We are very happy to announce that our brochure for caterers "A gluten-free guide for caterers" is published, not only in English, but also in Croatian language (other project language variants will follow soon). This is the third comprehensive guide, after the first one for celiac disease patients followed by the second one for health care professionals, prepared in CD SKILLS project. We feel proud to have such an enthusiastic project partners team.

This brochure will help catering professionals to increase their competences in preparing dietary meals for their guests who do not tolerate gluten. It will help them understand basic facts about celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders and about harmful effects of gluten. It will help them detect the pitfalls of the preparation of gluten-free meals by providing many tips and tricks provided directly by doctors, dietitians and people on gluten-free diet. Additionally, it will eventually help them to improve the quality of service, not only for celiacs but for all other customers who will appreciate a reliable and responsible catering service of high quality.

People with celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders, such as wheat (gluten) allergy and non-celiac gluten sensitivity, must follow a strict gluten-free diet in order to prevent serious consequences to their health. Following such a diet can be very demanding as wheat and other gluten-containing cereals (e.g., rye and barley) are major components in every kitchen around the world. Therefore, it is very important that all the people involved in food preparation are aware of principles of preparing a safe gluten-free meal. This is especially true for catering professionals who carry a great responsibility when preparing food for people with any of the gluten-related disorders. Even minimal contamination with gluten during food processing could be harmful, and great care has to be taken to avoid such events even if they are completely unintentional.

Jernej Dolinšek, MD, PhD

Both brochures are available in the Library and with the click on the photo below: