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Hi,
many thanks to all the people who answered. New Zealand and Australia seem to be very coeliac friendly lands.
My summary is organized according to my questions:
1. Gf processed food that one can buy without looking up in a food list
2. Recommended restaurants
3. Typical foods that coeliacs can eat
4. Declaration gf supplies at custom entering NZ and Australia
5. Gluten free mean on board by Emirates
6. Any other suggestions?
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1. Gf processed food that one can buy without looking up in a food list
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Both NZ and Australia have good food labelling regulations that require gluten (or wheat, barley, rye & oats) to be identified in all manufactured/processed foods.
New Zealand:
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Many supermarkets in NZ have a gluten-free section with a good range of products. Of course there will be many other products not in the GF section that are also GF, but you will need to read the labels.
Some bakeries stock GF bread and other products, but you do need to be aware of cross contamination where GF products are made in the same facility as normal bakery items. Most are good however. Two brand names of bread/bakery products to look for are Dovedale and Freedom Foods.
There is a bakery in Auckland, Marx Bakery. they make not only sweet items , but also savory too meat pies and sausage pies.
Just about every food store in New Zealand carries gluten free food.
and most of it is made in Australia (for instance Orgran www.orgran.com)
Australia:
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The laws there are an exemple of how labeling on products should be. Wheat has to be identified even in products like Glucose. So you can buy things like ham, icecream, chips and chocolate quite safely.
Many products even in supermarkets or convenience stores are labelled 'Gluten
Free' in large lettering, especially things like rice crackers, rice cakes,
corn cakes, gluten-free pasta etc., which are all freely available and
surprisingly popular with the non-coeliac population. Gluten-free bread is
also freely available at larger supermarkets or health food shops, though it
is seldom very good. Supermarkets usually have a health-food section with a
selection of gluten free foods including muesli, biscuits etc (as well as
other 'healthy' foods like organic stuff, psyllium, flax-seeds etc)
As in NZ, manufactured foods are well labelled and you will find a good selection in most supermarkets. Unlike NZ, there is not usually a separate section for GF products in my experience, though the range of products is still very good. Most supermarkets stock GF bread.
Product labelling is good these days, and that is what I rely on. I would be
very surprised if a product labelled 'tuna in water' or 'tuna in oil' had
gluten in it, but I would check anyway. If the ingredient list has only
water, salt or sugar, etc, the product should be reliably gluten free. I
never use a product list.
Where products are not labelled 'Gluten Free', I always read the
ingredients, except for plain milk and plain cheese. Even plain yoghurt here
can have a wheat-based thickener in it. Ham often has wheat-based dextrose
in it, so I am careful to read the label (though some varieties are clearly
labelled gluten-free).
Most milk Nestles brand "all natural" yoghurt only (boysenberry flavour is rich and creamy), Hans brand sliced meats (ham, salami, bacon, etc) are gf.
Normal cheeses, canned tuna in springwater, canned vegetables, canned fruits (in natural juice or syrup), etc, should be gf.
In Coles and Woolworths supermarkets: a good range of g/f biscuits in ("D'Lush" are the nicest), white corn tortillas for wraps (brand is something like "Diego?"), several brands of rice cakes (which look and taste like polystyrene), sliced g/f breads, including multigrain varieties and raisin bread, Bulla brand vanilla icecream, gf dressings listed in the Kraft Brand Australian website,ready made packaged lunch salads - you may have to discard the dressing, but the salads are nice, just avoid the Caesar, Smiths original potato chips, Orgran products (made in Australia).
Supermarkets Coles and Safeway have gluten free food (even bread, but it sells fast).
Starbucks in Sidney has gf cookies.
If you like lollies, you'll have a problem, as almost all include wheat starch
2. Recommended restaurants
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New Zealand:
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Most good restaurants will happily cater for coeliac customers. Asian, Indian and some other ethnic restaurants may not have a good understanding and language may make it difficult for their staff to understand what you require. Small cafes often do not have a very good selection of GF products, if any, so lunchtime eating at such places can be difficult.
Australia:
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Most places can assist you if you ask.
CD is well known in Australia, so you should be able to even find restaurants with gluten free menus.
In Melbourne: Silly Yaks café and Ecco Italian reastaurant.
Just avoid the burgers. Only McDonalds can have some GF.Many McDonalds, btw, have little pastry shops attached to them and each one offers several GF items!!
