Are Burger King Fries Gluten Free?
Burger King fries will routinely be made in fryers also used to make wheat-containing hash browns, the fast food chain announced today.
In a post appearing on the Food Allergy Research and Education website, Burger King said:
We are informing the food allergen community about the change in cooking procedure for our French Fries. Starting on August 3rd 2015, French Fries will no longer be cooked in a separate fryer. They will be cooked in the same fryer as Hash Browns that contain wheat flour, resulting in the likely risk of cross-contact with a known allergen for the French fries. Therefore, from now on, French Fries may contain wheat.
We are updating our website, bk.com to reflect this change. Our guests will continue to find complete and up-to-date nutritional and allergen information for BURGER KING® menu items on our website.
A Burger King spokesperson in an email said, ” As has always been the case, BURGER KING ® restaurants handle many products with wheat and other major food allergens, and therefore we cannot guarantee an allergen free environment”.
My family has avoided Burger King fries for a long time after having found breaded onion rings mixed in a few times. It never gave us a lot of confidence in the gluten-free status of the fries.
Despite today’s announcement, Burger King’s website continues to be confusing on the topic of how the fries are prepared. In a statement on allergens, the company’s site today continued to say that they are fried separately in a designated fryer.
But on it’s List for Guests with Gluten Sensitivity, which pointedly says it is not for those with celiac disease, there’s a notation that the fries “may be fried with gluten containing foods.”
If you had been eating Burger King fries with the understanding they were made in a dedicated fryer, this news will impact your choice starting today.
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