News

Domino’s Pizza, Celiac Disease Experts and Defining What Is REALLY Gluten-Free

what is gluten free

Is Food That Contains Gluten Really Gluten-Free?

Domino’s Pizza recently announced it would offer gluten-free pizza for gluten sensitive customers. Domino’s made it clear that the pizzas used a gluten-free crust, but are manufactured using the same equipment as the other gluten-containing foods and are not safe for people with celiac disease.

Domino’s worked with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) and received the NFCA’s new, and now suspended, “Amber Designation.” This designation was to tell people that although the ingredients are gluten-free, the product cannot claim that cross contamination does not occur. The “Amber Designation” differed from the NFCA’s existing “Green Designation,” which tells the customer that the product is tested to less than 10 parts per million of gluten. “Amber” was basically a caution sign.

What Did Gluten-Free Watchdog Organizations Say?

  • The Gluten Intolerance Group (GIG) and other organizations called for a recall of the NFCA’s “Amber Designation.”
  • The North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease commented on Domino’s Pizza ‘Gluten-Free’ Crust Announcement as follows,

Read More »

Domino’s: Gluten-Free Pizza Not Safe For People With Celiacs

Kristen Beals Gluten Free Works

(Editor’s Note: A follow up on Domino’s Pizza Offers Gluten-Free Pizza…Sort Of)

Domino's Pizza

5/8/2012 9:29 PM ET  (RTTNews) – Domino’s new gluten-free pizza should not be eaten by people with Celiac disease, the company said in a statement. Apparently, the first gluten-free pizza being offered by national pizza chain is designed for people with gluten sensitivity, as opposed to those with full-blown Celiac disease.

Despite the fact that the crust are gluten free, Domino’s can’t guarantee that no gluten will come into contact with the pizza, which could be dangerous for those with the gluten allergy. Read More »

Domino’s Pizza Offers Gluten-Free Pizza…Sort Of

John Libonati Gluten Free Works

Editor’s Note: While Domino’s Pizza’s new offering is made from certified gluten-free crusts, manufacturing processes cannot allow the company to guarantee that cross contamination does not occur. Glutenfreeworks.com does not recommend consuming gluten to people with any type of gluten sensitivity, whether or not they are diagnosed celiac disease.

ANN ARBOR, Mich., May 7, 2012 — Domino’s Pizza is responding to the needs of choice consumers, today launching a Gluten Free Crust available in all of its nearly 5,000 U.S. stores and becoming the first national pizza delivery chain to offer such a product.

Domino’s Pizza (NYSE:DPZ) consulted with the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA) to ensure its products and team member training meet the standards of the foundation’s GREAT Kitchens Amber Designation. NFCA’s GREAT Kitchens is an official credentialing program that has expanded to include restaurants offering Read More »

Stop & Shop Launches New Health and Wellness Initiatives

Kristen Beals Gluten Free Works

PURCHASE, N.Y., April 25, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The Stop & Shop Supermarket Company LLC is launching two new health and wellness initiatives this month to address health concerns for all customers and their families. In its ongoing efforts to fight childhood obesity and help kids live healthier lifestyles, Stop & Shop announced that the first issue of its brand new Kid Healthy Ideas, a free health and wellness quarterly magazine, is now available in all stores.

The 12-page, full-color publication, is geared towards kids ages 8 to 12 and features health-related educational articles, games and recipes.

Read More »

Hidden Valley® Salad Dressings Adds Gluten Free Promise to Packaging

Kristen Beals Gluten Free Works

OAKLAND, Calif., April 18, 2012 — Add Hidden Valley Salad Dressings to the growing list of foods to clearly call out that they are gluten free.

The makers of Hidden Valley Salad Dressings have added a “Gluten Free” logo to bottles and dry packets of its signature Original Ranch® dressing as well as much of its Farmhouse Originals product line. Packages with the new logo should appear on store shelves this summer.

The packaging change is designed to help Read More »

Nurse Practitioner with Celiac Disease Wins Mrs. Alaska International 2012

John Libonati Gluten Free Works

Brandy Wendler Mrs. Alaska International 2012

Anchorage, Alaska: Brandy Wendler is a familiar face in the gluten-free world. Just over a year ago, she captured our hearts when she won her first Mrs. Alaska title. Since then, she has been pursuing her goal to raise awareness for Celiac Disease and gluten intolerances. She has had the opportunity to travel cross-country making appearances and educating about a disease that affects over 3 million Americans. She has also started her own non-profit organization, A Spoonful of Wellness, and designed gluten-free menus for local restaurants in Anchorage. Brandy was diagnosed with Celiac Disease over 4 years ago and says her goal is to “decrease the number of people who have this disease and don’t know it.”

Recently, Brandy received the opportunity to continue serving the community in a unique way by being elected for a second title, Read More »

NFCA and QAI Team Up to Provide New, Science Based Gluten-free Label

John Libonati Gluten Free Works

A New, Science-Based Gluten-Free Label Consumers Can Trust

Quality Assurance International and National Foundation for Celiac Awareness partner to help consumers choose bona fide gluten free foods

gluten free certification label

New Gluten-free Certification Label from NFCA and QAI

Responding to profound growth and both consumer and industry demand, a new science-based gluten-free certification program is now available from the leading organic certifier Quality Assurance International (QAI), and the healthcare nonprofit National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA). In a sea of unsubstantiated claims, seals and logos, consumers need a certification that is science-based and verified through inspections and product testing. This new triple-verified gluten-free label brings transparency and trust to people who need gluten-free foods as part of maintaining their healthy diet.

QAI, with its parent company NSF International, an independent public health and safety organization, brings more than 66 years of food safety auditing and certification, and Read More »

Which Medications Do You No Longer Need Since Going Gluten-free?

John Libonati Gluten Free Works

On December 13, I posted a question on the Glutenfreeworks Facebook page to ask people who had adopted a gluten-free diet if they no longer needed medications they had been taking. The response was incredible. Dozens of people described how they no longer needed drugs, some of which they had been taking for years or decades.

Here is my post and their responses…

“I gave a presentation to a group and mentioned a friend who had been on Zantac for 20 years. I went on to say that once she went gluten-free the acid reflux disappeared. A woman in the audience stood up and said the same thing happened to her – she had been on it since she was 10 (I’m guessing she was in her mid to late 30s.).

My question for you is what medication (of any kind) were you on, before you went gluten-free, that you no longer need to take and how long did it take before you did not need it anymore?”

    •  

      Ashley Nikki Garcia Prilosec & zantec. ! 

      December 13 at 5:25pm · 
    •  

      Lauren Smith I also took OTC for heartburn on a near daily basis. No more! 

      December 13 at 5:27pm · 
    •  

      Surely Masquelier McMaster I’ve taken Neurontin for 10 years..GF since Sept. and realized in Nov. that I don’ t need it!  Read More »

Halloween Gluten Free Gazette is Here!

John Libonati Gluten Free Works
gluten free halloween issueGluten Free Works brings you everything you need to have a happy and gluten-free safe Halloween! Whether you are planning a Halloween party, want to make gluten-free goodies for the kids or need to know which candies are really gluten-free, this issue of the Gluten Free Gazette has you covered!

Click here to see our Halloween Gazette. If you missed the e-mail on Wednesday, be sure to sign up here. Our Thanksgiving and Holiday issues will be spectacular!