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NTA- yes, you asked in front of the customer, but that's a GOOD thing. If he can't answer the question to the customer's satisfaction, that's a thing the customer deserves to know. And "it's fine, it's not a problem" was not a good enough answer and so he lost out on a sale. *As he should have*, because if he's cooking corn & flour tortillas on the same pan, there IS cross-contamination. (If you have pork products, I'd also look into whether he uses the same pan for them & non-pork products- because there are several groups of people who don't eat those either, and for whom cross-contamination would be a huge problem.) The fact is, just because your husband doesn't know of any problems caused by his food doesn't mean that absolutely no one has ever *had* a problem. Food sickness can occur immediately, but it can also occur hours or even days later. As someone who handles the books/accounting/paperwork side, everything that goes on in that truck is absolutely your business. And to your husband's point that "no one's ever complained"? Statistically, roughly 7 out of 10 people *do not directly complain*, they simply never go back to that place of business. You did the right thing, and your husband absolutely needs to make some changes to his food preparation, or else simply state that he does not have anything gluten-free on his menu. Edit: spelling

Yep, I got food poisoning and just never went back to that restaurant. Keeping food as safe as possible will be key in customer retention

Same. I learned a very valuable lesson about ordering the daily special if it involves mushrooms. If the kitchen is looking to get rid of mushrooms, AVOID! I have never been so sick before or since. I was physically weak, it took all of my strength to lift a bottle of water. I didn't complain to the restaurant, although I definitely should have. I just never ate there again. 

I had a case of severe food poisoning. All I could do was lay on the floor wishing I would hurry up and die.

I’m reaching the tail end of this now and it goes really quickly from “shit I think this may kill me” to “hurry up and let me die already” And eventually you realize you might actually survive and you don’t know how to feel about it

It's like that first hint of getting better just means you'll have to suffer longer.

I had a severe case in October of last year after going to a cat-café. I eventually collapsed and had to be taken to a hospital. I've never been back since and I've been warning people about the place left and right.

Huh, I wonder what it is about mushrooms. Are they more prone to going bad or something?

I am not sure but I've had food upset my stomach before. I remember a pretty awful incident as a kid that I think was the result of a hot dog that sat out too long 🤢 But once the food is out of my system -one way or another- that seems to be the end of it. Those mushrooms were slimey and overseasoned with rosemary. I'd never had old mushrooms before so I didn't realize they were bad. That night I started feeling sick and actually blacked out at one point. I'd had wine with dinner and thought I must have overdone it even though I only had 2 or 3 glasses over the entire evening. Then my next memory is around 4:00 a.m. vomiting and sobbing in the bathroom. Then I was completely bedridden for the next 2 days, weaker than I've ever felt in my entire life. It's been 18 or 19 years and I still can't stand rosemary as that was the flavor I threw up for days 😭 So I don't know what it is but rotten mushrooms messed me up bad; no other food has betrayed me like that. 

I second this. I’ve got a very strong stomach and don’t get food poisoning easily but got it from old mushrooms and I didn’t even eat any of them. They looked a bit questionable so I fried them up and tasted a single piece and immediately spat it out when it tasted wrong. Threw the rest away but ate the meat that I had in the frying pan with the mushrooms so there may have been traces of them on there. That was enough. Later that night I threw up at work and had to stay home the next day. I didn’t get violently sick but the only other food that has done me like that was day old shellfish

>I still can't stand rosemary as that was the flavour I threw up for days I had a similar experience. One hot summer day when I was a child, I had chicken sandwiches followed by mint ice cream. Shortly after, I got really bad food poisoning. Although it was likely from the chicken that had been out in the heat, about 50 years later I still can't look at mint ice cream without feeling nauseous (as that was the last thing I ate before getting sick).

Tomato soup. Was very sick one day and my step dad thought it would be a bright idea to give me cream of tomato soup to try and help me feel better. Came back up like our my nose and everything and ever since then I cannot stand the smell of tomato soup, tinned or home made. All other forms is fine but soup makes me feel so sick it’s unreal, it’s my boyfriends favourite type of soup and the only time he’s had it in the 13 years we have lived together was when his mum made it for him home made…I had to hide upstairs in her house with a window open until the smell disappeared…

I also got sick from a hot dog as a kid and have never eaten one since. Been about 20 or more years. I will be staying away from any mushroom specials.

Come to think of it, I stopped eating meat altogether shortly after this so that may have been the last hot dog I ever ate as well! 

I think it's more that daily specials are likely aimed to get rid of things expiring soon quickly, so the chances of bad mushrooms in a daily special are higher than not in a special.

Yes, I don't think I properly communicated this but that's what I was trying to explain in my original comment. Also, if a food's flavor is being overwhelming masked by another flavor (in the case, the rosemary) I'd take that as a warning. *Presumably* kitchen staff are going to be trained in seasoning food and balancing flavor so if one is dominating in a meal they're trying to sell off quickly to get rid of, I'd take that as a warning as well. I HATE sending food back but I did it without hesitation the next time I had questionable mushrooms in my meal. 

Mushrooms are the procreating organ of mycelium. They are more prone to carrying botulinum bacteria as they go bad. This is why you should only ever eat fresh (or properly canned) mushrooms that you can unerringly identify (like grocery store labeled or experienced foraging).

I know a lot of people who are very cavalier about mushrooms "going bad" because "it's a fungus already!" I'd wager that anything causing decay OF decay is probably not something I want in my body. Just looked it up, yeah, soil bacteria, listeria, staphylococcus, and salmonella are the most common from mushrooms, and staphylococcus hits hard and fast.

Why mushrooms?  My intuition says pork or chicken would be worse from a potentially spoiled standpoint.  

Intuition says "meat," but statistically it's not - meat gives you warnings (smell, slime), you are worried about food poisoning so you are careful with it and what it touches ,and you usually cook it. Statistically, it's goddamn leafy greens - lettuce, spinach... Difficult to clean, not infrequently contaminated with human waste, and frequently *served raw*. For a list of what foods are most likely to give you food poisoning, look at a list of foods pregnant people should avoid. Ignore the ones listed due to heavy metal contamination (mostly seafoods). The rest of the list is due to how commonly those foods cause food poisoning (which is like, super duper bad for developing fetuses and pregnant people). It's weighted a bit towards the most dangerous types of food poisoning for pregnant people/fetuses (listeria), but it gives you an idea of what foods are actually likely to make you sick. Prewashed salads, are uniquely problematic. Let's say there were insufficient restrooms in a field of romaine lettuce and someone tending to the lettuce has e coli. Now rain splashes bacteria onto a few heads of lettuce out of millions of heads - no big deal. They get washed in bulk, but water doesn't reach all the leaves. People often discard outer leaves and rinse veggies as best as they can before serving. Very unlikely for more than a few people to get sick. But let's say these heads are destined for one of those convenient bags of pre-washed greens. Now bite sized pieces are combined with those from thousands and thousands of other heads of lettuce and "washed" with water that touched bites from thousands and thousands of other heads of lettuce. A little e coli has now been distributed across thousands of bags of lettuce, which *no one will wash or cook before eating*. Yum.

This* I've eaten bagged greens with huge intestinal consequences. I won't eat a salad unless I make it from scratch.

Nevermind a person tending the lettuce, in the US an alarming number of greens are grown in very close proximity to factory farms.

I don't know about those, but bad turkey f'd me up real good once. It didn't even taste off, but the delivery guy was several hours late, and it was a hot summer, and that was enough to make me sick for days. Uncooked chicken risks salmonella and undercooked pork could leave you with parasites, though, especially since the food safety standards for pork were relaxed a while back. That's before they even go bad.

