Hold the Gluten!

This project was designed to assess awareness of coeliac condition and to highlight the importance of providing gluten-free food. The survey was conducted in two parts: first, our samplers purchased gluten-free meals from restaurants, and then they completed a questionnaire. This asked questions relating to their purchasing experience and the level of knowledge displayed by restaurant staff. Their whole meal was then dispatched to the laboratory for analysis of the gluten content.

Hold the Gluten! Can coeliac consumers enjoy risk-free dining

Can coeliac consumers enjoy risk-free dining? This project was designed to assess awareness of coeliac condition and to highlight the importance of providing gluten-free food. The survey was conducted in two parts: first, our samplers purchased gluten-free meals from restaurants, and then they completed a questionnaire. This asked questions relating to their purchasing experience and the level of knowledge displayed by restaurant staff. Their whole meal was then dispatched to the laboratory for analysis of the gluten content. Our samplers found that they were able to identify and purchase a gluten-free meal from the restaurants that they visited. While some were supplied with meals that actually contained gluten, the level of gluten in those meals varied considerably. Our samplers ordered 260 meals. Sixteen per cent of these contained gluten, and six and a half per cent were deemed unsatisfactory (containing more than 200mg/kg of gluten). Some of these samples could produce acute illness in coeliac customers. It is likely that the samples with low levels of gluten had been cross-contaminated, while those containing higher levels are more likely to contain some form of gluten in the ingredients. Food service staff rely on advice and input from the chef or manager to recommend and serve a glutenfree meal. Confident staff and well-signposted menu choices do not guarantee risk-free dining for coeliac customers. The survey result supports our view that robust training is required to improve the knowledge of chefs, managers and staff, and help them to manage this hazard. To enable coeliacs to eat out safely and enjoyably, we make the following recommendations

Food Co-ops Toolkit

More and more communities are setting up food co-ops so they can get good food atan affordable price and have more control over where their food comes from. Co-operation is all about two or more people joining forces and working together to achieve something they probably couldn't do on their own. In the case of food co-ops a group of people join forces in order to be able to buy foodsthey may otherwise find it hard to get hold of at aprice they can afford.By volunteering their time and pooling their buying power they cangetproducedirect from local farmers or wholesalers. This toolkit was produced as part of the Big Lottery fundedMaking Local Food Work programmeto help morecommunitiesset up their own food co-ops and buying groups.The Food Co-ops project has now ended but the toolkit and other resources will all remain on-line.To find moreabout food co-opsyou can visit our main website www.foodcoops.org