A decade ago I was diagnosed with celiac disease, right around the same time that my sister Lauren was diagnosed with Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) reactive to eggs and non-celiac gluten sensitivity.  Over the past decade, we both spent countless holidays, birthdays, special occasions and family celebrations watching everyone else enjoy delicious desserts while we watched with envious eyes and with the feeling of being left out. Every once in a while, we would gain access to a gluten free tor vegan treat, but often would be, once again, feeling left out because these treats just never tasted “real”. More importantly and more often than not, these desserts were not properly marked with the allergen-free demarcations and there was no way for us to know if they were created in a way that would be safe for us to enjoy. 

There has been a dietary “trend” of gluten-free eating and a growing popularity of avoiding major allergens by a non-allergic audience, which has been great for awareness and has improved the accessibility to allergen-free foods. With this awareness and the increase of “allergen-free” foods, there has also been an increase in exposure to illness due to cross-contamination. Food items that are labeled as “gluten free” or “vegan” are often made in shared kitchens that do not have the protocols in place to ensure safe products.

Because the “trend” eaters don’t require true allergen-free foods, food producers have cut corners, not only resulting in allergens being prevalent in products, but in trend eaters being duped into eating the very ingredients they’re trying to avoid.