By NOEL MURPHY
CROSS-contamination during the preparation of gluten-free foods could be savaging the health of more than 2000 coeliac sufferers across Geelong, according to a leading dietitian.
Restaurants, cafes and household kitchens were all potential danger zones with short-term and long-term risks for coeliac patients, said East Geelong Medical Centre’s Robyn Perlstein.
Symptoms such as vomiting, diarrhoea and abdominal pain could last days from a single simple slip-up, she warned.
“If you use the same chopping board for gluten and gluten-free bread it only takes a few crumbs flying around…or if you drain normal pasta through a colander and then straight after that use the same colander for gluten-free pasta,” Ms Perlstein said.
“Washing in the dishwasher is all quite safe – it’s sharing knives and colanders and chopping boards.”
Ms Perlstein said restaurant proprietors must have “a good understanding about contamination in the kitchen”.
“With individuals…they need to ask proprietors a lot of questions, like ‘Does this have soy sauce added with gluten? Do you make dishes separately from others so there’s no contamination?’
“Quite a few places say they’re gluten-free but can they guarantee they’re completely gluten-free?”
Ms Perlstein’s concerns extended to packaging and labelling and follow widespread outrage over imported berries linked to hepatitis A cases. Concerns have also been raised about unchecked imported seafood kept in sewage-infected water.
Coeliac Australia is trialling a gluten-free accreditation for restaurants, under which staff are extensively trained and audited on food preparation.
The organisation encourages coeliacs to support gluten-free restaurants but “cannot guarantee the availability of gluten-free food”.
“It is important that ingredients are always checked and that you satisfy yourself the food is gluten-free and free from contamination.”
