Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Gluten-free options at Jimmy John's

During last night's meeting of the Celiac Support Group of Jacksonville, I mentioned that one quick lunch option is Jimmy John's, because they have a lettuce wrap option on their sandwiches.

However, another member of the group cautioned me that their cheese has gluten, which I found very surprising. I would have never even thought to ask that.

So I checked with Jimmy John's today and got a very quick response. The good news is they said the cheese falls within the FDA's 20 ppm guidelines, so it is considered gluten-free.

Here is the full response I got from Jimmy John's with a list of their gluten-free ingredients:



Thanks for eating at Jimmy John's! I am writing you back in response to your earlier e-mail.

You ask if our menu items are gluten-free:

Avocado – It is gluten free.
Bacon - It is gluten free.
Beef - It is not gluten free.
Ham - It is gluten free.
Capicola - It is gluten free.
Salami - It is gluten free.
Turkey - It is gluten free.
French bread - It is not gluten free.
Wheat bread - It is not gluten free.
Cheese - It is gluten free. (Based on the FDA proposed ruling saying that product with <20ppm gluten can be decaled as gluten free)
Mayo - It is gluten free.
Cookies - They are not gluten free.
Chips – They are gluten free.

We have a great gluten free option..our unwich.  Any sub/club minus the bread wrapped in lettuce.

29 comments:

  1. Thank you for the update on their cheese. I've been really confused how their cheese could have gluten so it's good to hear that it's safe (at least less than 20ppm).

    ReplyDelete
  2. Awesome on the chips. I always pass on them because I wasn't sure.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fwiw, apparently processed cheeses sometimes have gluten added as a filler or something as part of the processing. Things like American Cheese are usually not gluten-free, I believe. For example,

    http://healthyeating.sfgate.com/can-eat-sliced-american-cheese-glutenfree-diet-9920.html

    ReplyDelete
  4. This was super helpful. I found out recently that I have a gluten sensitivity, and have to cut all gluten from my diet. It has made grabbing a quick bite during my work day a little hard. It's nice to know that Jimmy John's has plenty of options!

    ReplyDelete
  5. All of their chips do you contain gluten, except for the regular plain chips.

    ReplyDelete
  6. The unwich? Lets treat people with Celiac Disease like unpeople!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes Meisha, we people with celiac or gluten intoleranc are not tolerated by Jimmy John's. They treat us as if we are completely invisible and don't need to eat.

      Delete
    2. Oh please. That's it. Give gluten-sensitive people a bad name by being an ass about it.

      Delete
    3. I am new to this gluten free life. I was just diagnosed with celiac about 3 months ago. I ate here for the first time since going gluten free and i had there turkey unwich, for the first time my tummy is so swollen, I guess I will not being eating there again.

      Delete
    4. I am new to this gluten free life. I was just diagnosed with celiac about 3 months ago. I ate here for the first time since going gluten free and i had there turkey unwich, for the first time my tummy is so swollen, I guess I will not being eating there again.

      Delete
    5. I am gluten intollerant. Ate an unwich with turkey and bacon veggies and mustard. My stomach is so sick right now. I will never ever eat there again. Was in a pinch. Yuck.

      Delete
    6. probably cross contamination. If you ever watch them prepare foods, crumbs are all over the place...

      Delete
  7. was told over the phone that they don't change their gloves, or clean the workspace, or use a different (clean) knife ... cross contamination seems like a very big issue here.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had someone at JJ who was just working on the meat slicing machine and then shifted to starting to make my sandwhich. I asked them to change their gloves which they did. As a vegetarian it's one thing to overlook and try to ignore what is going on with meat in front of me. But when I see them working the meat slicer, that enough to make me ask them to change the gloves.

      Delete
    2. My JJ treats me perfect! They have a separate area where they prepare my unwich, change their gloves & use separate utensils. They actually prepared one & realized they had not made it in the right area so they made another one! I love Jimmy John's in Christiansburg Virginia!!

      Delete
    3. I stopped at a JJs recently while traveling. My son and I are avoiding gluten for non-celiac reasons. When we left, I realized they made his sandwich with bread, instead of lettuce, so I went back. They just took the innards of the sandwich out of the bread and transferred them to lettuce!! If it is important for you to not be exposed to gluten, you would definitely need to speak up for yourself regarding cross-contamination issues, and I would not go during busy times.

      Delete
  8. I have had a reaction after ordering a lettuce wrap (vegetarian). This is probably an okay option if you have a general gluten sensitivity but cross contamination will be a problem if you have Celiac.

    ReplyDelete
  9. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Do not waste you time and money at Jimmy John's if you are gluten sensitive or intolerant or celiac. The $5 Unwich is an insulting joke! Unwich Stands for No food! I am a small person and left starving! Un Jimmy John's for me!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. The Salt and Vinegar Chips are NOT gluten free. It uses Malt Vinegar to give you the vinegar taste.

    ReplyDelete
  12. do they have gluten free bread? Not lettuce wraps?

    ReplyDelete
  13. Could you get any worse than those dry crumbley GF buns like they use at Subway

    ReplyDelete
  14. For a vegetarian, unwich lettuce wrap is not an option for gluten free. You get hardly any calories. It's 2016 and JJ has no excuse for not offering GF breads.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I had a fabulous JJ's Italian unwich last week. It was delicious, filling and very friendly to my celiac stomach.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Jimmy johns Jalapeno and regular chips are gluten free

    ReplyDelete
  17. I just wanted to let everyone know that jimmy johns is not Celiac friendly! I have CD and I tried the unwhich several times and got sick every time. Everyday the employees touch bread and then stick their hands in the lettuce, tomatos and onions so therefore they become cross contaminated! This is a huge let down but there is way too much bread in there for it to be completely safe :(

    ReplyDelete
  18. I've eaten at Jimmy Johns a few times in the past without problem. I had an unwich there yesterday and was soooo sick today. Bloated, painful belly and horrendous migraine today. Never again!!

    ReplyDelete