Searching for Gluten Free

[#1]

My friend Maggie was diagnosed last year with celiac disease – after struggling with symptoms for a long time. For people with celiac disease, gluten (a type of protein found in wheat, rye, barley, triticale and usually oats) damages the lining of the small intestine and can increase risk for other health issues.

The treatment for celiac disease sounds simple enough:  eat a gluten free diet. But it’s not one that’s easy to follow.

Gluten is not only in products you’d expect, such as bread, cereal and pasta, it’s also hidden in many other foods including canned soups, salad dressings and luncheon meats, due to gluten-containing ingredients used to make these products. Reading labels and ingredient statements of packaged foods is a necessity when you’re following a gluten free diet, and that can turn grocery shopping into a challenging and time-consuming affair. But thanks to SimpleNutrition, shopping for gluten free foods is much easier! Maggie told me that she uses the SimpleNutrition gluten free tags to quickly find foods that could meet her needs, including gluten free alternatives for many of her favorite items. She still reads the labels of all the foods – to catch any cross contamination issues – but her shopping has been cut in half using the gluten free tags.

Don’t forget to check our ads over the next few weeks as we focus on things that are Well & Good. You’ll find many SimpleNutrition items included. 

If you follow a gluten free diet, what’s your biggest challenge?

[#2]

As a former Safeway employee and a Celiac Disease Victim I'm very disappointed in your lack of Gluten Free offerings.

[#3]

Too bad Safeway doesn't carry the Food for Life brand of gluten-free bread like the millet and pecan rice.  I have to go to Foodland for this bread.

[#4]

Thank you for the feedback regarding our product selection, Been There Done That. Please email us at safewaysocialmedia@safeway.com with the store location in your area, so we may submit a request for a larger selection of gluten free products at your local store.

[#5]

We would be happy to submit a product request on your behalf. Can you email us at safewaysocialmedia@safeway.com with the location of the store you shop at most often?

[#6]

Hi-When will my local Safeway have a gluten free fair?  I've seen new GF items in the store, but am afraid to try them, since so many don't test like the "real" (wheat based) foods I'm used to.  I end up paying more and going to WF to get the brands i like (like Starfish GF Battered fish).  I see the Waterfront Bistro GF battered fish-and would love to try them.  WF has GF events so you CAN try products and appreciate the quality.  Could Safeway do demos on GF items in particular?

[#7]

Thanks for the feedback Big Mamma! We’d be happy to forward your suggestion for a gluten free tasting fair to our Marketing Department. 

[#8]

Hi there

I have just been diagnosed and am really battling with my search for gluten-free products.

I used to do 100% of my grocery shopping at Safeway, but am now forced to shop at Trader Joe's, Sprouts Farmer's Market and Whole Foods to find gluten-free food - a time-consuming, gas guzzling and frustrating exercise. 

I do give you credit for improving on the quantity of gluten-free food you are now carrying, but I believe you coulod expand, thus making it possible for me to return to my "one-stop shopping" at Safeway.

I would also be thrilled if you could place all your gluten-free items in one area / on one shelf, so that I did not have to run from aisle to aisle looking for gluten-free products, hidden between all the other pasta, flour, bread, cookies..............

One last request - a variety of brands and products such as Udi's White Sandwich bread.

Unfortunately most gluten-free baked goods taste like cardboard - dry, crumbly and fully disgusting. Ploughing through loaf after loaf of gluten-free bread to find one remotely edible is bad enough, but then not being able to find the one that tastes good on Safeway shelves is disheartening. 

[#9]

Hi, Annie. Can you please email us at safewaysocialmedia@safeway.com with the store location you shop at? We’d like to forward your comments to their buyers. We look forward to hearing from you!