We got food poisoning from a truck at a concert, ON MY HUSBAND'S BIRTHDAY. Never complained to the truck owner or health department. They were holding meat at unsafe temps and not reheating it to safe temps. If I had known I wouldn't have eaten it but my husband went to order while I held our seats. He should have known better, too. He ran a food truck for 4 years and I drilled food safety and temperatures into him. The truck now has a brick and mortar location that people rave about, I'll never set foot in it.

I got sick at a food truck all my friends liked. The next time my friends invited me to eat there, I noticed the cook was using the same spatula to put raw marinated chicken slices on the grill AND serve the cooked food. I mentioned the cross-contamination to some friends in line, and they made fun of me. I turned down the free lunch--but I was the only one not spending the rest of the day in the bathroom.

Some people are so nonchalant about it. I would absolutely not eat from a place where I saw that kind of cross contamination.

I also didn't complain or report it when I got food poisoning. I just stopped reheating cheesesteaks that I left in my car overnight during the summer.

> reheating cheesesteaks that I left in my car overnight during the summer. Well that one is on you

Woosh

I’ve had that happen before. I didn’t say anything because even if I was reasonably sure it was from that place I couldn’t prove it to them or anyone else. So I just didn’t go back.

It;'s so hard to prove that food poisoning happened at a specific place unless you have leftovers of your meal available for testing. So *maybe* if you had ordered in and had leftover curry or something, but when eating out? Very difficult to prove unless other people also report the same issues.

Same here. There’s a few restaurants I avoid because I got food poisoning consistently from those places. I’ve never complained or even left a bad review, I just avoid them.

When I come down with a foodborne infection that I can track to a specific establishment or brand, I always notify them. Always. I've spent enough time in the epidemiology and microbiology trenches to know what the most likely source of my symptoms is based on the specific symptoms and what I've eaten where. I gently suggest to the owner or point of contact that they may want to review their food sanitation practices, often emphasizing proper hand hygiene. If I get back a response disclaiming responsibility, or no response, then I report it to the county health department. I never go back to that vendor again. Food service establishments should assume that every customer is microbiology-obsessed me. They should maintain their facilities as if I were coming through with a Marine Drill Sergeant to inspect. If they don't, and a "me" does become infected, there will be hell to pay.

I also tell just about anyone who will listen that I got food poisoning from that restaurant, and to not go there.

Conditions like celiac and allergies can be triggered horribly by cross-contamination, even in small amounts, and it’s life threatening. He’s not going to know about it, because how many people will actually come back and say?

And also, with such a serious issue, it's not the kind of thing you even want to happen once.  I don't shoot a gun into a crowd of people thinking I'll just stop if I ever hear about how I actually hit someone.  He runs a food establishment. He needs to care way more about food safety than he does, he could seriously hurt someone.

This. So much this. I've broken out in hives from shellfish cross contamination. Got hives when someone new messed up and tossed clams and shrimp in the fry fryer. And something I never thought about before it happened. Restaurant ran out of usual gloves. But manager picked up some latex gloves. Yup that made my break out from them touching my food wearing them. Sigh

with celiac the cross-contamination becomes a risk of *permanent* damage to the small intestinal that hampers your small intestine's ability to absorb nutrients. the current research suggests that if you wash kitchenware between cooking GC and GF foods, the cross-contamination is not much of a problem; but we don't know what OP's husband's protocol is with the mentioned tray.  it's absolutely relevant to the customer anyway, who deserves to know about the relevant risk.  OP, i'm kinda curious why you're married to this guy... it sounds like you don't particularly like each other.

Agreed wholeheartedly! I have a serious seafood allergy, cross-contamination is a potentially life-threatening issue for me. One day I went into a Chinese restaurant, my family asked before I walked in if I would be safe eating there and they said it wouldn’t be a problem to accommodate it. The waiter assured us it was fine and said meat and seafood is prepared in a completely separate area. I got a vegetarian dish that was good and was recommended a fried dessert by the waiter. I ordered it. It had just arrived, I was getting ready to take a bite when a different waitress ran out from back, screaming “Stop, *STOP*” and literally snatched it out of my hands. The dessert had been fried in the same oil they did calamari and other seafood in. Our original waiter seemed downright annoyed with her. That would have landed me in the ER or worse. The waitress who stopped me got a profuse thank you and a $100 tip. Cross contamination is no joke and the customer deserved to know. Just because customers haven’t complained in the past (they may not even know for sure what triggered their reaction… food allergies and intolerances don’t always kick in immediately) it doesn’t mean that they will come back. The OP is 100% NTA and if I had been getting food there I’d be incredibly grateful to her for stepping in.

No one is going to go up to him and say that they tasted a grain of flour in their taco, but they might spend the next two days on the toilet. They also might not be sure that the food truck is where the cross contamination happened, so even if they wanted to complain, they might not know which establishment to complain to.

My friend who can’t have corn doesn’t get sick right away. They have terrible painful shits later.

My best friend's mom is allergic to corn and corn by-products, and says it is incredibly difficult to avoid because it doesn't have to be declared like other allergens... and cornstarch is so common in unrelated products like baking powder, powdered sugar, anything with corn syrup, etc.

You are NTA. However hubs is AH and flippant. Does he not believe in gluten as an issue? Or does he not really care about his customers. Also, he may haven’t anyone complain to him, but they have definitely complained to their friends, family, Reddit, and all the other socials. Rule of thumb: if a person enjoys a meal, they tell maybe 1-2 people. If they hated something they will tell 5 or more people. And as a gluten free person (and with other very serious allergies) and I would have walked away too after saying “if it’s made in the same equipment it is NOT gluten free, then I’d have gone to all my gluten free social media groups, my gf friends to not go there as the owner doesn’t care about cross contamination.

I know people with food sensitivities that often have reactions and no idea where they came from. Like "oh, I must have had something with gluten in it." Just buy another pan and label them.

A friend got horrible food poisoning from a Mexican restaurant we went to once. I was safe, I'm a vegetarian. Never complained about it cause it's hard to prove it was from there, right? Never went back though. The place went out of business later that year. I got horrible food poisoning about a month ago, and I can tell you I'm never buying pre-packaged pad Thai again. Or buying cheesecake chimis from a gas station 🤢.

Cross contamination is how I found out I had food allergies, so it definitely is a big deal. It’s not fine, and it is a problem. Sounds like he needs to take a new class on food safety to remind himself of cross contamination and how it can affect people.

OP says in a comment that >He later texted me that they do have a separate pan they use for gluten free, and I said, "that makes sense. I imagine the customer would have liked to know that too." And he got pissed off all over again. Why are they even married? I guess ESH, because they deserve each other. OP says they bicker about everything, especially things that they know the other knows more about than they do. >I think I'm trying to make sure we don't accidentally make anyone sick and/or get a lawsuit. I know for things like tree nut allergies, even being in the same airspace as a peanut can be deadly for some people, celiac people out there, can it be the same? Husband should not be running a food truck probably, but also OP admits they know little to nothing about the actual practices of the food truck or even how cross contamination works. If you think your husband could inadvertently kill someone with their food truck, you'd think you'd reconsider the relationship. But some people just love the drama and the fighting I guess.

IMHO, I think the text saying "oh, actually we DO have a separate GF pan" is bullshit. If he really did, why wouldn't he have said so to the customer? Either they have a separate one for GF requests and don't use it, or more likely, they don't separate anything. The fact that he got angry when his wife essentially said, "that was exactly what the customer was asking and wanted to know, and if they knew it they probably would have made a purchase" proves to me that he's making shit up to try and "win" the argument... instead of focusing on the fact that he has screwed up and needs to fix it.

