Papa Johns Unveils Gluten-Free Crust That Isn't Even Gluten-Free

Yes, you read that right.

Papa Johns recently began serving their new Ancient Grains 9.99 Gluten-Free Pizza. The new crust has quite a list of ingredients -- including sorghum, teff, amaranth, and quinoa. It is even manufactured in a gluten-free facility. But there's one catch. 

The excited celebrations from the multitude of pizza lovers with celiac disease were quickly squashed when Papa Johns put out this press release: 

"It is possible that a pizza with gluten-free crust could be exposed to gluten during the in-store, pizza making process. Therefore, the brand does not recommend its gluten-free crust for customers with celiac disease or serious gluten intolerances." 

womp, womp.

Papa Johns spent more than two years developing this crust, which is part of an effort to begin dishing healthier pies. They have also removed high fructose corn syrup, MSG, artificial flavors, and synthetic colors from their standard pizza dough and toppings. 

But for a pizza place to make pizza that is actually safe for people who can't eat gluten, they need to isolate the gluten-free pies -- not just swap the crust. Pizza Hut, for example, keeps pizzas certifiably gluten-free by keeping ingredients in designated gluten-free kits. Employees preparing the pizzas wear gloves, bake the pizzas on parchment paper, and use designated gluten-free pizza cutters. Even despite these (necessary) steps that Pizza Hut takes, they also feature a disclaimer on their website letting customers know that they are unable to 100% guarantee that their pizzas don't come into any contact with gluten. 

Nima recently used their portable gluten sensor to test out Papa John's new crust on a live Facebook feed. The results that came in were a surprise to absolutely no one, but did confirm what Papa Johns boldly stated in their press release -- people with celiac or serious gluten intolerances should not be going anywhere near their gluten-free pizza. 

This is pretty disappointing news, but the bright side is that your friendly neighborhood grocer likely carries a wide variety of gluten-free frozen pizzas that will do the job in a pinch! What are some of your favorite gluten-free frozen pizzas?