There is a fascinating lawsuit in California where Anna Marie Phillips has sued A California woman P.F. Chang’s China Bistro Inc. for charming a dollar extra for gluten-free food. Phillips says that gluten diets are necessary for people with celiac disease and thus the added charge violates the Americans with Disabilities Act.
The lawsuit questions the basis for the charge which vegetables are gluten-free but are subject to the added charge. However, this is a relatively small charge and could be justified on the grounds of not just special ingredients but special preparation. The size of the charge is so small that the advantage will be with the restaurant. The chain can also point to the fact that it is ranked as the second most allergy-friendly restaurant by the website Allergy Eats. As shown above, it advertises its gluten-free approach. Moreover, a study by Canada’s Dalhousie Medical School found that all the commercially available products labeled gluten-free were 242 percent more expensive than comparable products. While this may also be due to inflated prices, it would work to the advantage of the restaurant chain.
The British Medical Journal found that it costs around $550 a year more to live gluten-free. It turns out that that amounts to $1.48 more per day, which is in line with the charge. Again, however, it will depend on the restaurant establishing a basis in the ingredients or the labor associated with the dishes.
Source: Yahoo
Nick – You mean Brian Williams didn’t save puppies from a burning building, dodging dead bodies floating down the flooded streets and avoiding missiles?
I was so surprised that this had gone on for so many years.
All this talk about no gluten is reminding me of my trip to Italy – my absolute more favorite gustatory experience, ever. I never ate a bad meal. Divine.
PR, happy, You women must realize, when you talk no gluten to an Italian it is visceral!
Hey Spinelli
I married 3 1/2 Sicilian men so it is with great pleasure that I leave the gluten out. However, I will share with you that I enjoy our exchanges immensely as you are very “real”
https://medium.com/the-spaghetti-incident/carb-induced-self-reflection-8e9838032cfc
So Happy, were you married to a total of 3.5 men, 1.5 men (3 x 0.5), 3 men who were each half Sicilian, or 3 men, half of whom were Sicilian? And were you married to them all at the same time, or was this a serial commitment? Just teasing. I get from your comment that you weren’t too pleased with their cooking, right?
Tyger lol
lolol
They were mean. They taught me to cook. I can cook all that stuff. I have been married now 20 years to an Scotch Irishman lol. Unfortunately he had a stroke in 2003 and he is a wonderful man. A hard worker. He was a diesel Mechanic.
I still cook with olive oil because it’s good for you and use parmesan cheese and a mixture of seasoning on my chicken without all that breading that would make Nick drool 😉
happypappies,
“Oh well, will take it from diet. Just started eating bread again anyway lol. Thanks for waking me up”
Glad to help. 🙂
That’s okay pr I like Flatbread better anyways. Especially the croutons. lol
happypappies,
“How hard is it to separate you wheat pr? I eat Bunny Bread and it costs 1.92 and it does not have gluten”
I googled Bunny Bread. It does not have added gluten, that is correct. However, it does use wheat flour. Gluten is a protein in wheat flour and cannot be separated. Grains with gluten include wheat, rye, barley, kamut, spelt, emmer, and einkorn (oatmeal is usually contaminated with gluten due to harvesting or processing, but it also has gluten-like proteins that can cause problems with some people). They have varying amounts of gluten, but they all have gluten.
happypappies,
“How hard is it to separate you wheat pr? I eat Bunny Bread and it costs 1.92 and it does not have gluten. You know? It’s the kind with no bleach or anything in it. I eat potatoes, rice and I just don’t eat pasta anymore.”
“How hard is it to separate your wheat?” I am not sure what you are asking. You mean, to not purchase items with gluten?
I have not heard of Bunny Bread. We don’t eat bread or pasta because, at least to us, we can use the bread as a door stop (great description, Karen!), and the pasta doesn’t taste that great either.
Instead, we eat several varieties of rice if we want a starch with our meals. (We are not all the way Paleo, Nick.) 🙂
PR
This is cool
http://www.gfoverflow.com/results.php?q=Bunny+bread
But I could not find my product
Just a minute
Well
am getting an education – has gluten
http://bunnybread.net/products
Oh well, will take it from diet. Just started eating bread again anyway lol.
Thanks for waking me up
I cannot believe there is any requirement that a restaurant must supply gluten-free products to be compliant with the ADA. Therefore it is not a form of discrimination to charge a premium for this product.
The suit should fail in my opinion. The price differential in this instance is simply not discriminatory within the meaning of the ADA.
To be gluten free or not to be gluten free – that is the question (give me a break) 😉
happypappies,
Amazing that there is now even gf dog food! Man, ya learn something new every day!
“It should not cost any more”
I’m unsure as to your meaning? GF products shouldn’t cost more than regular?
How hard is it to separate you wheat pr? I eat Bunny Bread and it costs 1.92 and it does not have gluten. You know? It’s the kind with no bleach or anything in it. I eat potatoes, rice and I just don’t eat pasta anymore. I don’t eat anything that has that in it so I don’t pay more. I season accordingly. I
made this adjustment a long time ago. the dog food is made by Purina like I said and my picky dogs love it. I used to pay a fortune.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Pure-Balance-Small-Breed-Chicken-Brown-Rice-Dog-Food-7-lbs/35844192
Gluten is found in products with wheat rye or barley.
It should not cost any more
I don’t eat it as it actually hurts my stomach and my animals have problems with it also. Walmart now carries gluten free dog food under their label that Purina makes.