June 2010
Working Around Wheat
Written by Becky Schilling
For operators trying to create safe dining environments, wheat can be an area of concern for two different groups of customers. One group is allergic to wheat. Wheat is one of the top eight foods that account for all food-allergic reactions in the United States, according to The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network. Another group has celiac disease, a digestive disease that interferers with the absorption of nutrients from foods. According to the National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC), more than 2 million people in the United States, or about 1 in 133 people, have celiac disease. While celiac disease is not a food allergy—it is an autoimmune disorder—the affects of eating even small traces of gluten can cause damage to the small intestine. Both groups of customers must follow a gluten-free diet to prevent a reaction.
Gluten-free patient menus: “It’s becoming much more prolific,” Jacque Baker, patient service manager for 325-bed St. Clair Hospital in Pittsburgh, says about the number of patients who follow a gluten-free diet.
Because of the increase in the number of patients who cannot eat gluten, St. Clair’s foodservice department, which is managed by Cura Hospitality, developed a gluten-free menu last year. “We’ve seen an increase in the last few years so we decided to come up with a menu specific to [people who follow a gluten-free diet],” says Anne Berzinsky, lead dietitian, R.D., L.D.N. “The idea was to make sure that what we were providing to them was gluten free and also to give them variety.”
“We really wanted to make sure that the gluten-free people didn’t feel like they were singled out just because they have this allergy,” adds Chris Vitsas, general manager.
The gluten-free menu offers patients gluten-free versions of bread, cereal, yogurt and salad dressings. Entrée options include a gluten-free hamburger on a gluten-free bun, gluten-free pizzas and gluten-free baked cod with lemon. There are similarities between the gluten-free menu and the regular menu, such as fresh fruit and vegetables. Some of the gluten-free items are ordered from a manufacturer or specialty store, while others, like the pastas, are made in house.
Vitsas says to ensure there is no cross contamination in the kitchen, separate cutting boards and knives are used to produce items from the gluten-free menu. He adds that because it is a hospital, the staff is used to special diets and allergy concerns, which helps limit cross contamination.
Dining assistants do consultations with patients who follow a gluten-free diet after they are checked into the hospital. The dining assistant visits the patient’s room and goes over the menu with the patient to help him or her select meals that are gluten-free and also meet any other diet criteria the patient might need to follow.
Vitsas says patients are appreciative of having a separate gluten-free menu to select from. “We hade one patient on the gluten-free diet discharged the other day,” he says. “She was getting ready to leave the hospital and she still wanted to talk to me. Most people when they are getting ready to leave are like ‘get away from me, I don’t want to talk to you about food.’ She was so happy with our gluten-free menu that I was able to give her some contact information for a local provider that delivers to homes. I sent her packing with a couple of gluten-free cookies and a brownie to make her day.”
The gluten-free menu has also been beneficial to non-patients as well. “I had a patient whose wife followed a gluten-free diet and she asked me about guest trays,” Berzinsky says. “She was thrilled that we were able to offer her that gluten-free menu, which made it so much easier for her to be here and not have to go out and try to find appropriate meals for herself while her husband was in the hospital.”
Berzinsky says the most difficult part of developing and maintaining the gluten-free menu is ensuring that items are gluten free. “In general, manufacturers are labeling this better and have that information more at hand. It took some legwork to look at all the labeling and making some phone calls. Staying on top of it is important because manufacturers change how things are prepared, so just because it was gluten free yesterday doesn’t mean they won’t change the way they prepare things and it will continue to be gluten free.”
Right now the gluten-free menu is specific to patients, however, there are some items in the retail operations that are gluten free.
