Hacker News Reader

Comment by md224 | Hacker News Reader

I think it's actually the opposite. Because so many people think they have a gluten allergy, restaurants offering gluten-free options don't feel the need to take it so seriously.

"So what if there's a tiny amount of gluten contamination... it's not like these people are going to die, right? They're probably just on a fad diet."

Diluting the meaning of a medical condition is not a good thing.

View on HN

According to my friend with Celiac, it's a bit of both. She definitely has to do more research on any new restaurant because there are a number of places out there that do not take Gluten free seriously anymore and in particular will not be careful about cross contamination even if the issue is emphasized. But on the other hand there are also many restaurants now that do have a variety of legitimate Gluten free options. So it's probably a double edged sword.

And it's not just restaurants -- the grocery stores are loaded with options that they didn't previously have.

Similarly - the keto fad has been an absolute boon for diabetics.

I have celiac. This is my experience. I am grateful for how common eating gluten free is, no matter the cause. But a lot of restaurants have started saying “gluten free friendly” instead of “gluten free”. The communities online are great and finding the best places to eat.

Grocery food is way better than it was even just 10-20 year ago. It’s great.

Unless a kitchen is specifically set up for preparing food completely gluten free without cross contamination then there is going to be cross contamination. Most kitchens simply aren't big enough. It isn't a matter of taking it seriously and any kitchen that knows what they are doing will let you know they can't make a gluten-free guarantee.

If that's how they treat allergens in their food then they deserve to lose their licenses.

All of my experience with working at or with restaurants suggests they deserve to lose their license, but this issue is worse than most.

heavily agree with this. completely orthogonal, but most people i know that have worked in a kitchen (myself included) have, at some point, mentioned their initial shock with how disturbingly gross kitchens are. after reading orwell's down and about in london and paris, i suppose things have gotten much better, but still, i don't think most customers understand this. he goes into some great rants about this, if it's of any interest to you.

> most people i know that have worked in a kitchen (myself included) have, at some point, mentioned their initial shock with how disturbingly gross kitchens are.

Same here, this matches my experience exactly.

Thanks for the pointer, I'll check it out!

> after reading orwell's down and about in london and paris

... which you can do here:

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20180314

... and here:

https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks01/0100171.txt

... and here:

https://web.archive.org/web/20121010092154/http://www.george...

My friend who has celiatide said his life improved when it became known and popular. Food is more available and cheaper for him. He has more options too.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com