7 Tips To Avoid Gluten Cross Contamination

 5/5

Cross Contamination may just be just the thing that is keeping you in that "Gluten fog"…

What is Cross contamination and how can I get rid of it!?!

So Cross Contamination occurs when your carefully prepared Gluten Free food comes in contact with gluten or gluten residue causing your GF Food to pick up particles of gluten that you then ingest.

Snap…I just Glutened MYSELF!

You ask how can that happen…I’ve been so careful to buy Gluten Free all the way…

We’re going to look at seven areas in your home where you can avoid Gluten Cross contamination.

Every surface that comes in contact with your food is a potential for cross contamination, your hands, utensils, counters, pans, cook surfaces, cleaning devices and more…Sounds daunting …but its not…once you know the pitfalls you can set yourself up for success…

So let’s get our head around how to address, eliminate and prevent cross contamination.

Step one identify areas and steps in your cooking process that are concerns…

These include:

Utensils, surfaces, storage equipment, cooking equipment, cleaning supplies, and food handling

Let’s look at each area and identify the concern and have a plan for cross contamination elimination or if you are sharing your kitchen with Gluten eaters how to minimize issues.

1. Utensils – Metal is the way to go – metal is not porous and can be thoroughly sterilized in the dishwasher for shared use.

However, Shared use is not recommenced. if you can afford two sets of cooking utensils do it and designate one set for strict GF use only.

2. Preparation surfaces – although I’m not a fan of plastic…plastic Non porous prep and cutting surfaces are best for mixed households.

Designate between GF and Gluten Boards with color or labels.

Replace them regularly if they begin to have cut marks in them to avoid nooks for Gluten to hideout.

3. Food Storage – I prefer glass…It can be thoroughly cleaned and they now come in a large variety of brands and sizes that stack well for easy storage in both the cabinet and refrigerator.

4. Countertops and other kitchen equipment – All food prep surface are potential areas of cross contamination Counter tops, mixers, food processors, baking pans…if you are a mixed house these surfaces will need to be thoroughly cleaned after use…designated prep areas will be your best solution as well as designated equipment.

If you use nonstick pans, once scratched thy will need to be replaced to eliminate spots for gluten to hide.

5. Cleaning Supplies – What you clean with may also contain gluten…from cleaners to sponges…just like with toiletries, many cleaning products contains gluten as well.

Check your cleaning agents for possible Gluten ingredients…below are a couple of sites that can start you on you quest for quality cleaning products.that are GF products.

(I am not affiliated with any of the sites, I just find their lists helpful as a starting point).

Sponges harbor lots of unwanted cross contaminates from food particles, to raw chicken or egg( salmonella) and of course gluten…consider using disposable cleaning wipes or using washcloths that can be washed as an alternative to sponges if you have a joint home.

6. Oven and grill, like the toaster – are a cross contamination playground.

Treat it the same as you would the toaster.

Not many of us can designate and oven or a grill for sole use so you will need to clean this equipment after use with Gluten items…so cook gluten foods first to stay safe.

7. Pet food – an item that never entered my mind until recently when a friend who, on our same journey to fine-tune his GF diet, was recently tested for gluten and came up with significant gluten levels despite his strict watch.

After a complete investigation into daily routine -food, food prep, toiletries cleaning agents…the simple act of feeding dry dog food was the culprit.

So check out the ingredient list in your pet food.

Gluten can be absorbed thru your hands and inhaled from airborne particles.

Resources:

Check out the resources below for quick references…there are lots of products on the market the are GF These lists are just to get your quick started to solutions.

https://www.glutenfreepalace.com/

https://riseandshine.childrensnational.org/gluten-free-cleaning-products