Most of the coffee shops offer gluten-free cookies and cakes!!!
3. Typical foods that coeliacs can eat
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New Zealand:
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no answers
Australia:
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Food in Melbourne is very like in the UK, though with a greater Greek and Italian influence, and excellent fresh fruit and vegetables.
4. Declaration gf supplies at custom entering NZ and Australia
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You MUST declare ANY food you bring into Australia or New Zealand, or you
can be fined a considerable amount of money. They use sniffer dogs and open
your luggage when they suspect anything. Because Australia and New Zealand
are both islands, we are free of many pathogens such as foot-and-mouth
disease and many fungal and bacterial diseases of plants, so any substances
of animal or vegetable origin must be declared and many are confiscated.
New Zealand:
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There are strict regulations as far as bringing food into New Zealand is concerned. You can only bring in pre-packaged food and the packages must not have been opened. You can't bring in fresh fruit or vegetables, nor honey. If you have any doubt it would be best to declare any food items you are bringing in as there are instant fines if you are caught with anything prohibited. You will actually find the Customs staff to be very helpful if you ask for advice.
The coeliac association of NZ http://www.colourcards.com/coeliac/ states: "When traveling to New Zealand, NZ Customs will allow you to bring in such things as pasta, bread and snacks so long as it is wrapped well. However YOU MUST DECLARE IT; they are likely to have a look".
5. Gluten free meal on board by Emirates
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No specific answer about Emirates. Suggestions to take on long plane flights some emergency food (e.g. chocolate and an apple) and to look carefully
at what they give you before you eat it.
6. Any other suggestions?
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New Zealand:
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Coeliac association: http://www.colourcards.com/coeliac/
More information about NZ can be found in the archives: http://coeliac.info/suppboard/viewtopic.php?t=426
Do a google search for 'New Zealand gluten free support' (with quotes) - lots of links came up for me. Note the difference in spelling for Celiac vs coeliac
'Gluten Free'. The database lists many of the gluten-free products available
in NZ. http://www.mfd.co.nz/
Australia:
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Coeliac Society of Victoria: http://www.vic.coeliac.org.au/
>From Wikicities - "Links to restaurant lists, outside North America"
- lists sites in Australia
http://celiac.wikicities.com/wiki/Main_Page#to_print_out
Here is the link for the Australia Support Group - http://members.ozemail.com.au/~coeliac/index.html
More links can be found at http://celiac.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page - go to Links to restaurant lists, outside North America
Check Clan Thompsons links for "Where to Eat in Australia and New
Zealand" http://www.clanthompson.com/life_travel_whereeat_aussie.php3
Interested people are also welcome to contact me after I come back from my trip. I'll be back in the second half of December.
Thank you again and best regards
Maria Paola
Original request:
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Hi everybody,
I am coeliac, and I live in Germany.
In December I will be spendig some time in New Zealand and in Australia. I will be in Auckland and in Melbourne, and I need some information about gluten free living there.
Which are in New Zealand and Australia the gluten free processed foods that one can buy at the supermarket? Are for instance cheese, natural yogurt, milk, ham, jam, tuna, canned vegetables or fruits containing only water, salt or sugar always gluten free? I am asking about the processed food you can buy without looking up in the food list, which I won't have. I am also looking for food that doesn't need cooking, since I will have to prepare a packet lunch for me every day, and I don't think I will be able to cook.
Can you recommend restaurants in Auckland and Melbourne that serve gluten free food or that are at least friendly with coeliacs?
Are there typical foods from New Zealand and Australia that coeliacs can eat?
I will be taking with me gluten free supplies (bread, crackers, etc.) and a medical certificate. Do I have to declare these products entering New Zealand and Australia, or should I better not mention them and show the medical certificate only if required?
I will be flying with Emirates and ordered gluten free meals on board. Is the company reliable on this point? Sometimes you hear about coeliac passengers fasting or getting normal bread presented as gluten free. I hope this is not the case for Emirates. Has anyone had experience with this company?
I will also appreciate any kind of suggestions regarding gf in Australia, New Zealand and gf during long flights.
Thank you very much for your help.
Maria Paola
Munich, Germany
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Unser Dankeschön: Ihr Name auf dem Segel der 1. deutschen America's Cup-Yacht!
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