Just in the last week celiac disease has made news in regards to technology. It is amazing how we are creating such public awareness thanks to the internet and new applications.
New iPhone App for Gluten Free Restaurants
Allergy-Free Passport and Gluten-Free Passport announced late last week that it has launched a new iPhone App for dining out at restaurants. The Fox Business internet page highlighted the news on Friday. The App claims to help people with food allergies order food suitable for their allergen needs no matter where they are in the US.
According to the story,
“Once tailored to their needs, users quickly browse detailed menu items from Indian, Italian and Steak restaurant cuisines with color-coded columns immediately indicating if the dish ‘contains’ or ‘may contain’ allergen(s). Users are further empowered with knowledge of dish preparation, ingredients, traditional/non-traditional culinary techniques, cross-contamination and critical questions for safe meals.”
This app, which costs $8.99, could really help some people as they sift through the lack of information that goes along with certain restaurant foods. But I’m not sure if it would be something you’d use each time you dine out or not? This app does not have a restaurant listing of gluten-free friendly restaurants. If it had a restaurant listing with it and that listing was updated– I am sure I would go for it. Gluten-Free Passport suggested going to its site GlutenFreeOnTheGo for listings of gluten-free friendly restaurants, other online resources are Celiac Handbook or GlutenFreeRegistry.
Kim Koeller, President and CEO of GlutenFreePassport.com just told me that over the weekend Apple approved their iEatOut Gluten & Allergen Free LITE app — which “…is a free sampler of the full paid version.” I would say it’s worth your time to at least check that out to see if this app is worth it for you.
Mayo Kudos on Celiac Study release
In the meantime, the Mayo Clinic got some recognition for how it unveiled its recent study on the prevalence of celiac disease. The website ihealthbeat.org recently did an article on how the web has really helped in getting health information out to the public. In the article last Friday, it used the Mayo Clinic’s Tweets as an example.
“For example, the Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic recently used the micro-blogging site Twitter to announce the upcoming release of a study on Celiac disease. The hospital system then used the platform to track interest in the study and release early copies to certain followers.” –ihealthbeat.org
It is true, that study just ran wild on Twitter, where celiac disease advocates, researchers, foundations, and bloggers have found a community, in which to share their information. I’ve said it before, if you’re into celiac news, get on Twitter. Search for me under AmyLeger.
I can’t wait to see what’s next when it comes to technology and information sharing. It seems to just change by the second.
Tags: app, Apple, celiac, technology, Twitter
Leave a Reply