CROSS-CONTAMINATION!

[tj from spokane]

HEY EVERYBODY! Does anybody know how specific one has to be when they clean products that are contaminated with gluten, gliatin,& wheat. I am a chef in spokane for the past 8 years. I sort of lost my cooking Zing! when I went GF. But I know what one has to do when you are cooking with poultry, fish etc. But what about Gluten etc. Is it a quick rinse? Does the dish washer work with pans you have used, ex. If I cook a gluten pizza for my wife, can I wash the pan of with soap & water then reuse it to cook a Namaste pizza mix? How specific, and thorough do you have to be. Another example I want to get one of those George Forman grills, don't laugh, there cool! Makes a great fast sandwich. But the same issue arises, can I give it a quick rinse & voila! It is a GF utensil. Or do I have to by two of eveything, one for me, one for my wife, one for the dog! It goes on & on, right! I hear people talk about cross contamination. But I guess it would be great if we had a rule book of sorts, so we can really be safe when we all are cooking, right? So any body out there in Cyber Space, who has some knowledge of this, please share. So I can do it right, and not worry about cross contamination. Thanks TJ

[aklap]

Hey TJ!!

I suspect the GF (George Foreman - hehehe) Grill (we have one too!) has Teflon coating. That is considered pourus - which by some is considered a contamination issue. What happens is scratches appear in the coating and gluten can remain in the coating. More discussion on Teflon and contamination

Money saving tip: Instead of buying new items for the dog - buy the new stuff for yourself and hand down your old stuff to the dog. That is if your Dog is not GF. Don't laugh - pets can benefit from a GF diet too!!!

Unfortunately gluten is not a bacteria that can be killed. Gluten is gluten -dead or live hehehe. It just needs to be clean and devoid of gluten residue or specks.

The dishwasher shouldn't be a problem. Depending on what your pizza pan is made of - it might be OK. One big thing is to CLEAN EVERYWHERE!! Pull out the stove, pull out the fridge, empty out all the cupboards & drawers and wash them out. Have you looked in your silverware drawer lately?? LOL!!!


TJ - I would like to know how you handle being a chef now that you are GF? How do you handle tasting for seasoning (or is that not allowed?). Have you regained some of your passion for cooking? Do you know of any GF culinary schools? If there is - I'd like to go



Here's a post I did a while ago. It lists all sorts of cross contamination issues...I think it should get you started.

http://www.celiacforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=113&highlight=cross

Here's some more (there may be duplicates - I'm just heisting this from another poster - Thanks Karri Ann!!)

Help with kitchen cross-contamination::

Replace the toaster/toaster oven if possible. If not, clean it out thoroughly and use foil under your food. If that's too scary, use your regular oven to toast and grill and use foil.

Replace all cutting boards - wooden and plastic. Do not share the GF boards with gluten food prep.

Replace wooden spoons and teflon/vinyl cooking utensils. Do not share these new utensils with gluten food prep.

Replace porous pots/pans/skillets. Teflon and cast iron are porous enough to retain gluten from past cooking. Do not share non-stick or iron pans with gluten foods.

This from another forum: never wash gluten and gf dishes in the same dish water. I wonder about the dishwasher?

Sponges harbor and spread gluten.

Shared dish towels might be an issue - do not share towels; and rotate all kitchen towels into the laundry after meals and clean-up.

Clean out all drawers - crumbs are insidious.

Counters, surfaces, handles can all have gluten residue - I go through this difficulty when my son comes home from college. After eating a greasy gluten pizza he may spread his glutenized fingerprints all over the kitchen. I have gotten contaminated from his "invisible gluten".

Do not share jarred condiments (butter, margarine, mayo, peanut butter, jam, etc.) with gluten eaters. Keep a separate set GF.

Health food store brand bagged bulk items may be cross contaminated (better to purchase a sealed package from the GF company). I have watched HFS employees use the same scoop for all their bagging; not to mention, seeing one guy sneeze into his hands then proceed with his bagging...!

HFS and grocery store bulk bins - a nightmare of cross contamination.

School, work desks, counters, tables...gluten residue can lurk everywhere. Frequent hand washing helps.

Other hidden gluten issues to look at:

can openers
colanders
pets (pet food can contain gluten)
stamps, envelope adhesive, school paste, glue
carbonless paper/checks often contain wheat starch
lipsticks
toothpaste
breath mints, antacids, etc.
vitamins and medicines
lotions/sunscreens/soaps

Sharing finger or snack food with gluten eaters - or sharing party dips, cheese, salsas...can be big trouble.

