Subway Tests Gluten-free

This week, Subway in a trial run began offering gluten-free bread and brownies in a couple of its Texas locations. Read more about its efforts. While, on one hand, I'm so excited that a major chain is actively looking for ways to accommodate its gluten-free customers, on the other, I'm not only skeptical but leery.

Subway is making some effort to counter cross-contamination by managing the knives that are used for gluten-free orders. That said, the preparation space and all the other ingredients will be contaminated with gluten unless the prep area is meticulously maintained and the ingredients used for the gluten-free customers are kept separate. Switching gloves won't help if the meats, cheeses and other sandwich components already have been handled with gloves that first came in contact with wheat bread. Then there's the issue of deli meats like ham and turkey that may or may not be gluten-free themselves either.

Again, it's great that Subway is taking the initiative. I'm sure there are some gf folks for whom just having the gluten-free bread available will be enough to encourage them to try it. However, under these conditions, I for one still wouldn't be able to eat there safely.