Allergy members - how do you shop for food?

jjdrer

I have a nephew who has Coelic disease which means he is unable to eat anything containing wheat, rye, barley or oats. We also have to ensure that none of his food or drinks come into contact with any of those items. That includes even crumbs derived from those grains.
There is so many foods that contain these grains - some brands of potato crisps, some salad dressings, most pastas, sauces (including tomato, fish, BBQ,) wheaten cornflour, about 98% of cereals. We have to read labels every time we do the shopping. Something that was Gluten Free last week may now have gluten in it.
Some foods have "may contain traces of gluten" or other ingredients. That means they have been processed in machinery which has had food containing grains containing gluten in it. A cheap loaf of gluten free bread is mininum of $4.99 (and some of it is imported) and they are quite a lot smaller than standard loaves which you can get for $1.50 or less if you buy plain white bread for $0.85 for Coles brand of which $0.05 is donated to a Charity. A lot of chocolates have gluten in them and others have "may contain traces of gluten". It can be very difficult to get a meal when travelling or a dinner out as a special treat. A lot of places cook what is supposed to be gluten free in the same containers without cleaning them thoroughly first. Places that cooking oil often food containing gluten in the same vats, containers etc will cook what should be gluten free food. It is then cross-contaminated and could make the sufferer very ill. Stomach bloating, chronic pain, vomitting, spending hours on the toilet, headaches, muscle pain etc. Flour is used as a thickener in foods you would never imagine it being in. A lot of Gluten Free food used to cook meals from scratch costs as much as double the others, a few things are more than double. Even some sausages have gluten in them.