UPDATED 7/09/07 The only way to be sure that food is celiac-friendly is to see it in a container labelled gluten free. Even that system is far from perfect: there are several different definitions of "gluten free". But in any case, the manufacturer of gluten free food has made a moral and legal commitment to the celiaccommunity. The producer is not doing this to make a fortune — there are simply not enough potential customers — so it’s likely that the manufacturer is endeavoring to serve us and has gone to a great deal of effort to do so.

  For the same reasons, I am willing to consume items specifically listed as gluten free on a restaurant menu are OK. I also have confidence in sites like The Gluten Free Pantry, The Gluten Free Mall,  and other on-line and conventional stores that cater to a gluten free clientele.

I also trust "primary source" websites to give me accurate information as long as the information has been updated in the past six months. What do I mean by a "primary source" website? For example, I assume that the Wendy’s website will give me adequate information abut Wendy’s products. Other sites (such as this one) may or may not be reporting information accurately or updating it frequently. That is why I frequently link you to "primary sources".

Books and other written material are less reliable simply because they are not updated frequently. I would have reservations about any book that is more than a year old. I would ignore any "handouts" that are undated and do not clearly indicate the date of the original research.

Personal opinions are useless unless a person can back up his/her thoughts in one of the ways mentioned above. Remember that eating gluten toxic food is damaging the intestines of anyone with celiac disease even if there are no obvious symptoms. These are the principles I use to guide my own gluten free life style and in selecting material for this site.

Obviously, they are opinions hopefully based on facts. Please leave me a comment if you agree or disagree or e-mail me at gfceliac@gmail.com. I’d love to hear your ideas and will relay them to my readers.