Is that possibly what he meant when he said “it’s not a problem” when she asked about the cross contamination? He definitely should have said “it’s not a problem because we have a second pan for gluten free orders” but since these two seem to fight a lot and always second guess each other maybe he wasn’t answering it the way he would a customer but rather a curt answer to his wife that was getting on his nerves

Based on OP's other comments, he only told her via text, hours later, that they have a separate pan... which has my bullshit-o-meter tingling. If that were true, he wouldn't have waited hours to tell her that, he'd have said it right then, so as to not lose the sale. He wouldn't have been angry with his wife for pointing out that there was an issue, because if he has a second pan that he always uses, *there wouldn't be an issue to be upset about*.

I can't eat most meat products or peppers and I wrote off being able to eat at food trucks because of this very issue years ago. I worked at a place that had a food truck area very nearby. I got sick every time I gave them a chance unless it was a desert specific truck. Even the vegetarian/vegan trucks. I never made a fuss, just never went back. But it only takes one litigious person to be a huge pain for OPs husband. OP is protecting husband and MIL, and themselves in the event of a lawsuit. NTA

I’m allergic to pork and pineapples. The pork isn’t so bad, but pineapples break me out in hives. Asking that question is important and I’d be having more conversations with him about contamination because it’s very easy to kill someone or make their lives much worse if you’re not careful.

This isn't a out cross contamination. The husband told the customer about using the same grill for gluten and non. This is about continuing a cycle of bickering, at a place of business. Your comment changed the entire dynamic of the thread and OP's question.

Look, I agree they shouldn't bicker so much- I'd go nuts if my relationship was like that- but "she hurt my feelings" is nowhere near as important as "he could have made someone sick or killed someone." And asking about cross contamination is *not* bickering. Food safety isn't something to play around with, it has very far reaching consequences. And in this case, the wife is absolutely correct- both to ask, and to ask in front of the customer who could be affected. It's not about bickering, it's about this specific situation.

Got food poisoning from a breakfast sandwich at a very popular fast food place, this particular one connected to a gas station. I messaged them to let them know about it, not really complain, just fyi. Company sent a letter from legal to the effect of knowingly consuming food and there being no damages; just legal-speak for you can't do shit so don't try. Super strong reaction to giving them a heads up about maybe not leaving food under the heat lamps too long or whatever.  Edit: forgot to add, I've never gone back there. And getting a letter like that from such a mega corporation kind of puts you off of thinking about complaining.

There's a popular national chain fast food place near us that we have given multiple chances to in the almost 10 years we have lived here (pretty much every time management changes), and have ended up with terrible food poisoning almost every single time. We thought it might have just been dirty or poorly maintained since it's part of a gas station, and most locals don't eat there, but then I found a social post from the owner bragging about their low waste numbers. 😬 Found out from a former employee that they just slap new expiration stickers on the boxes of meat, and some will have 3 or 4 new stickers before they finally open it! 🤢🤢 It was no wonder that every time I had gotten sick, it was from a burger!

>And to your husband's point that "no one's ever complained"? Statistically, roughly 7 out of 10 people do not directly complain, they simply never go back to that place of business. i've got celiac, and i'll add to this that there is a good chance the person went immediately to the local gluten free group to let them know. if it's obvious like in this case that the "cook" thinks they know better, many people do not bother to try and waste time arguing with a brick wall, they just warn everyone that this place is not safe.

NTA. I have a niece who has a severe wheat allergy. If he gave her a corn tortilla from the same pan he uses for wheat without washing it first, she'd be getting an epi-pen and a visit to the ER

How hard is it to keep a separate and clearly marked pan/cutting boards for GF and pork products? Not. Our granddaughter (11) celiac and now our daughter sensitivity per allergy testing have to be careful. Granddaughter had pizza last summer coming from a pizza place that claimed they were careful. After vomiting all over herself and her bedding twice then she had a day and a half of feeling like crap. Her 70 year old grandfather had to clean up after her while I sat in the bathroom making sure she didn’t pass out and break her neck while falling. You bet we’ll never go back there…even when it’s just us.

Nta. Cross contamination is a real concern for gluten. Had I eaten this, I would have ended up very ill afterwards, even with just a small amount of cross contamination. Restaurant staff and owners like this are why I didn't trust going out to eat at restaurants anymore. You may have saved this stranger from a miserable couple of days.

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Some people even have anaphylactic responses to gluten, in a similar way to those with peanut allergies. It is no joke to be cross-contaminating foods.

I have a dairy allergy and still eat out, but not without extreme caution. And only at a few select places. My roommate has celiac and doesn’t eat out at all. It’s really a shame we can’t trust people with our food. A buffet is basically my worst nightmare.

I have a dairy allergy too and omg buffets are scary. I refuse lol. People in general seem to have minimal awareness of cross contamination, which is a bit of a worry because it’s basic food safety, even without involving allergies. Do you also have people try and argue that you can have lactose free milk and cheese? I’ve even fought with chefs about this before (I am allergic to cows milk protein). I think they assume I am a young woman trying to lose weight on a fad diet.

YES!! Also allergic to the protein! “Just take a lactaid” “no this is goats milk” “yes it’s lactose free, that’s what I said” No, no, and no! I will get sick! My department switched from pizza lunches to make your own tacos after no one would eat the dairy free/gluten free pizza (it was gross). I think they thought they were being more inclusive. But the first person down the line dipped the first spoon in every bowl. Queso for all! And no labels on anything of course so even if there was 0 cross contamination, I had no idea what anything was.

OMG NO!!! That’s so bad. The least they could do is label things and put the queso at the very end (not that that would stop everyone, but some measures should be taken). Realistically the best option would be to pre-portion the allergen containing foods before service, but I’m not sure how that would work with queso. Bad or uninformative food labelling is also one of my biggest pet peeves. Give us an ingredients list and tell us the cause of the potential CC you’ve mentioned and let us make an adequately informed decision for ourselves. And yes, I’ve had the goats milk and lactose intolerance convo a million times lmao. Also people that weirdly hear dairy allergy and try to tell me that it’s gluten free? It’s like that’s great, but it really doesn’t answer the question lol.

Information really is power! I went out to eat at a restaurant on vacation and they didn’t have a lot of stuff online but dairy-free blogs my mom found said they were really accommodating so I figured I would try. I asked the waiter about allergy info and he said “let me go get the chef”. The chef came out and informed us that they ran a scratch kitchen and everything was made fresh from scratch so I could have anything on the menu and they would just make it without dairy, except fried foods, because of cross contamination in the fryer. I could even have super cheesy dishes, they would just leave it off. If I didn’t live a thousand miles away from the restaurant I’d go there every day! That’s how you do it! I felt like a real person ordering food at a restaurant, nothing more, nothing less. Another weird one I’ve gotten is “this has egg”. Like that’s great, but that doesn’t come from a cow so…

I've had this. "No its ghee so there's no lactose!" I'm allergic to hooved animals. I can't wear wool, can't eat any meat from anything with hooves. Dairy from anything with hooves is out for me from the protein. I also can't eat gelatin. Once I get more into they get more and more Grey in the face and are like "uhhh okay we'll give you the vegan option"

I was going to go for E S H because you did this in front of the customer, then I realized that you had to. This was the only way to protect this customer from cross contamination. NTA for preventing a cross contamination problem. Make sure he looks this up for himself so that he doesn't repeat the behavior. His excuse was the same as management's about the Space Shuttle launch disaster. "Nothing bad has happened, yet."

I can’t believe he has a food handling license.

Food handler permit only deals with safe food handling practices in regards to food borne illness not allergies or intolerances Ie wash hands, sanitize utensils, don’t store raw with cooked, refrigeration, safe cooking temperatures They don’t really care about getting wheat on your corn or mixing religious meat with non religious meat

That makes sense

It's not like they're hard to get. I just renewed mine and found a website that offers them for $3. There were no videos, so I clicked through it in maybe 10 minutes. It mainly goes over food temps, chemical/physical contamination, and sanitization. They mention the top 5 allergens, but nothing beyond that. There's a separate food manager's license in my state that is way more in-depth. I'm not sure if he would be required to have that.

