Gluten-free foods to be kept separate

Students frustrated with the lack of options at the dining halls should consider the plight of sophomore public health major Nicole Sedaka.

"I've never gotten anything from the sandwich station or the place where they cook the quesadillas," she said, explaining some dining options she has been cut off from.

Sedaka is one of 25 students with campus meal plans who have identified themselves to Dining Services as having celiac disease, a condition which prevents them from consuming gluten, a protein that is found in wheat, rye and barley.

To accommodate these students, Dining Services has installed two commercial refrigerators - one in each of the dining halls - to be stocked with gluten-free products and served only when specifically requested.

Smoothly incorporating the refrigerators, however, could prove to be problematic. Dining Services has yet to work out a system by which students can have the gluten-free foods retrieved from the freezer and cooked without causing delays in service. Various ideas, such as having the students call ahead or contacting a manager once they get to the dining hall, have been discussed, but nothing has been decided yet.

There's also another major concern that, if it proves credible, could defeat the whole purpose of the freezers.

"There's a huge risk of contamination on the cooking surfaces, the utensils and with the pots and pans," said Elaine Monarch, the executive director and founder of the Celiac Disease Foundation.

But Dining Services officials say trace amounts of gluten are not dangerous, and the Dining Services' dietitian reviewed the system that would be used to store and prepare the food and deemed it safe. Officials also said they would use fresh utensils and fresh pots and pans when preparing the gluten-free food.

Those living with the condition say they have learned to be constantly vigilant about the foods they consume.

"I've learned that I can't eat the peanut butter in The Diner, because I know that the knife has already been used by students on bread that isn't gluten free," Sedaka said. She also acknowledged Dining Services has gone to great lengths to accommodate students with celiac disease, not only by installing the freezers but also by better identifying foods that contain gluten.

"I can eat things now that I wouldn't have thought are gluten free but actually are," she added, noting the dining halls provided gluten-free sweet and sour sauce she previously didn't know existed.

On Oct. 24, Dining Services representatives will meet with the 25 students who have celiac disease to discuss the products that will be stored in the freezers and what the best method is for coordinating food preparation. The gluten-free products should arrive in dining halls shortly afterward.

"Someone with peanut allergies can eat comfortably in dining halls right now," said Bart Hipple, a spokesman for Dining Services, explaining that, for now, freezers will be not be provided for people with other types of allergies. "Someone who needs gluten-free foods can't."

Because gluten-free eating has gained momentum as a healthy dieting technique, the foods stored in the freezer will be available to all students by request. Some health professionals, however, question the safety of a gluten-free diet for someone who has not been diagnosed with celiac disease.

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