Dedicated Dish Clothes

Another place for allergen cross contamination is the dish cloth and dish towel.  Buy new and keep them dedicated to your allergen-free dish washing needs.

Don't Mix Your Hand Lotion into Your Food.

You may have read the title of this tip and said, "Duh!". But think about this another way. You have a habit of putting lotion on your hands after you wash them. Then you proceed to the kitchen and prepare a chicken, or cut vegetables or mix some kind of dough. Many lotions contain gluten or nut oils or soy oils. The lotions gets mixed into food, even in trace amounts, this could cause a problem for someone with those allergies. So if you are cooking for someone with celiac disease, or any allergies (esp. nut, gluten, coconut, or soy...), don't take chances, wear gloves or wash your hands thoroughly and skip the lotion until you are finished cooking.

Separate, Metal or Glass Utensils & Containers. Not Plastic.

Another common means of cross contamination is through plastic. Why? It's easy for allergen proteins to get stuck to plastic (and wood!), and harder to wash those proteins out. That includes cutting boards, spoons, spatulas and containers.

The safest way to keep annoying and often dangerous cross contamination out of your Tender Foodie meals, is to keep the allergen out of the house, or to keep separate containers, pans and utensils for everything.  But if this is not possible, opt for glass containers and metal utensils, and store them in a separate cupboard or above allergen containing products. Wash them thoroughly with hot, soapy water if shared, and dry w/ a clean, dedicated cloth (towels trap allergens, too!).

DO keep a separate cutting board for your Tender Foodie, though.  Since cutting boards are made of wood and plastic, typically, this is the one item that should belong to your Tender Foodie alone.

NOTE: If your doctor tells you that you have a high risk of anaphylaxis, keep the allergen out of your home completely.

Watch Out for Gluten Cross Contamination!

Make sure your gluten-free product is processed in a gluten-free facility or tested to below 20 ppm (preferrably below 10ppm or 5 ppm).  Because there are no real labeling laws in effect, a "gluten-free" label doesn't necessarily mean that it is gluten-free.  Labeling is on the way (we hope), but right now, labeling doesn't mean too much.  Get to know your brands, and look for brands that say, "processed in a gluten-free facility" or "certified gluten-free".  There is a significant amount of cross-contamination can occur simply by running wheat, for instance, on the same machine as a naturally gluten-free item like nut flour or teff flour.  It's enough to make someone with gluten sensitivity, allergy, or celiac disease sick.

Keep Gluten-free foods HIGH, and other foods LOW

Gluten-free tip: If living in a mixed household, great care needs to be taken to avoid cross contamination. Keep any gluten containing item in the pantry, for instance, low, and the gluten-free items high (or better each in completely separate cupboards). Crumbs can fall into food - when you close the pita chip bag for instance, when "real" bread is in the freezer above the ice cube trays, or the toaster is above any utensil drawer.