten-free menu items in Texas markets.
The first step in creating gluten-free dishes is to identify which items on your menu contain them and find gluten-free ingredient substitutes. Ensure that you do not cross-contaminate when preparing these dishes in the kitchen.
Here are some easy tips:
– Utilize separate flour sifters and clearly label them: for gluten-free and for normal use.
-Additionally, use separate utensils that are clearly marked as well in food preparation
-Buy a separate toaster for toasting gluten-free breads
Allowed Foods | ||
---|---|---|
amaranth arrowroot buckwheat cassava corn flax Indian rice grass Job’s tears |
legumes millet nuts potatoes quinoa rice sago |
seeds sorghum soy tapioca teff wild rice yucca |
Foods To Avoid | ||
wheat
|
barley rye triticale (a cross between wheat and rye) |
|
Other Wheat Products | ||
bromated flour durum flour enriched flour farina |
graham flour phosphated flour plain flour |
self-rising flour semolina white flour |
Processed Foods that May Contain Wheat, Barley, or Rye* | ||
bouillon cubes brown rice syrup candy chips/potato chips cold cuts, hot dogs, salami, sausage communion wafers |
French fries gravy imitation fish matzo rice mixes sauces |
seasoned tortilla chips self-basting turkey soups soy sauce vegetables in sauce |
source: http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/celiac/#examples
It is vital to your business’s success to address the requirements of your customers. Further, it is crucial to examine all of your recipes carefully to spot anything that can contain an allergen. Our nutritional analysis team specializes in menu reengineering and can assist your foodservice to create alternative yet delicious dishes to suit any special needs diet.