In August 2024, Robert Anthony Bayton had dinner at an Olive Garden<\/a> in Lexington, according to a federal negligence lawsuit reviewed by The Independent.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen [Bayton] arrived at the Olive Garden restaurant, he informed the waitress that he has celiac disease and cannot tolerate gluten-containing food products,\u201d the complaint states. \u201c[Bayton] asked the waitress if gluten-free fettuccine alfredo was available, and the waitress informed Plaintiff that Olive Garden could accommodate his request.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the complaint<\/a> contends, the unidentified waitress \u201cthen served [Bayton] a fettuccine alfredo meal containing gluten.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201c[Bayton] consumed the fettuccine Alfredo meal that contained gluten, which caused an allergic reaction, and [he] subsequently sustained serious personal injuries,\u201d according to the complaint, which was initially filed August 25 in Fayette County Circuit Court and removed to Lexington federal court on November 21.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n A plate of allegedly non-gluten-free fettuccine has landed Olive Garden on the wrong end of a federal lawsuit. (Getty Images)<\/p>\n In the aftermath, the complaint says Bayton experienced \u201cpain and suffering, both physical and mental,\u201d was unable to work for a period of time, \u201cincur[red] necessary medical and hospital expenses,\u201d and now faces an \u201cincreased risk of future medical complications\u201d as a \u201cdirect and proximate result of [Olive Garden\u2019s] negligence.\u201d<\/p>\n An Olive Garden spokesperson, as well as the attorney defending the chain against Bayton\u2019s allegations, did not respond on Wednesday to requests for comment. Bayton\u2019s attorney, Christopher Hayden, declined to comment on the case beyond the facts laid out in the complaint. <\/p>\n When someone with celiac disease eats gluten \u2013 a protein present in grains such as wheat, rye and barley that gives dough a stretchy, toothsome quality \u2013 their immune system responds by attacking the small intestine, according to the Celiac Disease Foundation<\/a>. This can cause villous atrophy, or, damage to the villi, \u200b\u200btiny finger-like projections that line the interior of the small intestine and help absorb nutrients, and usually leads to a variety of serious complications. <\/p>\n Patients with the traditional form of the autoimmune condition, known as \u201cclassical celiac disease,\u201d tend to experience chronic diarrhea. This often shows up in the form of steatorrhea<\/a>, an excess of fat in one\u2019s feces, creating loose, greasy, foul-smelling stools, along with bloating, severe abdominal pain and unintended weight loss or growth failure in children.<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n Robert Anthony Bayton is suing over claims he was sickened by a plate of fettuccine Alfredo at an Olive Garden in Kentucky (Creative Commons 4.0)<\/p>\n Non-classical celiac disease, on the other hand, does not present with the usual symptoms of malabsorption. It can bring on any number of seemingly unrelated issues, such as chronic fatigue, anemia, tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, elevated liver enzymes, vitamin deficiency, reduced bone mass, unexplained infertility, early-onset menopause, and itchy, blistered skin. <\/p>\n Celiac disease is hereditary, and someone with a first-degree relative that has it runs a 1-in-10 risk of developing celiac<\/a>. However, according to gastroenterologist Dr. Allen Yudovich<\/a> of the Henry Ford Health system, \u201cIf you don\u2019t have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, there are no benefits to going gluten-free.\u201d<\/p>\n Olive Garden\u2019s Alfredo dishes \u201cnow come with even more Alfredo sauce,\u201d according to the \u201cAmazing Alfredos!<\/a>\u201d page on the Olive Garden website.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing simple ingredients like butter, garlic, parmesan cheese, cream, milk, salt and pepper, we prepare fresh batches of our Alfredo sauce throughout the day,\u201d it tells prospective diners. <\/p>\n However, the bottom of the page warns<\/a> that the Alfredo sauce itself \u201ccontains gluten.\u201d<\/p>\n open image in gallery<\/p>\n (US District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky)<\/p>\n The chain offers a gluten-free pasta option on its menu. Still, the food at Olive Garden\u2019s 900-plus locations is prepared in kitchens where gluten is present, and while the chain \u201caim[s] to accommodate the dietary needs of guests,\u201d it informs gluten-sensitive customers that<\/a> \u201c[c]ross-contact with other food items that contain gluten is possible.\u201d <\/p>\n Bayton\u2019s complaint claims Olive Garden and the server in question \u201cknew, or should have known\u2026 that the gluten-containing food product\u201d he received was a health risk but \u201cnegligently and carelessly failed to correct the condition.\u201d The alleged failure \u201cwas a substantial factor in causing [Bayton] to suffer significant and permanent injuries,\u201d the complaint states, maintaining that Olive Garden breached its \u201cduty\u2026 to provide a reasonably safe food product for [Bayton] to consume.\u201d<\/p>\n Olive Garden\u2019s fettuccine Alfredo contains 1,220 calories<\/a> (800 of which come from fat); 89 grams of fat (the recommended intake for a normal 2,000-calorie-a-day diet is between 44g and 78g<\/a>); 55 grams of saturated fat: 55 grams (one should limit themselves to no more than 20g per day, according to<\/a> the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services); and 1,210 milligrams of sodium (about half the recommended daily allowance); while delivering 27 grams protein (between 15 and 30 grams per meal is the general recommendation).<\/p>\n Bayton is demanding compensatory damages with pre- and post-judgment interest from the date of his meal, to be determined by a jury, plus attorneys\u2019 fees and court costs.<\/p>\n Olive Garden has not yet filed a response to Bayton\u2019s allegations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":290155,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45],"tags":[102,6636,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-290154","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nutrition","8":"tag-health","9":"tag-nutrition","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290154","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=290154"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/290154\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/290155"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=290154"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=290154"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=290154"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/GettyImages-2158482624.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Robert](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/fettuccine-alfredo.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/deckler-output-(64).png\")
<\/p>\n