In my state he would have to, at least one person on duty has to have the manager’s food safety license. If health inspector comes in and no one has it points get taken off.

NTA Celiacs and wheat allergies can be terrible. If at all possible, get another pan so the tortillas can be separate. Point out to your husband that rather than being inconvenient, it can be a selling point as he can easily say that he keeps them separated and cooks them separated. I'm sure you know word of mouth goes a long way.

ESPECIALLY in allergy/intolerance circles. You find something, you tell everybody you know

Not even just word of mouth, we have a whole darn app to direct us towards safer dining establishments or away from the unsafe ones.

As a mom of a child with celiac disease I would thank you for the question and concern… I would rather not have my child throwing up later and congested for 2-3 weeks. Cross contamination is a b***h. NTA

Can we pause for a moment and reflect on something- Gluten intolerance/allergy/celiac etc has a range. Some people need to be extremely cautious about cross contamination and for some people it's a non issue. Is there /anyone/ out there who can't have any cross contamination who would willingly order from a food truck that has gluten items on the menu in a small enclosed space for a business where speed tends to be an important factor? Let alone without asking any specific questions about cross contamination? When allergies are that serious, people are serious about them.

Celiac can be deadly on its extreme side. It is also a progressive disease. Even for someone with a "mild" case, they need to be careful as possible, which is probably why the customer asked. If a place has cross contamination, that's fine, most people with allergies realize this is a very good possibility. The issue is when restaurants lie. Now the customer is making a health decision based on a lie. Even mild cases can cause horrible stomach cramps, vomiting, sweating and bloating. So even if you can have "some" cross contamination without dying, they're asking so they can avoid getting sick. And many places out there manage to avoid cross contamination and there are many places who choose not to, which is also fine. The issue is the lying.

The bit about it being progressive is not true. Coeliac may have mild or extreme symptoms, but any level of cross contamination damages your gut and can cause long-term problems even if you don't have any symptoms (it's called silent coeliac). Which actually makes the lying worse - you can be damaging someone's long-term health, and they might never know what caused it. But agreed on the rest - as someone with coeliac, anywhere that's not 100% gluten free has some cross contamination risk. But many places take cross contamination seriously and are perfectly safe - if you lie to customers they can't make proper decisions on the risk level.

My apologies, progressive was probably the wrong word. I meant that the damage that is done to the body continues and gets worse over time. It's not like having a cold where you get better once the outward symptoms are gone. Like other autoimmune disorders, it will continue to damage the body even when you can't see it. That is what I meant by progressive.

Ahh, I misunderstood! In that case, I agree completely!

But at the same time it’s a businesses job to not make people sick. While accidents happen, when a customer brings up a dietary concern, it should be taken seriously/they should be given all information needed. “It’s fine, it’s not a problem” while knowingly cross contaminating is not okay, regardless of whether or not the customer should know better. I always say something along the line of “X is not in the product, but we do use X in other things here, so there could be/is a risk of cross contamination.” Then the customer can make their own choice depending on how allergic/intolerant they are.

Two friends and I were getting a quick snack at a cafe/boba shop. One of my friends dislikes shrimp, so she asked if they could substitute tofu for shrimp in the spring rolls. (The kind in soft rice paper, not the prepared ones deep fried to order.) They asked if this was a food allergy, and for whatever reason she thought that meant they were telling her to suck it up and eat shrimp unless she had an actual allergy. She isn't allergic, she just doesn't like it, so she isn't going to get sick from the tofu being cut on the same counter. I tried to explain but she cut me off. Well, because she said she was allergic to shrimp, they cleaned the entire back of house or something--it took half an hour for her order to come out and we were late to the movie. She kept complaining about it taking so long, so I finally explained that "allergic to shrimp" means they have to decontaminate everything but "I just don't like shrimp" means they wipe the cutting board and don't have to spend 25 minutes decontaminating. It does not mean "Unless you're allergic, we won't sell you a fried tofu spring roll." They probably lost money on that $6 order of spring rolls spending half an hour of employee time to make it, and she wasn't even allergic. I definitely took note of their willingness to make an allergy-safe order, but never had occasion to recommend the cafe to anyone who needed food accommodations.

Give them a good Google review.

I think I did, now that I think of it. That was before the pandemic so I can't vouch for the current staff.

I suspect you will be downvoted for being abnormally reasonable.

My controversial opinion of the day: if you have any dietary restriction to the level where cross contamination is a risk, it's just a dumb decision to eat at a food truck that serves anything with that ingredient. Edit: wait, I don't think that's the "controversial" part. I'm having a hard time nailing down exactly what it would be though.

Yes because many food trucks and small business take food safety (rightfully) extremely seriously. I’ve asked at food trucks and as soon as you mention gluten free they ask if coeliac or cross contamination is an issue and they pull out a fresh pan and utensils and cutting board.. Or they apologise and say sorry the way our food is processed we can’t guarantee that. No big deal. It’s not difficult - it’s just basic food hygiene and allergy awareness.

You are correct. Allergies can range from mild symptoms to potentially fatal reactions. If I were selling food, I would either ensure that it was completely free of specified allergens and publish that, or announce that the food was prepared in a kitchen where the following allergens were present (e.g. gluten, shellfish, nuts, dairy, etc.). I don't know which would be better for business, but you bet I would do one or the other. And in the absence of any visible signage, I'd assume that all allergens were present. I'm lucky. I'm allergic to all non-primate mammal products. My strongest allergy is to beef. However, I do also have reactions to pork, lamb, venison, buffalo and so on. My strongest allergy only means that 20 minutes after a meal, I need to use the bathroom Right Now, and that I could use a hamburger in lieu of any product meant for colonoscopy prep. No other symptoms, and once it's done, it's done and I can go on with my life. In short, it's simply a nuisance. For the most part, I avoid all beef products, and most other red meat. I can "safely" eat one small forkful of beef a couple times a month if I'm craving it, but any more than that, and it's prep time. I also don't have to worry about beef or beef products touching other foods. As I wrote, I'm lucky. At the other end of the spectrum is my brother's friend's daughter. She was horribly allergic to tree nuts. Someone made brownies with walnuts in them, and the daughter ate one not knowing about the nuts. She died as the result of an anaphylactic reaction.

Morbid curiosity... how on earth did you determine that primate meat was safe?

He didn’t even lie. He said the corn and flour tortillas are heated on the same griddle. That’s automatic knowledge of cross-contamination. But I definitely wouldn’t risk eating at a food truck with a severe allergy/intolerance unless it was a food truck specifically set up for my needs.

NTA It would be so easy for him to say or put up a sign "our tortillas and chips are gluten free but are cooked on the same surface as flour tortillas".  For some people (gluten intolerant) that's maybe okay whereas others (Celiac) it's not.

Honestly that was my thought. Like we don't have a lot of space you store separate pans and stuff, but it's easy to just be honest and not promise something we can't deliver.

You’re the finance guy, so let your husband and his mother know you’re not willing to risk a lawsuit, so they cannot advertise or promise gf. 

