Gluten-free prices soaring for Canadians with celiac disease
The price of nearly every food item has been under inflationary pressure this year, but those buying gluten-free products – an already expensive purchase to begin with – are noticing a price hike that’s even more dramatic.
“In our household 2 out of 5 of us are gluten-free so our grocery bills are very high," said Nicole Byrom, a registered dietician with the Canadian Celiac Association.
About one per cent of the Canadian population, approximately 350,000 people, have celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that is triggered by eating gluten which results in damage to the small intestine.
For health related reasons, those with celiac disease must eat gluten-free products, and they've noticed some major price hikes this year.
At Tiano’s Organics in Pickering, Ont. they specialize in gluten-free products and owner Mark Tiano said while a loaf of traditional bread may sell for around $3, a gluten-free loaf of bread which recently sold for $9 just increased to $9.50.
“Just like every other product, gluten free products have had price increases. Gluten free products have additional ingredients in order to substitute for wheat," said Tiano.
While one per cent of the population has to eat gluten-free items, Tiano said about 12 per cent of the population chooses to buy gluten-free items as an alternative for health reasons.
Tiano said while his store is trying to keep prices down for his customers, his suppliers keep raising them.
"With this gluten-free dessert I called the manufacturer because it’s the first time they have done two price increases in one year,” said Tiano.
The Canadian Celiac Association is concerned about the rising cost of gluten free products as those with celiac disease are medically required to have a gluten-free diet.
Food is our medicine and there is no other treatment other than a strict 100 per cent gluten free diet," said Byrom.
Byrom said that a household that has to buy gluten-free items can have grocery bills that are 200 per cent higher.
Some people with celiac disease like Frank Colaiacovo of Thornhill, Ont. said they are having to cut back on buying certain gluten-free products because they are just too expensive.
“They should give us a break instead of taking advantage of us because we have to buy things that are gluten-free,” said Colaiacovo.
The bad news is there appears to be no price relief in sight for gluten-free products.
“I’m hearing we are starting to see the results (price increases) of the last two years now, and it's going to get worse before it gets better," said Tiano.
Anyone who has to buy gluten-free products because they have celiac disease can get a tax break. For information on that and other money saving advice you can check the association's website.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.
Three Quebec men from same family father hundreds of children
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
B.C. mayor stripped of budget, barred from committees over Indigenous residential schools book
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
OPP's mandatory alcohol screening during traffic stops 'not acceptable': CCLA
A spike in impaired driving-related collisions has caused Ontario’s provincial police to begin enforcing mandatory alcohol screening (MAS) at all traffic stops in the Greater Toronto Area -- a move one civil rights group says is ‘not acceptable.’
Maple Leafs down Bruins 2-1 to force Game 7
William Nylander scored twice and Joseph Woll made 22 saves as the Toronto Maple Leafs downed the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday to force Game 7 in their first-round series.
Jurors in Trump hush money trial hear recording of pivotal call on plan to buy affair story
Jurors in the hush money trial of Donald Trump heard a recording Thursday of him discussing with his then-lawyer and personal fixer a plan to purchase the silence of a Playboy model who has said she had an affair with the former president.
Southern Alberta store broken into by burly black bear
Staff at a small southern Alberta office supply store were shocked to find someone had broken into the business last week, but they were even more confused when they discovered the culprit was a bear.
Captain sentenced to 4 years for criminal negligence in fiery deaths of 34 aboard scuba boat
A federal judge on Thursday sentenced a scuba dive boat captain to four years in custody and three years supervised release for criminal negligence after 34 people died in a fire aboard the vessel.
New scam targets Canada Carbon Rebate recipients
Fake text message and email campaigns trying to get money and information out of unsuspecting Canadian taxpayers have started circulating, just months after the federal government rebranded the carbon tax rebate the Canada Carbon Rebate.