After everything that has gone on with allergens it's no surprise they are trying to cover their backsides but is claiming they can't cater to Coeliacs really the right thing to do?
After many people took to twitter about their sandwiches they replied with this, while it doesn't state about them not being Coeliac safe in that particular tweet they have stated what they have said in the second tweet on multiple occasions about all their gluten free offerings.
Our gluten-free bread is made in a completely gluten-free environment and the toppings added in our kitchens also contain no gluten. Because our kitchens handle and prepare other products, there is a small risk of cross-contamination.
— Pret (@Pret) April 5, 2019
Sadly, as our food is made in our shop kitchens, we're unable to produce coeliac safe items without the risk of cross-contamination. That said, our Food Team are always looking for solutions, so we'll pass this on to them.
— Pret (@Pret) March 21, 2018
Cross contamination is a huge issue for Coeliacs but in reality anyone of us that live with a none Coeliac risk contamination in our own kitchens, and lets face it when you eat out how often are the places you eat at 100% gluten free or have their own dedicated kitchens? Certainly not none existent but they are rare.
So, from their status we know that the bread is being made at a dedicated facility so they product COULD be Coeliac safe, it's just the contamination why they aren't allowing it to be Coeliac safe. How hard is it to make sure surfaces are clean, utensils are clean and uncontaminated butter is used on them like many other places do?
By effectively saying they only cater to gluten free fad dieters they are cutting out those that truly need gluten free. In theory if they are that concerned about it being contaminated surely it also shouldn't be labelled gluten free (as I have seen it is in store) as by law it has to fall below 20ppm to legally be labelled. But I guess that's a whole different thing.
In honesty I don't know how companies do get away with some of the tricks they pull but take this as a word of warning, from Pret themselves the gluten free sandwich is NOT Coeliac safe, so take heed! I guess it is your own choice if you decide to go with these sandwiches or not but I think, personally, I'd stay clear.