Originally posted by Dr. Davis on 2017-08-30
on the Wheat Belly Blog,
sourced from and currently found at: Infinite Health Blog.
PCM forum Index
of WB Blog articles.
Gluten-testing:
New York Deli
I was in New York recently,
staying in midtown Manhattan. Anyone who stays in NY
knows that there is a deli on just about every block
or two. Many of them have large spreads of food for
breakfast and lunch, tempting and incredibly
convenient, such as the one shown in the photo
from Ashley’s Fine Foods on Lexington.
Obviously, there is no way to
test each and every food among the hundreds of delis
on Manhattan streets. But I wanted to know specifically
if at least some of them can be free of gluten residues
(to no more than 20 ppm), as tested by the Nima device.
If you’ve been to any of these places, you
will recognize right away that talking to staff is
not easy: many only speak stumbling, if any, English,
and are hurried, under the gun of the NY pace of
life. Good luck trying to find out if
cross-contamination issues apply.
So I tested the sausage patty
and one of the bacon choices offered among their
plentiful breakfast choices, both shown on the right
side of the photo below. Such breakfast meats are
often sources for cross-contamination due to shared
work surfaces and/or utensils. (The deli makes no
claims that any of these foods are gluten-free.)
Can you indulge in such anonymous food choices and remain safe?
I have to admit that I assumed
that such meats are ubiquitously exposed to
cross-contamination and would test positive.
But, in these two instances, they proved
negative for gluten residues.
Obviously, two negative
results on meats prepared in an indecipherable
kitchen in midtown Manhattan should NOT be
generalized to all such deli buffets, but it
is a bit reassuring that you can indeed obtain
at least some foods not contaminated by grains.
