Bianca Rose, a freshman and member of the rowing team with celiac disease, said dining hall food potentially cross-contaminated with gluten has made her sick to her stomach, causing her to miss practice one evening.
She said she still runs the risk of ingesting gluten-contaminated food prepared in the gluten-free station at Shenkman Hall labeled with a sign that reads “avoiding gluten,” despite lacking any supervisory staff. The counter is separate from Pure Eats, a station in Thurston and Shenkman hall’s dining halls that offer options without the nine most common food allergens including milk, eggs, nuts, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, wheat, soy and sesame.
She said she has seen students using waffle batter containing gluten in the waffle maker designated for the Pure Eats section, contaminating the station and posing a “risk” to students who can’t eat gluten.
“It’s just terrible,” Rose said. “It affects my academics, it affects my athletics, it affects my mood. It’s my whole day that’s kind of ruined.”
Rose is one of more than 20 students with dietary restrictions, like food allergies, eating disorders and religious provisions, who said the labeling of food items in dining halls did not clearly correspond to each dish and did not disclose all its ingredients, causing students to risk ingesting food to which they are intolerant.
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