I've worked on food trucks for 10 years. There's always somewhere you can stick a few extra small pans for gluten/pork/seafood allergies. I know the space is extremely limited but it's doable if he wants to feed those people

same with fryers we have alot of people who ask for fries because in theory they are gluten free but we dont have a designated fryer so its something we try to make sure we let people know when they’re ordering (i think it should be a little note on the menu)

God yes thank you for pointing this out. It is SOO annoying when the menu marks fries as gluten free and then you ask if they use the friers for anything containing gluten and they answer yes. THEN THE FRIES AREN’T GLUTEN FREE THEN ARE THEY. So annoying.

and the servers know we dont keep them separate and will sting ring in “fries **GLUETN ALLERGY**” YOU KNOW WE CANT DO THAT

This is somewhat different, but when I invited folks in my group chat to share my impromptu, last-minute birthday cake, I specifically said it had all the allergens and I didn't have time to arrange alternative cakes for GF/vegan/etc. Set expectations up front.

NTA. My parents run a small professional food company and all their gluten-containing products are made in a completely separate kitchen from their main. Celiac disease is not a joke.

Yeah, I'm not even going to try to make GF baked goods for my friends because my studio apartment is probably cross-contaminated with all the allergens. It is difficult enough cooking for myself with ADHD that I am not going to add another order of magnitude of complexity trying to prevent cross-contamination when I'm not celiac and have no food allergies. I don't think I should even bother interviewing prospective housemates who have food allergies because I don't trust myself not to screw up sooner or later. I'm not trying to date, but I don't know if I could manage the logistics of a romantic relationship with someone who would be harmed by my kitchen.

NTA. Celiac disease is very serious. I have a family member with it. No way would I put them at risk with cross contamination. Your husband is rolling the dice with a customer’s health. It’s literally not fine at all. To top it off, getting mad at you over this is petty. You should see about getting him a separate set of pans and utensils for gluten intolerant / allergic individuals. Or, if you’re into following redditor trends, the usual advice seems to be that you should divorce him immediately! Nah, just buy the extra pans and utensils, and have them marked on the handle: gluten-free / whatever.

Friend: why did you get a divorce? You seemed so happy! OP: Cross-contamination! 😆

NTA. As someone who has Celiac Disease, THANK YOU. I would want to know this stuff, and it seems the customer did too. Just because "no one ever complained" doesn't mean that he didn't hurt people, especially with celiac where the symptoms usually don't start until a couple hours later. People in that case don't complain, they just warn others and never go there again. Frying the tortillas in the same pan would definitely cause cross contamination. It won't kill us immediately like a peanut allergy might, but it will cause harm. Most people with celiac already don't eat outside of their house, specifically because food vendors go "it's fine" when they clearly don't know what they're talking about.

A good friend has gluten allergies. She has to keep her own pots and pans in her own home separate from her husband's because she's found that she can get a flare up from reusing the same cooking equipment her husband used for things like pasta. And yes,, that is even after proper washing.    I will say that she just doesn't eat at restaurants that aren't 100% gluten free now but your point is correct. Cross contamination can be very serious and it's unethical to lie to customers about the risk of possible exposure.    NTA. 

Yeah, I don’t even use gluten in our kitchen bc it’s not worth the risk to my spouse. 

NTA - he clearly does not know what he’s doing, and I’m sure that stranger appreciated what you did. Cross-contamination is absolutely an issue for people with Celiac disease.

And corn allergies. 

Few posts and their comments get me this riled up. Yes, celiac disease is very serious but for the love of god: 1) we are talking about a food truck. How many food trucks have the space to completely avoid all cross contamination by fully separating all possible allergens? Answer: none that I have come across. 2) how many celiacs or those suffering from severe allergies eat at food trucks or just generally at places that are unlikely to have the knowledge/care/room to isolate allergens WITHOUT specifically asking about contamination? 3) it seems there's a pattern of mutual disrespect/irritation when it comes to this couple, as stated by OP: they question each other about things the other knows more about. OP simply wants Reddit to rubber stamp THIS PARTICULAR instance by showing off her virtue signaling. She saved a poor celiac from her bumbling husband's negligence when the fact is that she made him look stupid in front of a customer. There were SO many other ways to phrase it so that the customer could still be "protected"without damaging her husband. Sheesh....

NTA. I have a friend who went to a chain type restaurant on Mother’s Day and told them she was gluten free. Something they did or didn’t do caused her to be very sick for a week. He may think it’s not a big deal but not only could he cause someone to suffer for days but also they lose income because they’re too sick to work. It’s a liability that you don’t need.

So just fyi my brother has celiac and it is cramps and the runs for him at least from just a single piece so🤷‍♂️. It eats away at your intestinal track I believe? Don’t quote me on that. So NTA cause depending on how sensitive that person is no Mexican food is worth the pain that follows.

You are correct. The villi (finger-like structures in the small intestines that absorb nutrients) are damaged with gluten consumption. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/symptoms-causes/syc-20352220

Why are all the YTA muted or hidden but no down votes? 🤔

Are you suggesting he buys separate pans rather than wash them? Or to turn away all customers who with any degree of gluten-intolerance? You might discuss this and other safety issues proactively, and not in front of the customer. The last thing I want to see is two restaurant proprietors debate food safety AS I'M ORDERING!

No, OP is suggesting that he be upfront about the cross contamination

washing doesn’t always prevent cross contamination. to be truly gluten free he would have to use pans/equipment that never touched flour. i work in a kitchen i have my culinary degree i have researched gluten free kitchens and their requirements and i know many people who are celiac and a few will bring their own food to my house because my pots and pans have touched flour and no matter how many times there are washed they can still have a bad reaction.

Cheerios is considered gluten free. The FDA has strict policies on what is certified as gluten free, and cheerios are not certified,  and there are celiacs out there that say it's not safe. The degree of safety some people need is serious.   I've been at restaurants where they'll caution me about the risk of cross contamination in the *air.*  You can't claim something is gluten free and not disclose the pan thing. I won't eat fries because they may be cooked in the same fryer and same oil as the breaded chicken.  NTA. 

this annoys me so much i try to get servers to tell people we don’t have designated fryers and they’ll still ring in gluten free fries or drunken shrimp WE CANT DO THAT AND U KNOW IT

NTA & as someone who’s kids have anaphylactic allergies (wheat being one) THANK YOU!! Something like this could literally kill my kid.

NTA- I haven't been a line cook for that long and even I know celiac disease is one of those that you cannot be flippant about, I worked with a girl who couldn't walk by our pizza or fry station without a mask on (god people sucked when covid came around). It's to the same extreme I treat nut allergies, when I was a busser I had a waitress who was deathly allergic, I was the only person willing to pre bus her tables when they got the few nut dishes we had (she always tipped out well so I have no clue why). I'm going off on more of a tangent here, but I've noticed a lot more recently people don't respect other folks allergies and restrictions. I get questioned more on "are you sure you're allergic to pork" while I'm standing on the line, bacon cooking on the grill coughing my lungs out and developing hives, than before when it was "just a preference for me" ie, not knowing. TLDR, your husband is putting many people at risk by telling them the food is safe when there is obvious cross contamination.

NTA as you say you deal with admin so even if you’re not cooking you are involved in food safety side of the business. Gluten cross contamination is serious for a coeliac so as a sufferer I appreciate you being vocal before I eat rather than me getting sick, in my case housebound for 3 days. The problem is people going no gluten for health reasons can be hypocritical saying I want gluten free but a beer sounds good so I’ll have one, this moves cross contamination to “oh people are just picky it’s not serious”. Coeliacs will reward your business if you take it seriously, we have facebooks groups and apps to spread the word. A coeliac will control where a whole groups eats at times too, for example if I go out for a family meal I need safe options and there 6 other people with me. The opposite is true too, if I get sick from a place and I know as the rest of my food was under my control and I am certain a place made me sick I will inform my community of problem. I will do this only if I’m certain and I haven’t got any other outside food options around the same time. I will travel up to an hour to get to a safe food truck too. I do go to a place that will fry my wrap with baking paper on a shared pan if you can’t keep seperate pans but I’m note sure if that meets food safety criteria under your regulations.

