Ingredients and suppliers
Product specifications, recipe information, supplier changes, labels and the process used when information is incomplete.
For food-service organisations
A practical pathway to stronger gluten-safety practices.
GCSI helps restaurants understand their current practices, identify priority gaps, educate employees and communicate honestly with people who need medically necessary gluten-free food.
A baseline, not a judgement
Start with what your restaurant already does.
The initial assessment is designed to make current practices visible. It identifies where controls are already working, where evidence is missing and where manageable improvements can reduce uncertainty.
A lower result in one area does not label a restaurant as irresponsible. It shows that the current evidence or process does not yet demonstrate the expected practice and connects that finding to a practical next step.
What GCSI examines
From purchasing to the final conversation at the table.
The developing GCSI Index follows the dining journey and the responsibilities of managers, kitchen teams, front-of-house employees and suppliers.
Kitchen cross-contact controls
Storage, preparation, utensils, surfaces, cooking water, fryers, grills, cleaning, handwashing and order identification.
Staff knowledge and communication
What employees know, how uncertainty is escalated and how information moves between the diner, service team and kitchen.
Documentation and monitoring
Written procedures, onboarding, refresher training, incident handling, internal checks, reassessment and improvement records.
Improvement pathway
Move from uncertainty to repeatable practice.
The service is structured as an improvement cycle rather than a one-time badge.
1. BaselineDocument current workflows, evidence and known limitations.
2. PrioritiesSeparate essential controls from longer-term improvements.
3. EducationProvide role-specific learning for managers, kitchen and service employees.
4. ImplementationIntroduce procedures, templates, responsibilities and monitoring.
5. ReassessmentReview whether the changes are understood, used and supported by evidence.
What your team receives
Clear actions, not only a score.
- A structured baseline assessment across relevant operational dimensions.
- A prioritised improvement report showing what is already working and what needs attention.
- Role-specific education for managers, kitchen employees and front-of-house teams.
- Templates for procedures, supplier information, onboarding, incident response and internal checks.
- A public evidence profile that distinguishes restaurant-provided, documented, observed and tested information.
- A reassessment pathway that recognises documented improvement without hiding remaining limitations.
Transparent communication
Say what the evidence supports—and no more.
GCSI helps restaurants avoid both unsupported reassurance and unnecessarily defensive communication. Public wording should explain the assessment scope, evidence level, date and limitations.
Prefer
“Staff-training records and ingredient procedures were reviewed. Shared-fryer controls were not demonstrated.”
Avoid
“Completely safe,” “zero risk,” “celiac-proof” or other claims that no assessment can responsibly guarantee.
When uncertain
Employees should pause, check and explain the limitation rather than guess or provide contradictory reassurance.
Commercial independence
Restaurants pay for the service—not for a favourable result.
Assessment, training, reassessment and platform services require resources. Payment never determines the evidence level, score or public status.
Relevant commercial relationships, assessment scope, methodology version and conflicts of interest must remain visible. Restaurants also receive a correction and appeal pathway when information is incomplete or inaccurate.
For independent restaurants and larger organisations
Designed to support practical implementation at different scales.
The framework can support an individual restaurant, hotel, café, caterer or multi-location group. Larger programmes may include central dashboards, common procedures, train-the-trainer models and site-level reassessment.
Vienna pilot
Help test the first restaurant pathway.
The pilot will examine feasibility, staff learning, documentation burden, implementation barriers and how clearly evidence can be communicated to diners.