Some encouraging gluten-free developments

Just a few notes of things I discovered last week.

First, and at least to me most important, I talked to Jaguars President Mark Lamping on a completely unrelated matter but of course took advantage of the opportunity to talk about gluten-free concessions at EverBank Field.

I told him I was disappointed that the new vendor wasn't offering gluten-free beer this year and he seemed receptive to the idea of offering it in the future. Between that and my previous contact with the vendor, I hope the gluten-free offerings will be better next year. Because of the limited gluten-free options and the Jaguars' performance on the field, I haven't found any reason to go to a game this year, but I'm more optimistic about next year.

Secondly, on a visit to Ruby Tuesday's, I discovered they've now added a gluten-free pasta option to their menu. I didn't try it, but I am pleased to see this chain continuing to expand its gluten-free options.

You may recall several months ago I posted that Ruby Tuesday's offers a gluten-free bun option for burgers, and has some other gluten-free entrees. No, they don't have a dedicated gluten-free cooking space but I still consider this good news.

Finally, Uno Pizzeria & Grill announced it is offering a new gluten-free pizza crust at its restaurants. We don't have Uno's restaurants in Jacksonville but I have written about how disappointed I was when I tried the gluten-free pizza at its restaurant in Kissimmee.

This change tells me that Uno must have realized how bad the previous gluten-free crust was and decided to do something about it. I'm sure I'll get around to revisiting Uno at some point.

Allergy labeling for holiday meals

As we approach the holidays, here's an interesting idea from ConsumerSafety.org to make sure everyone can eat safely at a holiday meal:

Put an allergy label alongside every dish so everyone knows what's in it, and whether they need to avoid it.

ConsumerSafety.org, which provides food safety and other consumer product safety information, has a link to a printable allergen label in this column on the issue:

https://www.consumersafety.org/news/food/whats-really-in-that-fruitcake-food-allergy-safety-during-the-holidays/

The column also has a link to a consumer survey about food safety and recall issues.

The food label is a great idea if you're hosting a holiday meal. Hopefully, if you're visiting someone else, you can convince the host that it's also a good idea. I think it should be easy when the host gets sick of us pestering them for ingredient information before we eat anything.