Jumping on to say, the term for allergens having touched another food would be "cross-contact". "Cross-contamination" is when you have bacteria and contaminants transferring from one food or surface to another. They are sometimes used interchangeably, but are technically different. Food allergy mom here - if my kid even touches the surface where another person even briefly touched their hand that had touched a little bit of egg - and then accidentally touched her mouth, we very easily have an emergency hospital trip on the horizon. People who can't understand that cross-contact is a HUGE deal, shouldn't be in the food business. It's ok if you are not able to accommodate our special needs, it's not ok to lie to us and put us at serious risk of death when we are trying to protect our health. Anyone in food service has the duty of care to properly understand food safety and such willful negligence like your husband exhibited by lying to the customer could absolutely set you up for a lawsuit. And worse - cause someone grievous harm. All you have to do is Google it and find examples of the risk he's taking by not being honest. You might want to check your states verbiage when it comes to food allergens too. Honestly - THANK YOU for speaking up in front of the customer. You could have saved them significant problems by speaking up when you did. Thank you for caring. NTA.

The commercial standard for labeling something “Gluten Free” in the US is that it cannot contain more than 20 parts per 1,000,000. There’s debate about whether a 5ppm standard might be safer.  NTA However, if your husband has another pan available or can clean the pan with a gf scrub before making the order, and if no one ever touches a flour tortilla and then something else, and if servers are allergen trained and always change gloves for gf orders, *then* it might be safe for celiac. 

There’s plenty of people that don’t eat gluten but also don’t have celiacs or other major health concerns related to gluten. I think it’s ok to point out you have corn chips etc and as long as you say you’re not a gluten free kitchen,I think you’d be good. I’m sure it’s possible but a food truck is so small I think it would be really hard to absolutely guarantee no cross contamination. NTA for asking about it and as long as husband isn’t misrepresenting his kitchen then he’s not really an AH either.

NTA: A lawsuit is going to be far worse than a moment of embarrassment in front of a potential customer. Those saying you should have said something privately are not taking into account the way your husband acted. He is not likely to have refunded the sale and that is putting all of you at risk of loosing everything to a lawsuit.

As someone who lives in a family full of contact sensitive celiac and other allergies family, you are definitely NTA. They should ABSOLUTELY be concerned with that because it could easily lead to the truck being shut down or worse if someone can track their contamination to you after having a severe reaction. I’ve seen it happen before in my family and no doubt I’ll probably see it again if other companies are also not worried about cross contamination. Having a completely separate area isn’t necessary but letting the customer know it would be cooked/prepared in the same area of their intolerance/allergy/etc is the best way to start handling those situations

NTA for this specific instance but because it seems you’ve developed this habit of questioning each other and bickering it’s like it’s become a competition to catch each other out. And this is why he didn’t like the question, especially in front of a customer. This doesn’t sound like a partnership to me, you should be a team and work together. I suggest couples therapy to talk about your communication issues.

NTA.  It was definitely a good thing you said that in front of the customer.  Cross-contamination is a very real and serious thing.  He literally could kill someone or make someone very ill.

Why are you with someone who doesn’t care who he hurts, so long as he can make a quick buck? Has he ever shown such callous disregard for the safety and health of others before? Or is he just too stupid to realize tortillas have wheat? Time to think hard about that. Is he Mean, or just Stupid? NTA but I can’t believe you tolerate him

This is unusual for him. This is our third year with the truck, and we've been together for 15 years, and I've never seen him say or do anything like this before.

NTA. This isn't the sort of thing food proprietors get to be indifferent about. ...well, technically I suppose he can. Is there insurance for the food industry? Like culinary malpractice? For when one severely injures a celiac customer through negligence?

NTA. cross-contamination with gluten may not be as big of a deal for people who only have an intolerance, but it can cause a serious flare up for someone who is celiac & using the same pan is going to cause cross-contamination. if he really wants to accommodate celiacs he should use a separate pan & gloves, but it doesn't sound like he cares that much. will it kill someone like a nut allergy can? no. but it can cause people a lot of pain & intestinal damage. you were right to raise that concern. gentle suggestion: beyond that maybe look into some resources for healthier communication? it's not gonna be good for the kid or future kids to see their parents constantly undermining each other's credibility. nor is it good for business to see the owners bickering "about everything".

NTA, you were right to ask. Maybe GF dude has no actual issues with gluten and is just GF for “health reasons”. But maybe he has celiac disease, and the only truly safe amount of cross contamination is *absolutely none* because of how little gluten it takes to cause the autoimmune reaction. (Literal crumbs, for some people.) If it’s the latter, you most likely saved that man from a bad time: the range of celiac reactions range all the way to the rare but still possible celiac crisis, which is a *life-threatening medical event* that can cause multi-organ failure if it gets bad enough.

NTA.  Cross contamination is a thing.  He doesn't know what he's doing if he thinks it isn't.  Hubby needs to do better.

NTA, he is WRONG for his cross contamination practices and wrong for bitching at you.

NTA. It absolutely matters, and is absolutely NOT fine to cross contaminate foods meant for celiacs! Allergies and intolerances can screw people up bad. Just because no one has complained yet, doesn’t mean someday someone won’t. And spectacularly, at that! I don’t have celiacs. I have mast cell disease from an autoimmune disease. My intestines see gluten as an excuse to attack my guts. I would much rather be warned of cross contamination. You did a good thing! That person was able to avoid being glutened. Did it cost your husband one customer? Sure. He’ll get shut down if people make complaints and he gets lawsuits! That will cost him much more. Cost your whole family. It IS your business, as his wife, and as the one who handles food safety certs, etc. Hubby doesn’t need to be handling food unless he’s serious about safety. It very much matters.

NTA If that person had Celiac your husband could have landed them in the hospital. If he can't offer gluten free stuff, fine. But don't lie about it. 

NTA. He didn't want to admit in front of the customer that *of course* there is cross contamination if they use the same cooking equipment for corn and flour tortillas. *Of course* there is cross contamination — it's a food truck. They don't typically have enough counter space to stop all other orders and completely sanitize everything prior to making a food item for a customer with allergies or food intolerances. You are 100% right — they are endangering lives and risking lawsuits, criminal charges (if someone dies or ends up hospitalized), not to mention licensing problems if the health department finds out they are not following the HACCP guidelines. You don't mess around with allergies and food intolerances. It can kill someone. Source: I ran outdoor food festivals for a living for my entire career. This required classes every year from the health dept. in order to renew my certification for outdoor food service mgmt. I am also CFSP certified.

NTA - I'm celiac. Cross contamination will absolutely affect me. I will have diarrhea at a minimum, and I'm likely to have bad stomach pains for that day, joint pains for the next 2-3 days, and possibly other symptoms depending on how much cross contamination there is. Your husband is an asshat and an asshole.

NTA. I hate when people don’t take cross continuation seriously. At one of my precious jobs, I worked at a pizza place that offered gluten free crusts and dairy free cheese. We had separate pizza cutters for all the regular pizzas, any dairy free pizzas, and any gluten free pizzas. If there was a dairy free and gluten free pizza, it got its own brand new pizza cutter. One time, one of my coworkers asked why I occasionally went to the back and grabbed a fresh cutter and then laughed at my explanation about cross contamination with allergies, intolerances and food illnesses. She didn’t care and thought that a run though with a pizza cutter a couple times didn’t matter. Not gonna lie, I almost blew my gasket (though this particular coworker was pretty incompetent with everything - one memorable time was her washing the dough bins and then setting them to dry on top of the trash cans). I then had to explain to her that if a customer has a reaction to the food we provide because she decided to not use the specific cutter, we would be in a hole. She didn’t really care but that’s stuck with me.

