Gluten Free Pizza from Dominos – but it may contain traces of gluten.

by Veronica on December 5, 2009

in Food-Issues, Soapbox

So, Domino’s Pizza Australia is doing a range of gluten free pizzas now.

Which is great, it truly is. I was over the moon when I heard, knowing that some days, I would just really like to be able to buy a pizza, without all the hassle of making my own bases.

I did a quick search, to see if it really was true, or if it was a rumour and no, definitely truth.

Inevitably I wondered at the price of gluten free bases and so clicked over to the Domino’s website to check out the pricing on gluten free bases.

Only to find this when I moused over the gluten free base selection.

Gluten Free Base* Although all due care is taken with your order, your meal may contain traces of gluten. Please note your pizza topping selection may not be gluten free.

I was struck dumb, before starting to swear and curse just a little.

What use is a gluten free pizza, if it isn’t actually gluten free? I am not taking objection to the possibility of some of the topping choices not being gluten free. I know to avoid those. However, there are 13 toppings advertised as being GF choices.

And if it were just the toppings that were not gluten free, wouldn’t it only mention toppings? Not this line about ‘Although all due care is taken…’

So, Dear Domino’s,

Did you know in Australia, to declare something GLUTEN FREE, it needs to actually be, GLUTEN FREE?

It is illegal in Australia, to call something gluten free, if there is a chance it may contain traces of gluten. ILLEGAL.

False advertising all around and I am fuming.

Now, if I hadn’t researched, if I’d just gone down to the local pizza shop and bought a pizza that is declared GLUTEN FREE and endorsed by the Coeliac Society of Australia, then there is a good possibility that your pizza would have made my little girl very ill.

When she has gluten, it damages her intestines. She gets stomach pain and diarrhoea. Her behaviour deteriorates and she can’t control her moods or her body properly. She can’t absorb any nutrients from her gluten free diet and she loses weight, all because of a little bit of gluten.

It takes her gut THREE WEEKS to heal. Three weeks of a very sick little girl, all because something that should have been gluten free was contaminated with trace amounts of gluten.

It’s not good enough Domino’s, not good enough at all.

And to the Coeliac Society of Australia, I think your research was flawed and for you to be endorsing a product that isn’t actually gluten free disappoints me.

Edited to add:

I have spoken to the Coeliacs Society of Australia and they want to make it very clear that they are only endorsing the BASES of Domino’s gluten free pizza’s. The bases are made elsewhere and are certified gluten free.

Forgive me for thinking this, but when you say gluten free pizza, I imagine a base with tomato and toppings and cheese on top. Not just a baked base. Yes, the base might be gluten free when it leaves the factory, but it doesn’t stay that way if it is then contaminated with gluten while in the Domino’s store. And Dominos even says itself that they have 13 different gluten free toppings – so why aren’t they endorsed too? Oh wait, that’s right, because they can’t guarantee the gluten free status of them.

I am so so angry.

**

Edited to add – I left this in the comments, but thought it would probably be better up here.

The Laws –

16 Claims in relation to gluten content of food
(1) Claims in relation to the gluten content of food are prohibited unless expressly
permitted by this Code.

(2) A claim to the effect that a food is gluten free must not be made in relation to a food
unless the food contains –

(a) no detectable gluten; and
(b) no –
(i) oats or their products; or
(ii) cereals containing gluten that have been malted, or their products.

From here – http://www.foodstandards.gov.au/_srcfiles/ACF2A90.pdf Page 15 of the PDF file. From Food Standards Australia and New Zealand

***

I am unsticking this post, not because Domino’s has addressed my concerns (form letter – not good enough) but because the tone of the comments is getting nasty and I’m not quite prepared to deal with much more personal nastiness. That said, comments will remain open and I will continue discussions with Domino’s, The ACCC and Food Standards Australia in regards to the illegal labelling.

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