If you think gluten free or free from means food has to be dull, think again.
At a gluten-free Christmas Food Fair in Melksham, a huge selection of mouth-watering gluten-free products will be on offer, include tasty pies, sausages, burgers, beers, bread, Christmas puddings and much more. They will even be serving gluten-free fish-and-chip lunches.
More than 20 companies will be offering their products to taste, share and buy at the fair at the Assembly Hall in the Market Place on Saturday 22nd November.
The event, which will run from 10.30am to 2.30pm, is being organised by the Bath and West Wilts branch of Coeliac UK.
Among a host of producers and retailers taking part are Juvela, Lifestyle, Dietary Specials, Red House Foods, Gluten Free Foods, Innovative Solutions, Somerset Sausages, Christine’s Puddings, Drossa, Nairns, Bistro Express, Perkier Foods, Warburtons, Green’s Beers, Udis, Hop Back Brewery, Bath Bakery, Baked to Taste, Thornleys and Voakes Pies.
Dieticians from the Royal United Hospital in Bath will also be there to offer expert advice. Admission is £1.
Adrian Bass for the Bath and West Wilts branch of Coeliac UK said, “Everyone is welcome to come along and see and taste the latest gluten-free products.
“Coeliac disease, a serious illness where the body’s immune system attacks itself when gluten is eaten, affects one in 100 people in the UK, so is much more common than most people think. In addition, it’s thought that there are about half a million Britons who suffer from it who have not been diagnosed.
“It’s not a food allergy, it’s an auto-immune disease. Eating gluten, a protein found in cereals such as wheat, rye and barley, causes damage to the lining of the gut and means the body can’t properly absorb nutrients from food.
“That doesn’t rule out a host of tasty, nutritious foods such as meat, fish, potatoes, fruit and vegetables, rice and most other good things. Come along and try the gluten-free fish and chips and all the other goodies, and see for yourself!”
For further information visit www.coeliac.org.uk or call the helpline on 0845 305 2060.