The neonatal period is a critical time with regards to priming the gut for allergic disease. After birth the intestinal barriers and immunoregulatory networks are poorly developed and the post-natal period is a time for the normal commensal microbial flora to develop. The timing and dose of dietary antigens is imperative in this development. The mucosae are bombarded immediately after birth by a large variety of microorganisms as well as protein antigens from the environment. The mucosal surface is huge, 200 times the surface of the skin.

Yesterday, I read about a chef in Glenwood Springs, Colorado, who spent time on his facebook page bragging about how he had intentionally served pasta with gluten to patrons who had requested a gluten-free meal. Once I started searching for news about the post, I found a variety of blog entries and some coverage by various news sources as well. (Here's one such news clip on the story.)
After looking around on several different sites, I realized that countless people are outraged! Are you? I certainly count myself among the “outraged” masses. It is almost unbelievable that someone would not only deliberately poison someone else, but would brag about it to his friends. If this chef ever did this to a child (or adult) with an anaphylactic reaction to gluten, he'd be in a world of trouble. But, as you may know, most people suffering from Celiac Disease, gluten intolerance or gluten sensitivity don't have immediate reactions; reactions are slower to start, but can be very long-lasting.