Paying more for food than anyone else at the table or the supermarket isn’t an unusual experience for Chris Tsalikis.
But it’s not something he’s particularly happy about.
Chris was diagnosed with an autoimmune condition called coeliac disease, which means that when he eats wheat, barley or rye, his body can freak out and attacks itself.
He said he’s constantly forking out more money for gluten-free food that won’t trigger his condition.
“I’ve paid $12 extra just for a gluten-free pizza base, which is pretty frustrating,” he told Yahoo Lifestyle.
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“I’ve also been charged an additional $10 to substitute chips for potatoes at a Greek restaurant because the chips weren’t coeliac-safe, plus another $6 for gluten-free bread.
“It really adds up quickly.”
He said that gluten-free products can feel “unaffordable” at times and it rubs him the wrong way every day.
“It definitely feels more like a surcharge than anything else,” he said. “People with coeliac disease are paying substantially more just to eat safely, with very little support to offset the cost.”
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Chris’ experience is shared by one in 70 Aussies
Five years ago, I was similarly diagnosed with the same disease as Chris, so I feel his pain when it comes to the daily impact it has on my wallet.
It’s a condition that affects one in 70 Aussies – the bulk of which have no idea they have the illness.
On a recent night out, I was flawed when my bill automatically had $7 added to it for a gluten-free pizza base. Was this right? Was I seeing things?
I’m not naive. I know there will be an additional cost as the restaurant has to buy an extra item that is typically more expensive. I get that, I promise you.
But seven bucks felt like I was being taken advantage of.
Coeliac disease isn’t a choice (trust me, I wish). Not following it can result in malnutrition, bowel cancer, infertility or osteoporosis.
The menu where I was asked to pay $7 extra for a gluten-free base. Source: Yahoo Australia
How much more expensive is it?
An Australian-first study conducted at the University of Wollongong by researchers Kelly Lambert and Caitlin Ficken in 2016 found that the average coeliac could be paying up to 17 per cent more for a gluten-free diet at the supermarket.
Associate Professor Lambert repeated a separate study in 2024 that looked at the cost comparison of five items, including pasta, bread, flour and muesli, to regular versions.
“What we found was the gluten-free muesli, not only was it still more expensive, but it was 642 per cent more expensive compared to 400 per cent last time,” the professor told the Gluten Free podcast.
“Plain flour last time was 570 per cent, this time last year, it was 350 per cent. It’s still exorbitantly more expensive.”
It’s so bad that countries such as Italy have a monthly stipend for coeliacs that would give a woman of a certain age close to $150 to help cover some of these additional costs.
So, why is it so expensive?
Dr Kim Faulkner-Hogg, an accredited practicing dietitian that works with Coeliac Australia, explained exactly why items such as gluten-free bread and pasta can be so much more expensive.
She said all starts at the farm.
“Let’s take millet flour, which might go into a particular type of gluten free bread,” she told Yahoo Lifestyle.
“When these grains are grown, they’re grown as rotational crops with wheat, dry and barley usually.
Dr Kim Faulkner-Hogg said farmers operate in a certain way that can make it difficult for them to make gluten-free products as well as items that contain gluten. Source: Instagram/drkim.glutenfreenutrition/Getty
“So the farmer might grow wheat, and then in the next six months of the year, they might grow barley.
“That means their field may have some wheat crop that could come up in the middle of your millet crop that you’ve got in the alternate six months of the year.”
As a result, farmers can only grow millet crops, wheat crops, or barley crops, otherwise their products could be unsuitable for coeliacs.
This same issue extends to storage facilities, transport equipment and processing facilities.
Everything has to be highly-specialised to cater to coeliacs, and this can be limiting.
In Australia, something can only be called gluten free if it shows as little as three to five parts per million of gluten.
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It’s why Coeliac Australia-accredited restaurants, such as 317 in Parramatta, have a completely separate kitchen and crockery.
It’s why Arnott’s needs to have an entirely different facility that only makes gluten free products.
So, as Coeliac Awareness Week wraps up, spare a thought for your mate. Maybe offer a night in rather than a three-course Italian restaurant experience as the latter could send them broke.
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