6 Reasons I Can’t Just Get Fast Food

For years I took the convenience of just grabbing food along the way for granted. Kids have long practices after school? That’s okay, hit the drive-thru. Mandated to work late and getting home after dinner should be on the table? That’s okay, grab a pizza. Now, I won’t say that fast foods should be a pillar of healthy living, but the knowledge that a quick, hot meal was available in a pinch was nice. Here are 6 reasons why fast-food is no longer an option.

1. Shared Fryers and Grills

“Can’t you just order fries and a burger patty? There’s no wheat in those.” I remember thinking this about eating gluten free BCD (before Celiac Disease,) so I sympathize when people ask me this question. Based on that logic, I should be able to eat fries and a burger patty. Unfortunately, life isn’t that simple.

Most restaurants use the same fryers and grills to prepare all of their food, especially in a tight spaced fast-food chain focused on efficiency. That means the fries that may have started out gluten-free are now contaminated by oil containing gluten. It also means that crumbs from the buns previously toasted on the griddle top can easily come into contact with the burger patties, and/or leave particles behind in the grease.

2. Shared Prep Spaces

At home, I often enjoy my burger with a lettuce leaf “bun” on a bed of shredded lettuce. So why can’t I just order my burger like this at the drive thru? Build stations are set up to assemble sandwiches at peak efficiency. Sure, the worker is likely wearing gloves, but those gloves are touching multiple buns and other gluten ingredients. Crumbs can easily fall into bins of ingredients, so simply asking for a glove change doesn’t guarantee safety.

3. Gluten Isn’t a Major Food Allergen

In the US, the FDA requires foods to be labelled if they contain any of the following ingredients, which they deem the nine major food allergens: milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, sesame and soybeans. This is done to help people with allergies eat safely and gives restaurants a responsibility to think of cross-contamination.

While it is helpful that wheat is required to be disclosed, it is not the only source of gluten. Another source commonly used in restaurants is malt, which can be added to shakes and used in vinegar to top fries. Barley, another gluten-containing grain, can also be used in ‘natural flavors’ on ingredient labels and serve as a hidden source. You can find a comprehensive list of gluten sources from the Celiac Foundation here.

4. Multiple Ingredients

Some of the fast-food items I miss the most are french fries, more specifically, the ones from the place with the red and yellow logo. Those golden fries just pack a little something extra. Well, the little something extra is ‘natural beef flavor,’ which contains wheat as a starting ingredient per their website.

Because gluten can be found in ingredients as vague as “natural flavors,” it is hard to trust foods I don’t prepare. A big concern for me are condiments. I need to verify that the ketchup, mustard, and mayo are gluten free in their own rights, and then make sure they aren’t cross contaminated after the fact. Something as simple as brushing the surface of a bun with the bottle tip can contaminate the whole thing.

5. It’s Just Not Worth The Risk

If my family is in a situation where we are considering fast food, it means we are not going to be home in the near future. I could be in a vehicle for a long trip, a crowded gymnasium for a tournament, in a hotel room, or somewhere else close to other people. None of these places are convenient to have ‘tummy troubles,’ which are my quickest symptoms to rear their ugly heads after being glutened. For the long game, each time by body is exposed to gluten it is eliciting an autoimmune response and increasing my chances for developing other conditions like type 1 diabetes, multiple sclerosis, and intestinal cancers.

6. For Me, It’s Too Much to Ask

Are there a few items at some fast-food chains that are probably gluten-free? Sure, but the care I have to ask workers to take to prepare that food for me safely seems unreasonable to me. I need to ask the worker to thoroughly clean the workstation, change their gloves, grab fresh ingredients from new, unopened boxes, take care to prepare my items away from others, grab fresh packaging items from new boxes, and deliver that bag directly to me.

In an industry that measures serving time in seconds and pays their workers minimal salaries, I personally feel guilty asking for such personalized attention and do not trust that a slip up will not occur. I hate to add to the stress level of an already difficult job. Plus, I have no way of knowing if the worker even follows my request. Maybe they just say they did it and I get sick anyway.

There are chains out there with good reputations in the Celiac community. Chick Fil A has a page dedicated to dining with them gluten free, and I hear most locations have dedicated fryers to reduce risk of cross contamination. Jersey Mikes offers a gluten free bun and a bowl option for their subs, but it does mention the risk of cross contamination on their website and there is no way to flag allergy when ordering online. I had a good experience with Five Guys, ordering their burger and fries while declaring no bun for a ‘gluten allergy.’ They appeared to take my condition seriously, and I had no obvious symptoms after my meal.

Honestly, I live in a rural area and none of these chains are close for me. So I plan ahead with grab and go meals, pack coolers for day trips, and have lists of go to foods from convenience stores and groceries for when I’m in a real pinch. Don’t forget my purse and mom mobile stashes. Check back for more posts on each of these topics.