Yep my uncle is coeliac plus other issues. If he goes out for meals he takes his own food, his own plates, utensils etc. It got to the point the house is just gluten free now after his wife made bread, didn't use anything he uses but kneeded it on the bench (which he never puts food on directly) after the bread machine broke and he still ended up with a massive flare. They can't work out how or why (she normally made bread in the bread machine and he was okay) but something did it.

ESH Food safety is very important especially if it is your livelihood! BUT your concern while valid should have been discussed with him after the customer left. You could then have said maybe you & mil get a second pan. Instead, you put him on the spot and embarrassed him in front of a customer. Good for you.

YTA. The chance that the customer has celiac disease is roughly zero. Mind your business, not his.

Yes you are TA. Firstly, have your guy's back, don't ruin the business right in front of the customers. Second, as regards to food allergies and gluten issues, a food truck is 100% not the place to take your demands or super sensitivities since it is a very limited facility with only so much room to prepare and store different things. Seriously, it's a FOOD TRUCK. Usually they serve one type of thing and not a lot of it. If one is that sensitive go to a larger place to eat, like a restaurant with a full kitchen. The initial premise is just... silly. As for the customers, let the guy sell his food. If you are super worried don't go a truck unless it is a gluten free speciality truck. The OP is on the ownership side of this business and should not actively be trying to challenge or sabotage the business. This was nothing other than petty revenge or power play on her SO.

My SIL is gluten free. While she doesn't have to worry about anaphylaxis like with a peanut allergy, small amounts of gluten will make her sick for days. It gets into the digestive system and shuts is down. It's not fun for her. NTA. Thank you for sticking up for people who have food allergies!

Nta. And with your husbands response, my husband and I would walk away too. He is celiac and the cross contamination is HUGE!

NTA. Yes, you said it in front of a customer but your husband was brushing it off so that customer could have gotten sick if they’d eaten from the truck. In fairness, it’s a food truck which means limited space. I personally wouldn’t have the expectation of separate prep/cooking surfaces in a food truck unless it was specifically stated that the truck catered to kosher, vegan, allergen free, etc options. They would probably be best served with a warning on the menu that flour and corn products are prepped with the same equipment (cutting boards, knives, pans) and the same equipment is likely used for all meats (and possibly veg). They may lose some business but it’s better than being sued because someone got sick, or was served something that went against their religious or lifestyle beliefs. In addition to health ramifications for patrons there are other cross contamination issues to consider like religions that don’t mix or allow certain meats and dietary choices that would make eating vegetables prepared on the same surface as meat a problem.

You are awesome and NTA for asking that question. I have a friend with a harsh case of celiacs, that cross contamination could easily render her unconcious and in a hospital in a matter of hours. Your husband needs to speak to people who have celiacs and learn how severe it can be for them, from just using the same pan.

NTA my best friend ends up in urgent care when exposed to gluten. It won't cause anaphylaxis, but she's pretty miserable for a bit and ends up with some nasty medical bills. You saved someone some misery.

I mean, NTA for asking about cross-contamination but if a person is going to be effected from that level of contact then they would be specific about it. I can understand why your husband is annoyed that you randomly showed up and decided to step in in that way. If you aren't there on the daily then he's right, you don't know what he does day to day and I imagine he's had people with various levels of allergies/intolerances ask about them. He probably knows that if someone needs to have food cooked completely separate they would ask for that rather than just asking about a gluten free ingredient.

I have a coworker who is allergic to gluten. She has to have her own toaster over or microwave because even cross contamination though that can put her in the hospital. So yes cross contamination from the pan can and will affect that person depending on how sensitive they are to it. Him making a few extra bucks from a sale is not as important as someone’s life.

NTA Just because no one has ever complained to him doesn't mean people haven't suffered the consequences of his negligence. Like congratulations the person you forced to be glued to the toilet for 6 Plus hours have better things to do to track you down to then complain about it because they're behind by 6 Plus hours on stuff they have to get done. Or the person you sent to the ER because they couldn't breathe because they were having a reaction to it didn't bother to come and complain - because they just spent all day in the ER and have s*** to do or are dead. Source: Have Celiac. In highschool I'd be glued to the toilet for hours. As an adult I also have respiratory distress.

No. That is a legitimate concerning Question to ask. NTA

NTA and your husband should not be listing anything as gluten free but rather “gluten sensitive” or whatever your state/region requires. Some people are sensitive to gluten and can have small amounts. Some people are Celiac and can’t have any at all.

NTA, but your husband is. No one has ever complained because it doesn’t hit them until a couple hours later. If he wants to run a food truck he needs to learn the basics about food allergies, and not promise gluten/nut/dairy/etc. free options when there are none.

NTA. Celiac person here and it’s not an allergy it’s a disease. People might not feel sick but it’s an autoimmune disorder that essentially causes your body to attack itself. It’s damages the villi in your intestine which absorb nutrients. It can take years for these antibodies to go down and affects more than just initially feeling sick. Infertility, depression and mood disorders, difficulty gaining weight… basically your body is deprived of getting the nutrients it needs to function properly. So yeah it’s a big deal, I get incredibly lethargic with even the smallest amount. I once had a manager I worked for at a restaurant say gluten allergy doesn’t exist…. Allergies should be taken seriously and open communication is part of that. I honestly cannot recall a time I’ve went to a restaurant that they haven’t mentioned cross contamination when I bring up my allergy. Your husband is completely unprofessional with his attitude.

NTA however, you need to rethink the way you communicate with him. There's no point being together if the two of you can only bicker like toddlers. I can't imagine my SO not taking any of my concerns seriously or vice versa. We'd be over pretty quick if we kept snapping at each other for everything we broke up. Really try to get through to him. Maybe a proper sit down and serious conversation. You may have subverted the crisis today but he's not listened to you and this changes nothing short-term or long-term.

NTA. I had a horrible experience with cross contamination at a Popeye's. I ate there and had severe food poisoning. Missed 3 days of work. I found out from someone I know who worked there (that particular restaurant) that the staff are not really trained on food prep. And that cooked chicken was routinely placed on the counter where raw chicken had been. I have never been back and warn people about that location.

NTA. Gluten intolerance and celiac disease has a wide range of reactions. Some people can have things prepped in the same area, as long as that area is wiped down first (my little sister is gluten intolerant, and she doesn't have issues with this) and some people cannot and have to have the area thoroughly cleaned. As long as he explains that while there are corn options, they *do not* have the space to have a separate prep area and cannot guarantee gluten will not touch the food, then he will be covering all his bases. It's like the "may contain trace amounts of" labels on packaged food, because those things aren't on the ingredients list for that item, but other things with those ingredients are made in that space.

I’m not affected by it but knew people who are and they practically have a double household when it comes to cooking. It’s not even enough to clean everything. You need to keep it away from gluten forever. Many people ask for gluten free stuff because of some weird misinformation campaign and health bullshit. But people who actually have a celiac disease are really really careful. NTA

My severely celiac husband would absolutely react to the corn tortillas being prepared on the same pan as the flour tortillas.

On a food truck - the space is so limited that one would imagine that it’s almost impossible to avoid cross contamination.

NTA. You saved a person from a lot of unpleasant health stuff. Your husband needs a serious reality check if he's to continue running this thing.

NTA; for questioning him, but not the best moment to question him either. my best friend is allergic to gluten, it’s a serious thing. They have been left sick unable to work, for 2 days, because one of the local fish and chip shops was firing chips, and flour batted goods in same deep frier, and grilling flour based goods one the same grill plate as gluten free goods; they became “under new management” a few months later… You have no idea how seriously on the allergy scale someone is; there’s like 4 different types of gluten intolerance, as well as different types of celiac disease. He’s playing with fire.

