Wales, product development director, at Udi’s Gluten Free said: “Despite supermarkets shelves piled high with gluten-free options, there still remains an underlying problem with restaurants and friends who don’t understand or know how to cater for those leading a gluten-free life.
“With allergies and intolerances on the rise, the fact that people are fearing going to a restaurant, to a friends house or debating whether to go abroad or not is extremely worrying and more needs to be done. We know that there is still a lack of understanding regarding coeliac disease and gluten intolerance.”
Maybe the problem lies here within; just 14% of young adults recognise the symptoms of gluten intolerance; with 9% thinking ‘coeliac’ is a famous Italian restaurant! However, as a nation, 91% claim to know what coeliac disease is, but of those, a muddled 2/3rds don’t know what the symptoms are.
Confusion continues with more than 3 in 10 Brits believing that gluten is a type of carbohydrate found in potatoes, breads and pasta. Meanwhile, 1 in 10 do not realise pasta is not suitable for those with coeliac disease and the same have no idea beer can contain gluten.
