High-school seniors are choosing colleges based on whether or not they can safely eat there. For a student with special dietary needs — and his or her parents — food can cause fear and anxiety.

“Anytime you don't have control over the preparation of your food, that's scary,” says Beckee Moreland, a Gluten-Free Resource Education Awareness Training (GREAT) Guide, National Foundation for Celiac Awareness (NFCA), Lincoln, NE. “So you need to have trust and confidence in the people who are cooking and serving your food and in the ingredients being used.”

The dining staff at University of California-Berkeley builds that trust with food-sensitive students by regularly making efforts to show them new combinations and safe ingredients, says Ida Shen, assistant director/executive chef. So students end up with food that is fun and “better than home” (Just don't tell Mom!)

“I just met today with a student (we'll call him Steven) who transferred here from (we'll call it X University) specifically because of his diet concerns,” Shen says.

Management at X University, where Steven transferred from, had made an effort to provide a special celiac/diabetes diet for Steven.

But, in practice, the staff on the front lines sometimes wouldn't know what Steven was talking about when he had questions about menu items. That day-to-day communication and feeling “cared for” is a big deal for anyone who lives with food sensitivities.

Moreland teaches that same idea when training schools for celiac awareness. Recently, she helped the University of Nebraska put into place a strong gluten-free program.

“Management, staff, servers, and everyone in between should be trained on cross-contamination and the basics of gluten-free cooking,” Moreland says.

Shen meets students like Steven with special dietary needs at the beginning of the year, oftentimes with a chef on hand to explain the options.

UC Berkeley's dining website is key to helping students choose what they want to eat (one week out) at the four different dining halls on campus, each with a different menu.

But it doesn't end there. Shen told Steven that in addition to planning with the website, he could always ask for a custom-made stir-fry or special combination (maybe sloppy joe meat or spaghetti sauce over rice) at any time if he couldn't find anything he liked on the line that day.

“It takes a chef two minutes to stir fry some vegetables from the salad bar,” Shen says. “But it makes a world of difference to a food-sensitive student.”

The chef had already shown Steven and his parents around the kitchen while Shen was on vacation the week before, she added, proud that her staff knows what to do for special diets even when she isn't there.

Good Signs

Students walking into the dining halls at UC Berkeley will find extensive signage denoting “vegan,” “contains wheat,” “contains nuts,” etc.

“We try to cover all the bases,” Shen says, but also hands students a caveat: “We tell them to choose based on the signage and the website or to ask someone if they want to be 100% sure. Your health is still in your hands and you have to be your own advocate.”

Ryan McNulty, CEC, director of culinary development, Metz & Associates, Ltd., agrees that signage is key. “Whether it's a la carte or grab ‘n go on the service line, make sure there is a sign that says what the allergens are,” McNulty says.

Signage also works on another level: “People on a gluten-free diet are very brand-loyal,” Moreland says. “Especially kids. They are used to looking for certain brands and symbols that indicate gluten-free.”

Cancer Treatment Centers, Philadelphia, PA, does a good job with information: gluten-free items noted on both the cafe menu and the inpatient room menus, a staff educated through in-service days with the nutrition team and handouts available.

Hidden Dangers

Before signage can be accurate, however, operators must read the labels on everything.

There are five words on the ingredient label that should ring alarm bells for those preparing a gluten-free menu, says Margaret Weiss Masiello, RD, clinical coordinator, Kogan Celiac Center, St. Barnabas Healthcare System, Livingston, NJ.

“Wheat, oats, barley, rye and malt are the words to look out for,” Masiello says.

New FDA labeling laws to make labels clearer about allergen content are reportedly on the way, but until then, thoroughly reading labels is the best way to keep your kitchen safe, experts agree.

“Operators and customers really need to look at labels and understand what words mean,” McNulty says.

Gluten can be ‘hiding’ in many products, such as soy sauce. “If you are making a stir fry, which can be a great option for a gluten-free diet, you need to use a gluten-free soy sauce,” Moreland says.

Shen has had great success with wheat-free tamari instead of soy sauce for stir fry. (Soy sauce can be made with wheat, but tamari is made only with soy beans and has a smoother taste than soy sauce).

Soy sauce is just one place where gluten can be hiding. Prepared ‘Teriyaki Sauce’ may not say ‘soy’ but it could be made with soy sauce. Broths can also contain gluten.

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