Originally Posted by
Revilo199
New EU laws have recently been introduced that forced all eating venues in the EU to mark on their menus which allergens are in their food. All food containing gluten is marked on the menu, usually with a footnote next to the respective item.
Ask your waiter if you are unsure, I know many people here in Austria who live gluten-free and they manage fine.
1) Which laws are you talking about? Never seen this kind of labelling in many restaurants throughout Europe ("all eating venues": what on earth is this, a new politically correct term?). And, strictly scientifically speaking, there is no way you can mark on a menu all allergens, since all proteins of any source can potentially become allergens.
2) Gluten is not an allergen or, to be precise, the symptoms of coeliac disease are NOT due to an allergy: "Coeliacs" have a genetic predisposition. True, you may find a corresponding label in some menus, but for example I've not seen any kind of label in either ice creams or instant coffee, and many of them do contain gluten!
Finally, the chance that "your waiter" knows are minimal. The people in Austria (and elsewhere) who manage fine is not because they ask their waiter but because they have first hand information by having had to eat, over the years, gluten-containing stuff when least expecting it and they know what to avoid.
What about leaving medicine to medics rather than waiters and frequent flyers?