Grills and charcoal can be a source for contamination. (Thanks Anne!)
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[tj from spokane]

Woooooooo! That is overwhelming AL...I have a question though. Does all this depend on the level of sensitivity that a person has. I have been trying to be GF for about 6 months....it's a growing process. Do I just figured out how sensitive I am as I plug along when I am cooking? Be aware of when I have been glutinized..and see what my body is doing and reacting too. Do some people do ok using the same oven. ex. Last night I cooked a Gluten pizza in the same oven as a Non-gluten pizza. Is this a no ...no...Does the gluten particles start becoming air-born in the oven when you cook and land on the GF pizza? Or if I find that if I cook the two in the oven and I don't seem to be bothered is it OK....The list you send me Like I said is.."Wooooo...! Do You find out where you're at on the gluten sensitivity scale? Then work with it.
PS. I don't know of any GF cooking schools...You're right I couldn't taste alot of the food I would cook. Yes, it sucked! I couldn't roll out the flour because it got everywhere. Man...it sucked! I read the list to my wife, she read the part where gluten molecules remains in her mouth for 7 hours...no kissing. She replied by say, "See Ya"..... Of course, she was kidding, I hope! But she was blown away by the list. How many people out there are really doing everything it says on that list?
thanks Al.
Tino
Oh, yea, I ate the whole container of Mocha Mix ice-cream...Yummmm!

[Jeannine]

Hi

[aklap]

[aklap]

Hi Tino,

Sorry to drop all that on ya

Yes many people follow this very seriously - they have to otherwise they get sick. Some people are just that sensitive. The acceptable amount of gluten that is safe for a celiac is less than .0001 of an ounce (1 one thousands). That's not very big! There are many people that I know that will not eat out - anywhere - due to contamination risks. Some of your remaining issues may be cross contamination issues (or your body hasn't fully recovered yet).

Yes - even floating flour can be an issue like Jeannine said. You breath it in and it gets swallowed thus giving you a reaction. The same goes for soaps. It gets on your hands - you touch food - bingo! Might this be happening to you?? (Or was it the entire carton of Mocha Mix ). Somebody around here (GFSarah or Dragonfairy or somebody) had a friend that worked in a bakery and had problems with that.

As for the pizza in the oven...I suspect it'd be possible. I know several people that would not do that. Then again they have a 100% GF home. We do not. I tend to be on the "liberal" side of contamination issues. Like - I have not replaced all of our teflon pots & pans. I try to follow that list as closely as I can. I hated licking envelopes anyway!! Kingsford Charcoal uses wheat as binder. Kingsford response was "The gluten gets burned up by the heat". One (maybe more) person had a reaction from their charcoal. It was suspected it was carried thru the smoke. Now - I don't know how much smoke you have when you're cooking your pizza's (hopefully not much...Tip: the smoke alarm IS NOT a timer )
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[aklap]

back to the top
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[gazeofsorrow]

what aboutr deep friers? i am not "super sensitive", but is it ok to eat, say french fries, out of a frier that has had breaded products in it? what exactly is the temperature in which gluten breaks down?

[Jeannine]

it

[gazeofsorrow]

i found a MSDS for wheat gluten. It ignites at 450 degrees C. so if it is a HOT frier, there is no danger.

[Guest]

Hi Gaze,

WOW - great place to find that! I never would've though of that! LOL It certainly does belong on a MSDS sheet Thanks for sharing that

Most deep frying is done at 350-375. Then you have to consider the type of oil you are using. Some oils can stand high temps before they smoke. http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/CollectedInfo/OilSmokePoints.htm

I dont think I'm ready to ask what temp. the restaurants friers are set at I'll just stick to my baked potato if I'm unsure.

I know several people that react to Kingsford charcoal (they use wheat as a binder). Kingsford say that the wheat burns off, but yet people get reactions from it. Once they started using pure wood charcoal - reactions stopped.

[Guest]

[aklap]

Arrggggg I hate when Safari doesn't automatically log me in!!!!!


Hi Gaze,

WOW - great place to find that! I never would've though of that! LOL It certainly does belong on a MSDS sheet Thanks for sharing that.

I think I found something similar here: http://www.bakeryingredients.com/gluten_msds.pdf. I see that is for air/dust mixture. When you get the correct amount of dust and air, certain things can become combustible. I wonder if that would be different in a frying situation. Hmmmm, interesting...

Most deep frying is done at 350-375. Then you have to consider the type of oil you are using. Some oils can stand high temps before they smoke. http://www.goodeatsfanpage.com/CollectedInfo/OilSmokePoints.htm

I dont think I'm ready to ask what temp. the restaurants friers are set at I'll just stick to my baked potato if I'm unsure.

I know several people that react to Kingsford charcoal (they use wheat as a binder). Kingsford say that the wheat burns off, but yet people get reactions from it. Once they started using pure wood charcoal - reactions stopped.
_________________
Al

“We cannot all do great things, but we can do small things with great love.” Mother Teresa

[gazeofsorrow]

i was more concerned with the friers at my work, as i <3 my french frys. i can turn it up until the gluten has burned off, and then cook my fries. w00t!

[gazeofsorrow]

Ok. I screwed up Remember that on the MSDS it is measured in degrees C. Kitchens measure in Ferenheit (sp?)