I received a wonderful response from the coordinator of UVic’s food services.

Here is is:

Hello Claire,

Lisa church the retail dinning coordinator passed on your email to me this morning as I am the food coordinator for all the retail and resident dining areas.

I have notified our supplier of the gluten free brownie with regards to your reaction. His ingredient list and his claim is that the brownies were gluten free, but I am thinking your statement about cross contamination may be correct. He does produce a number of baked goods in his operation and only this product has the claim of gluten free.

I have asked the floor supervisor in the Biblio to pull the remaining brownies and tomorrow we will replace them with a new company’s gluten free product. (The producer of these brownies is actually celiac as well).

I cannot convey how sorry I am that you had a reaction and that it could have possible been from something that we sold to you. I sincerely hope that you are feeling better and would really like the opportunity to buy you a gluten free pasta lunch at either VG’S or the University Center cafeteria and treat you to a package of our celiac friendly brownies from our new supplier.

Please contact me and let me know how you are doing
Warm regards
Heather

Heather Seymour
Coordinator food services
Production and Purchasing

Combined with my nettle leaf tea, this letter made me feel better would have made me feel better if attitude and frame of mind made any sort of difference to the symptoms (mainly pain and A.D.H.D. right now). Those warm regards? Right back at cha, Heather!

My first reaction was: I hope their pasta is actually gluten free. I like pasta, especially when it is free of both gluten and payment.

My second reaction was: well now I feel awkward about this. How do I pick up the pasta without looking like I was complaining? And how do I get around my fear of eating brownies now (this is the second or third time a brownie, specifically, has attacked me)?

I’ll get over it. Free pasta, here I come!

*The picture above is of Village Greens (VG’s) on campus.