How to Create a Celiac Safe Kitchen

If you have celiac disease, you’re probably wondering if you need a 100% gluten-free kitchen and the answer is no! It is possible to have a shared kitchen with gluten-containing food. In almost 15 years with celiac disease, I personally have never had a 100% gluten-free kitchen. It’s just not realistic or possible if you have roommates or family that eat gluten and use the kitchen. At the end of the day it’s your decision and what you feel most comfortable with.

So what’s a celiac safe kitchen if I don’t need a 100% GF kitchen?

A celiac safe kitchen is a kitchen that you can safely prepare gluten-free food and avoid cross-contact. Cross-contact “occurs when an allergen is inadvertently transferred from a food containing an allergen to a food that does not contain the allergen. Cooking does not reduce or eliminate the chances of a person with a food allergy having a reaction to the food eaten” (FARE). The ultimate goal of a celiac safe kitchen is to reduce the risk of gluten exposure through cross-contact and reduce stress around preparing GF meals and snacks.

How do I decide if I want a completely gluten-free kitchen or not?

These are a few things I often encourage clients to consider when determining if they want a 100% GF kitchen or not:

• Determine your comfort level

• Living environment - Live alone? Roommates? Family members that don’t have celiac?

• Cost of purchasing all new kitchen items

• Mental health and practicality

• More research is needed on cross-contact!

So what kitchen items can I share?

You can share anything that is cleaned thoroughly and removes all gluten and food particles. If there are any kitchen items you feel you can’t clean (or anyone you share a kitchen with) then I recommend you purchase a dedicated GF one to use.

• Utensils

• Cups

• Plates

• Bowls

• Pots

• Pans

What kitchen items should be dedicated gluten-free?

• Toaster: Would result in cross-contact, so must be dedicated GF.

• Air fryer: Difficult to clean and often not cleaned after every single use. Risk of cross-contact as air is circulated throughout blowing crumbs around.

• Sponge: Gluten can remain on a sponge if used to clean plates and bowls that had gluten-containing food. Having a gluten sponge and a separate, dedicated GF sponge is best.

• Fryer (home & restaurants): High heat CANNOT kill off gluten so it must be dedicated GF. Unfortunately, most restaurants don’t always have a separate GF fryer, always be sure to ask.

• Condiments: Any utensils that have been used to spread butter, mayo, jelly, hummus, etc. onto a gluten-containing food and then dipped back into the jar can result in cross contact. Purchase separate, dedicated GF condiments and label them with a sticker or masking tape and a sharpie. Squeeze bottles are a great option to share and save space and money.

• Waffle iron: Appliances like waffle irons are hard to clean and gluten can become trapped. If you can clean it well enough at home it could be okay to share, but it must be dedicated GF at a restaurant.

• Cast iron pan: Source of cross-contact, not usually cleaned with soap and water.

National Celiac Association

National Celiac Association recommends using dedicated GF items for things that are porous or difficult to clean. Cleaning items with soap and water or the dishwater is often enough to get rid of gluten from non-porous materials.

• Dedicated GF items: colander, sifter, cast iron pans, bread maker, sandwich maker, waffle iron, toaster (or use foil in a toaster oven)

• Okay to share if washed well: pots and pans

Helpful study: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6917866/

Beyond Celiac

Beyond Celiac recommends the following practices:

• Dedicated GF items: toaster, sponge and dish rags to clean GF items, condiment jars, separate water for boiling GF pasta, fryer, cutting boards, grill or griddle (or use foil), waffle iron

• Okay to share if washed well: non-porous mixing spoons (plastic or glass), pots, pans and plates

Sources: 
https://www.beyondceliac.org/celiac-disease/children/resources-for-parents/ask-the-pediatric-gastroenterologist/cross-contamination-and-celiac-disease/

https://www.beyondceliac.org/gluten-free-diet/cross-contact/

Celiac Disease Foundation

Couldn’t find any information regarding cross-contact on their website except for this study here.

Celiac Canada

• Dedicated GF items: toaster, butter dish, porous utensils like wooden utensils

• Okay to share if washed well: pots and pans

• Other recommendations:

  • Do GF baking first and have it well wrapped and stored before baking with regular flour

  • Make GF sandwiches first

  • Use clean utensils and avoid “double dipping” in condiemnts and other foods

You can find their cross-contact page here.

I’ve read that you shouldn’t use shared wooden utensils, is this true?

Lot’s of resources recommend not sharing wooden utensils for GF food and gluten-containing food including the Celiac Disease Foundation and Beyond Celiac. On the contrary, this study done in 2017 by Studerus et al. found that “Cross-contamination with gluten in a kitchen environment may occur, but kitchen utensils used for preparing GC pasta and for cutting GC bread should not pose a relevant problem to patients with celiac disease, at least in a domestic environment.” Unfortunately, there aren’t many studies on cross-contact and I think there should be. At the end of the day, choose what you feel most comfortable with and what’s most realistic in your kitchen at home.

You can find the study here.

Other studies on cross-contact

• Can We Cross Off Common Kitchen Practices as Causes of Gluten Cross-Contact?

• Risk of Gluten Cross-Contamination Due to Food Handling Practices: A Mini-Review

• Celiac Disease: Risks of Cross-Contamination and Strategies for Gluten Removal in Food Environments

What’s the best way to clean kitchen items?

The best way to clean dinner plates, cups, bowls, etc. is in the dishwasher after rinsing off all food particles. Alternatively wash items with soap and high pressure water.

Tips for cooking in a shared kitchen

• Prepare all GF foods before gluten-containing foods or wash your hands in between handling gluten-containing foods.

• Do not use the convection feature when cooking or baking GF foods as there is a potential risk of crumbs being blown around. As an alternative, cover food with foil.

• Flour easily gets everywhere! Bake GF things before gluten-containing items.

Refrigerator & Pantry Tips

• Place GF items on a dedicated pantry shelf or drawer so you can easily access your GF food.

• Use masking tape or stickers to label GF condiments and other items in the refrigerator and pantry.

• Periodically wipe down to clean crumbs and minimize cross-contact.

I truly feel a lot of this information is out of date. Most resources haven’t been updated in years. Cross-contact is a huge concern for celiacs and I really hope more research is done in the next few years to determine what precautions are actually necessary.