Reading a Food Label for a Coeliac Customer
A small café owner is building a gluten-free menu after several customers asked for it. One regular customer has been diagnosed with coeliac disease and has told the owner that even tiny amounts of gluten cause symptoms. The owner has shortlisted three products and is unsure which are safe:
- Product A: a stock powder labelled "no gluten-containing ingredients", with no allergen statement.
- Product B: a breakfast cereal labelled "gluten-free", with a "may contain traces of wheat" statement.
- Product C: a plain rice flour with a "gluten-free" claim and a crossed-grain symbol.
The café kitchen is small, with one prep bench, one toaster and shared utensils. The owner has no formal nutrition training and wants a decision they can defend if a customer becomes unwell.
1. Assess each of the three products for suitability for a coeliac customer, explaining the difference between the label claims.
Read the worked answer
Product A - not suitable without further verification. "No gluten-containing ingredients" is a statement about the recipe, not a guarantee about the finished product. It says nothing about cross-contact in the factory or about gluten levels. Without an allergen statement or a gluten-free claim, the owner cannot verify it meets the gluten-free standard. The owner should contact the manufacturer in writing and keep the reply on file; until then, do not use it for this customer.
Product B - likely suitable, with a caveat. A "gluten-free" claim means the product meets the regulatory gluten threshold (in most jurisdictions, no more than 20 mg/kg). The "may contain traces of wheat" statement is a cross-contact warning, not a statement that gluten is present above the threshold. For most people with coeliac disease, a product that meets the gluten-free standard is acceptable, but the customer should be told about the warning so they can make their own choice. The owner should not present it as risk-free.
Product C - suitable. It carries both the gluten-free claim and the crossed-grain symbol, which is the clearest available assurance and implies the product has been produced and tested to the gluten-free standard.
Key distinction: "no gluten-containing ingredients" describes inputs; "gluten-free" describes the finished product against a measurable standard. Only the latter is an assurance for a coeliac customer.
2. The owner wants to use Product C to make a gluten-free sandwich on the shared bench. Identify the cross-contact controls needed and explain why label reading alone is insufficient.
Read the worked answer
Label reading only tells the owner about the ingredients. It says nothing about what happens in the café kitchen, which is where the real risk sits.
Controls needed:
- Separate preparation: prepare the gluten-free item first, before any wheat products are handled, or on a cleaned and sanitised bench. Crumbs and flour dust settle on surfaces and in spreads.
- Dedicated or thoroughly cleaned equipment: a shared toaster cannot be used - crumbs from wheat bread contaminate the next slice. Use a separate toaster, toaster bag, or grill the bread on a cleaned surface.
- Separate utensils and boards: colour-coded boards and knives kept only for gluten-free work.
- Spread control: use squeeze bottles or a fresh portion of butter or spread, never a tub that a wheat-bread knife has been dipped into.
- Hand hygiene and aprons: wash hands and change or cover aprons after handling wheat flour, which becomes airborne dust.
- Storage: keep the rice flour and gluten-free bread sealed and above or away from wheat flour.
Why labels are insufficient: the customer's reaction is triggered by the total gluten consumed, and a few crumbs can exceed the amount present in a "gluten-free" product. A product that is gluten-free in the packet can become unsafe on a contaminated bench. The owner's duty is to control both the ingredient and the process.
3. The owner wants a simple written procedure so any staff member can serve this customer safely when the owner is not present. Outline what it should contain.
Read the worked answer
The procedure should be short enough to be followed under pressure and specific enough to remove judgement calls.
- Scope and purpose: one sentence stating that the procedure covers any customer who identifies as coeliac or gluten-free.
- Approved product list: the named products verified as suitable (e.g. Product C), with the date checked and the manufacturer's confirmation on file. Staff must not substitute.
- Step-by-step preparation: clean and sanitise the bench; wash hands; use the green board and knife; prepare the gluten-free item before any wheat item; use the dedicated toaster bag; use squeeze-bottle spreads.
- What not to do: no shared toaster, no shared butter tub, no shared tongs, no preparing gluten-free next to flour dust.
- Customer conversation: tell the customer what controls were used and disclose any "may contain" warnings on products used, so the customer can decide.
- Record keeping: a simple log of date, product, staff initials and any customer comment.
- What to do if something goes wrong: if a customer reports illness, record the details, retain any remaining product, and review the procedure.
- Review date and responsible person: the owner reviews the procedure and the approved product list at a set interval and after any incident.
A procedure is only useful if staff have been trained on it and it is kept where they work, not in a folder in the office.