Amy's Kitchen Added to "Do Not Eat" List

Soon after I was diagnosed with non-celiac gluten sensitivity, I tried a couple of Amy's Kitchen gluten free frozen meals that did not seem to agree with me. This week I tried a can of their Organic Chili. After experiencing the gluten fatigue and other symptoms, I've decided to avoid the Amy's Kitchen brand of processed food.

All of the Amy's Kitchen gluten free foods I've encountered at the store have the "handled in a facility that processes wheat . . . " label. Although I generally avoid any food item that carries that notice, I gave in this time because of a busy schedule and wanting to have something that is quick to prepare.

Very typical of the "I've been glutened" stories you can find online, getting sick resulted from relaxing standards and making choices based on convenience rather than safety. Besides ignoring the possible cross-contamination issue that was evident from the label, I broke standard operating procedure by not consulting with google before purchasing something I hadn't tried before.

If I had performed a quick search on my phone, I would have immediately found results from others with celiac or gluten sensitivity who avoid Amy's based on personal experience:
http://www.glutenfreefaces.com/forum/topics/about-amys-gluten-free-frozen

http://glutendude.com/gluten/is-amys-pizza-really-gluten-free/

http://celiac-scoop.blogspot.com/2012/01/not-so-gluten-free-products-from-amys.html

http://www.celiac.com/blogs/12/Frozen-goods-AMYs-gluten-free-pizzanot-gluten-free-for-me.html

To the credit of Amy's Kitchen, they seem to genuinely care about the issue of cross-contamination in their facilities. Some of the comments in the posts I shared contain correspondence directly from Amy's Kitchen regarding the gluten exposure issues that some of their customers have experienced. 

It seems like Amy's Kitchen is making an honest effort to avoid cross-contamination. The fact that they are willing to respond personally, send food to be tested independently, reimburse customers for their food, etc. shows a lot of integrity. Nevertheless, it is clear that cross-contamination is still occurring in their facility.

I will add my voice to the chorus of voices requesting that Amy's Kitchen create a dedicated facility for their gluten free foods.

Gluten Free at the Taj Mahal in Lancaster, PA

I recently ate at the Taj Mahal Indian Restaurant in Lancaster, PA. Before being seated, I discussed my gluten sensitivity with the owner, Mani Sharma. He informed me that there is no flour used in their foods except for the bread. All of the sauces are cream or tomato/vegetable-based and flour is never used as a thickening agent.

Mani assured me that I could eat anything except for the bread. As a standard precaution I would also avoid anything coming out of the deep fryer. (According to the menu, most of the Taj's appetizers use chickpea flour. However, I neglected to ask Mani if any other items using regular flour go into the fryer.) I asked a couple questions about cross-contamination and was satisfied enough with the answers to proceed with my meal.

I enjoyed my vegetarian dish and did not experience any nausea or sickness afterward.

http://www.tajlancaster.com/

http://www.yelp.com/biz/taj-mahal-lancaster