Don't Condemn your Condiments!

When you have food sensitivities you must constantly use your "spidey senses" to anticipate cross-contamination opportunities. So you're being ultra cautions.  You've brought your own gluten-free bread to the hamburger cook-out.

You get your burger, you dress it all up - thank goodness the ketchup and mustard and mayo are all gluten free, right? You eat your wonderful burger, and then that evening, you start to feel it.  That rumbling in the tummy.  What?  You were so careful.  Everything was gluten-free today.  You were extra careful. 

You forgot about the condiments, didn't you? The folks before you, the ones without sensitivities, used the condiments on their sandwiches.  While squirting mustard on their sandwich, they inadvertently sucked up gluten particles from their buns.  When they smeared mayo on their bun, some of the bun adhered to the knife.   Then you came in right behind them and put the contaminated condiments on your bun.  And you paid for it in the bathroom later, didn't you?  Was it enough to make you break out in that painful itchy rash? 

The next time you go to a yummy cookout, bring some packets your favorite condiments to be ultra safe. Keep your spidey-senses super sharp for cross-contamination opportunities!

Are there other events where you thought you had taken precautions, but realized later that you had overlooked a contamination source?  How did you deal with it the next time?  Do you have other tips for our readers?

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