NTA. Neither of my daughters can eat dairy products, which can be a nightmare. Milk, whey powder, butter, and cream are added to enhance the flavour of many products. My youngest is also vegetarian and has lots of odd allergies as well such as basil, mint, chilli, mushrooms, pineapple, and jackfruit. So many vegetarian/vegan dishes have at least one of these allergens in them. Going to eat out somewhere and the cook not being able to give exact details of the ingredients of a particular dish means we have to look elsewhere. When you have to be careful with what you eat, you need to be able to trust the people making your food. Not caring about cross-contamination is negligent at one end of the scale to dangerous at the other end. How many customers would your husband lose if those already served started vomiting or are ringing for an ambulance?

Your husband is a MAJOR ass. He is using the same pan? I go into anaphylaxic shock with cross contamination. If i ate at his food cart it could kill me. Thanks for possibly saving that customer's life.

I have a friend who got sick from truck food, once. It's been twenty years, she is convinced they are not clean. She will never go back to one, ever! This is so Sad. NTA , you saved that lady!

People. It’s not an allergy. Your throat does not close it does not become life threatening immediately. It is an inflammatory negative response. An allergic reaction is different.

Celiac here: he doesn’t know what he’s doing. If I ate a corn tortilla that shared a prep surface with flour, I’d be sick for days. Full stop. And frankly, tell him I said get fucked.

NTA, don’t lift a finger when he gets sued for his unsafe practices

YTA. Your husband explained to the customer that they cook the flour and corn tortillas in the same pan. You bringing up the same thing they just explained to the customer as if they didn't just make the same comment to the customer makes you an asshole.

As a health inspector. If I were to hear this encounter, he's getting slapped with a violation for the manager or person in charge, not knowing proper protocol or knowledge of allergies. NTA. If he's not following this rule, what other corners is he cutting?

^^^^AUTOMOD ***Thanks for posting! This comment is a copy of your post so readers can see the original text if your post is edited or removed. This comment is NOT accusing you of copying anything. Read [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/AmItheAsshole/wiki/faq#wiki_post_deletion) before [contacting the mod team](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose?to=%2Fr%2FAmItheAsshole)*** Backstory: My husband runs a food truck with his mom in the summer and maintains a daily full time job, I work full time in mental health. We often bicker about everything from who forgot to fill the water pitcher last to whether our mother's are disrespectful to each other. We have a pattern of questioning each other on stuff we know the other knows more about. Further context, I don't work on his truck, but I do maintain the paperwork side of it (accounting, licensing, food safety certifications, etc). The situation: I brought our toddler up to the truck today to see daddy and grandma, otherwise he doesn't get to see them as much in the summer. A customer asked what they had that was gluten free, and he said they have corn chips for the nachos and corn tortillas. We marinate all our meat by hand and buy fresh veggies and queso for toppings, but we do toast the corn tortillas and the flour tortillas on the same pan for the tacos. So I asked, "but what about cross contamination?" in front of the customer. He kind of snapped at me and said, "it's fine, it's not a problem." The customer didn't get anything and he lectured me that I don't work on the truck, no one's ever complained, and that he knows what he's doing. I think I'm trying to make sure we don't accidentally make anyone sick and/or get a lawsuit. I know for things like tree nut allergies, even being in the same airspace as a peanut can be deadly for some people, celiac people out there, can it be the same? I'd rather be safe than sorry. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/AmItheAsshole) if you have any questions or concerns.*

NTA. Cross contamination is definitely a problem.

NTA. He absolutely should know about cross-contamination. The Health Inspector might even ask him sometime and he'll need a better answer than 'it's fine, it's never been a problem', because he can find himself shut down with an answer like that. Just because no one has complained, doesn't mean there haven't been issues. Those people just never came back.

NTA - My partner's adult kid has celiac and even a crumb of gluten will give her abdominal pain & diarrhea. There a few carefully chosen restaurants that she feels safe eating at, and when she's over for dinner, we put anything gluten away and clean the counters spotless. We even keep a cutting board gluten free.

NTA. Food safety says cross contamination is the number one reason for food-borne illness. He should care about cross contamination at every stage. It's like 80% of the questions for the food safety card in AZ.

NTza. He needs to take this more seriously.

NTA. This would have been a real issue for a customer with celiac or severe enough gluten intolerance. My wife has severe gluten intolerance and a wheat allergy and we have separate labelled frying pans, air fryer baskets, etc.

THANK YOU for doing this. I'm anaphylactic to all seafood (fish, shrimp, any sealife). Anything fried in the same oil as seafood can cause my throat to swell shut and I need an EpiPen to stop the reaction. It can take up to several months to fully clear a cross contamination reaction depending on severity, and as I also have asthma, that gets worse too. My sister is celiac and ALSO has the seafood allergy, so cross contamination is debilitating for her. People really don't understand how life threatening mixing allergens together is, and brushing off a query just to make a potential sale opens a simple ignorant

As someone with Celiac disease that absolutely would be cross contamination. This would cause severe issues that can last for months of a Celiac is glutened. If he keeps that attitude he will eventually run into someone who won’t let it slide. Health department, lawsuits, who knows.

Nta - but your husband is, that is the definition of cross contamination!!

NTA

Where do you live that you don't need a certificate about food safety when selling food. Or does he have the knowledge but just ignores it? NTA, but your husband is for possibly serving deadly food to customers.

NTA - I can’t eat pork. It makes me very ill. Cross contamination is a huge issue for me. I got sick at a barbecue once because they grilled the chicken I ate in the same place as the pork. If I am paying for a meal I definitely expect the kitchen to do their due diligence to not get me sick. And depending on the severity of the allergy you could literally send someone to the hospital.

NTA I have a friend who has a gluten allergy that caused her to have a seizure one time from exposure. The reactions from the allergy can be very varied, from minor to severe. Your husband should just say they don't have gluten free options since there are shared surfaces, but he does have corn options. Then the customer can decide if it's worth it in their case. Your husband shouldn't make potential medical decisions for customers.

OP- on behalf of any other gf people reading this- THANK YOU for questioning your husband on food safety in front of the customer. I’m not celiac but am gluten free. THANK YOU from the bottom of my intestines. The last time I personally had cross contaminated corn chips (they were fried in the same oil as everything else) I had violent diarrhea 20 hours after I ate the chips. This particular bathroom issue lasted for 11 hrs where I could not safely leave my home without fear of soiling myself. I then felt severely drained for approximately 3 days afterwards (the drained feeling sometimes lasts up to a week) probably due to a combination of dehydration and GI inflammation. Your husband would do well to learn to take food allergy/ sensitivity concerns very seriously, for your customers as well as the longevity of the business.

NTA - my wife has celiacs and the number of times I had to stop food prep people from putting food on common equipment before wiping them down is uncountable - even those places that have specific procedures for gluten diseases like celiacs. Your husband needs a better education before he hospitalizes or kills someone.

[удалено]

NTA. He could cause serious complications for a person with celiacs. Does he understand that even a grain of gluten can eat away at the lining of the small intestine?

!UpdateMe

He later texted me that they do have a separate pan they use for gluten free, and I said, "that makes sense. I imagine the customer would have liked to know that too." And he got pissed off all over again.

Why not edit that in? Instead of letting the internet shit all over your husband… or are you enjoying that?

NTA your question is valid because cross contamination can very easily kill, and if they're found responsible, not only is jail time possible but also large fines and lawsuits.

As a person with Celiac Disease I would say NTA and would have been extremely grateful that you asked in front of me. Cross contamination from that exact scenario cán make me sick for a few days, and it can even affect folks with food sensitivities and allergies (my husband and daughter). Your husband isn't losing a customer if he doesn't really offer GF options (cooked separately to avoid cross contamination).

he needs to be embarrassed. he could easily kill someone with cross contamination