A series of professional online training courses related to gluten-free cooking and knowledge for catering professionals in the private, health and education sector is being launched in Malta and Gozo.
This is a significant step taken up by Narrative Structures in collaboration with the widely recognised UK gluten-free expert and national UK charity and NGO, Coeliac UK.
The online courses will provide certification by Coeliac UK upon completion of the course. The training courses are being introduced to ensure a safer environment for people with coeliac disease, those who suffer from gluten-intolerance and those who prefer gluten-free dining.
The courses will provide catering staff with the knowledge and confidence required to deliver a wide range of tasty, safe gluten-free options
The initiative will also be a unique opportunity for caterers who want to tap into the gluten-free lucrative market. It is a known fact that people dine in groups and when one person in the group has coeliac disease, the whole group will often dine at a restaurant that offers safe and guaranteed glutenfree options.
The courses will provide catering staff with the knowledge and confidence required to deliver a wide range of tasty, safe gluten-free options within the boundaries of the law.
The content of the courses will range from the understanding of coeliac disease, the law on glutenfree,choosing and using the right ingredients, cleaning and personal hygiene, communication with staff and clients, the basic principles of catering gluten-free and much more.The training covers the essentials of gluten-free catering for the private,education and health sector.
All three courses cover the same content but use relevant sector examples to help make the training more realistic and relevant to individual and organisation needs.
The courses may appeal to those with little spare time or to people who learn best by studying in bitesized chunks.
The courses are also suitable for those with coeliac disease and their family and friends who want to know more about cooking glutenfree safely.
Committed towards raising awareness, PR firm Narrative Structures is renowned for the organisation of large-scale events to raise awareness on coeliac disease and other causes in collaboration with NGOs.
For these particular training courses, Narrative Structures will be working with local NGOs, entities and authorities in the field to ensure that the courses reach as wide a spectrum as possible.
If you are interested in taking up a course for yourself or for your staff, send an e-mail to information@narrativestructures.com.
Raising awareness
Coeliac Association Malta (CAM) is a voluntary organisation for people with coeliac disease or dermatitis herpetiformis, which was founded in 1989 by coeliacs.
CAM endeavours to generate greater awareness on coeliac disease by organising conferences, seminars and talks. It organises social activities for members and their families, and maintains contact with members through newsletters issued periodically.
Membership is open to those who have been medically diagnosed.The association offers advice, provides information about the condition and the gluten-free diet and offers support to members and their families.
Coeliac disease is a lifelong autoimmune condition with an estimated one in 100 people having coeliac disease.
Presence of symptoms such as anaemia, diarrhoea, bloating, joint pain, tiredness and nausea does not necessarily mean coeliac disease. These should first be discussed with your doctor to eliminate other causes. For a proper diagnosis, gluten must not be removed from the diet before tests are concluded.
Initial screening involves blood tests to check for specific antibodies and, if positive, these should be followed by a jejunal biopsy to check for villus atrophy of the small intestine to confirm diagnosis. This is the only proper diagnosis for coeliac disease.
A biopsy may not be necessary for children,if blood tests show a high level of antibodies and they have the genes for coeliac disease. A strict gluten-free diet,which must be maintained for life, is the only treatment for coeliac disease. There are many naturally gluten-free foods, such as meat, fish, fruit, vegetables, rice, potatoes, eggs,cheese, nuts, pulses, etc.
CAM has a number of concerns, the most important being:
• The local generic lack of understanding between the needs of coeliacs who have to follow a strict gluten-free diet for life and those who, for various reasons,opt to follow a gluten-free diet as a ‘fad’. Whereas cross-contamination has no ill effects on the‘fad’ eaters, a single gluten-containing crumb may cause a coeliac to be seriously ill.
• The generic non-implementation of the Food Information for Consumers Regulation (EU) No.1169/2011 legislation which became operative in the EU in December 2014, to safeguard all those who suffer as a result of allergens, including coeliacs. Little has been done on the local scene to implement it.
• The value of the vouchers given to coeliacs on a monthly basis is too low to enable them to procure their staple needs.
For more information, contact CAM at PO Box 72, Manwel Dimech Street, Sliema, SLM 1055. You can also send an e-mail to info@coeliacassociationmalta.org or visit www.coeliacassocationmalta.org or the association’s Facebook page.