Friday 10 February 2012

Domino's Introducing Gluten Free Pizza In The UK

I've just read something that makes me feel quite uneasy. I've just seen that Domino's are looking to start selling gluten free pizzas if they can find a gluten free base supplier that can cope with the quantities needed. Why do I feel uneasy? Read this or just go look at the photo in the middle of it. Australian Domino's gluten free pizza comes with a disclaimer.


I first read that article 18 months ago and it shocked me. Yes I know there's a disclaimer on the gluten free Brasserie Blanc menu, I was appalled by it but I ended up having a meal there because I was assured over and over again that the chefs knew what they were doing and the main man Raymond was dining there also that evening. That was enough for me to trust that the chefs would not take a risk with my meal. Besides, I only ordered shell on king prawns and minted new potatoes, how on earth could they mess that up.

Brasserie Blanc isn't Domino's Pizza. I have absolutely nothing against the people who work at Domino's but I suspect that not much training goes into their pizza making. How many people who work at Domino's do you suppose have heard of gluten? This is the worry, they aren't all chefs who have been trained into being knowledgeable about food.

I'm not even going into the ppm of the bases, that's an issue in itself, my concern for everyone who understandably will be tempted by 'real' pizza, is the cross contamination issues and the potential for there being gluten in the toppings.

This isn't simple. It isn't just a case of source gluten free bases and we're in business. Firstly, are the gluten free bases going to be put into the same oven as the regular ones? That's cross contamination. What about the prep areas, will there be a separate section where the gluten free pizzas will be made? The toppings, are they all gluten free or will they at least be labelled so people know which ones not to choose? What if the server has just made a regular pizza, will they then go change their gloves and wash their hands before making a gluten free one?

See, this is going to take some training. If it's done it has to be done properly or else there's going to be a hell of a lot of miserable people wandering around having ingested gluten. Again, no offence intended towards people who work at Domino's but my guess is that it isn't their dream job, and they quite possibly go on auto pilot after a while. I would.

I'm a coeliac, so I'm all for variety when it comes to gluten free, but the thing is, how is this going to be done safely? There's so many risks. I'm not concerned for myself, I won't be risking it, but there's a hell of a lot of people who will. Is it really worth it?

1 comment:

  1. I've just been through with Pizza Hut and they have not responded to any of my concerns. They figure that people will decide for themselves whether it is safe or not, and are just going to make us 'accept it'. Was not impressed and hubbed about it so others in our country (Australia) are aware.

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