Restaurants

Eating gluten-free during a road trip in mainland Greece

We recently returned from a wonderful family vacation in mainland Greece. Because we were road tripping and traveling to remote areas well outside of Athens, I translated into Greek my dietary needs and provided this translation to restaurant staff when necessary. This was very helpful as I sometimes found that even in restaurants that advertised gluten-free options online, the waitstaff didn’t always know what I meant by “gluten”. What I ate: Stuffed Grape Leaves The dolmas (grape leaves stuffed with rice, meat,...

Restaurants: Stop Using Wheat-Based Soy Sauce in Gluten-Free Meals

If you come across a restaurant using wheat-based soy sauce in a meal marked gluten-free, please share the information below with the manager. A pdf of the letter is available here. Dear restaurant manager, It has come to our attention that your restaurant is using certain sauces, including shoyu soy sauce and representing these sauces as gluten-free to your patrons. Under the FDA's gluten-free labeling rule, wheat-based soy sauces and sauces containing wheat-based soy sauce as an ingredient may NOT be labeled gluten-free. According to the FDA, “If a soy sauce is made from wheat...

Reclaim Gluten-Free: Help Stop the Misuse of the Term Gluten-Free by Restaurants

The term gluten-free has a regulatory definition. This definition was created because of celiac disease. Only those restaurants that are able to provide appropriate meals for folks with celiac disease should use it. What the FDA says about gluten-free claims and restaurants: “If restaurants or other retail food establishments wish to make “gluten-free” claims (or the synonymous claims “no gluten” “free of gluten” or “without gluten”) for any of their menu items, these foods should meet all of the requirements FDA has established for...