1. “Free from gluten-free” campaign

Through “Free from gluten free” campaign, we aimed to inform people about the graveness of gluten intolerance and introduce our project as a potential solution. People were told to answer one question before listening to our explanation: Did you know that some people cannot digest gluten? Many people (64 people) answered that they did not.

We successfully transferred our knowledge about gluten intolerance such as celiac disease and gluten-free diet, which is the only possible solution for the current patient. Furthermore, in order to spur participation and provide some taste about gluten free diet, visitors had the chance to enjoy both gluten free and non-gluten free brownie.

After tasting, they were asked to choose which of the two they presume to be gluten free. Surprisingly, many people failed to choose the correct answer, which was A brownie. For those who got correct answer, we randomly chose two recipients and rewarded with a gluten free cookie. Many students, for the first time, learned that gluten is a constituent of flour and that some people must only feed on specialized food that is cooked without gluten.

Furthermore, we created a recipe video for gluten free brownie and uploaded on our face book. The unconventional and somewhat more time consuming recipe proves that alternative solution for gluten free diet is essential. The video was displayed during the campaign as well.

2. ISNFF conference

The ISNFF conference, or International conference and exhibition on nutraceuticals & functional foods, is a platform for foods, nutrition and medical science that involves various programs ranging from presentation, exhibition, and competition. We introduced our study in ISNFF 2017 held at Gunsan in front of multinational audience. Through comprehensive presentation, we were able to convey not only the significance of our research but also the experimental details.

Having been asked about the reason behind the recent increase in the celiac disease patients, we explicated the possible environmental and genetic causes. Many people empathized with our ends and we were able to receive best award for the research. ISNFF allowed us to exchange opinions about our information as well as learn about other studies regarding nutritional science. We have donated $... worth of reward to

What is the motivation behind starting gluten-free bakery? We learned that you recently opened the offline store after running an online store for some period. When did you commenced the offline bakery? What is the motivation behind opening the store?

I started selling the breads unofficially since may via internet, but it was not until the vegan festival that I started to sell the breads officially. When I was young, I suffered from severe skin disease. I had to carefully look for what I can eat and what I cannot. Some breads, though labeled as vegetarian bread, contained sugar or baking powder. Hence, I couldn’t even eat those vegan bread. That’s why I started to bake breads that I can eat. I have a degree in business, but I gave it up to bake breads. Baking a bread takes at least 5 days because of leavening process. The motivation behind opening “Homi” is not so much for money than for providing breads to people like me.

What kind of people patronize your bakery? For what reason do they visit gluten free bakery?

Some people comes because they need to scrupulously manage their diet for diseases such as skin disease and gluten intolerance. Few come for moral reasons vegetarian diet. Most people find Homi for their afflictions.

Is the demand for gluten free bread increasing? If it is, what do you think is the reason

Indeed, more people are visiting the bakery compared to past. When I first learned baking 3 years ago, there was virtually no gluten free bakery in Korea including Seoul. Currently, many bakeries provide gluten free breads. If it was 3 years ago, I wouldn’t have been able to sell bread because of lack of demand. The increase in people’s interest in health prompted the market share to wax. Some people come from as far as from Gyeounggi. I think gluten free bread may become a mega trend.

What do you think are some pros and cons of gluten free bread?

I think the best competence of gluten free bread is that it allows easy digestion. But in my own opinion the shortcoming of the gluten free bread is that not using gluten is not enough. We should do without other components of bread as well. For many cases, bakers put some other harmful constituents instead of gluten. Some examples are maltodextrin, rice flour containing small amounts of gluten, and tapioca, which drastically increases consumer’s blood level.

Second drawback of gluten free bread is that baking the bread is time consuming and taxing. Since around twenty ingredients need pre-processing, the entire process of baking the bread is extremely demanding. For example, in order to use tofu in bread, one should process tofu for 5 days to make it suitable. Lastly, gluten free bread is very high in price. As many ingredients and careful cooking are required, mass production is hard and the unit price of the bread becomes extremely pricy. Because of its price, the bread cannot become a popular food and people without special health problem or purpose are deprived of the chance to enjoy wholesome bread.

We were told that gluten free breads normally contain much more calories than normal breads.

Gluten contains wheat protein. In gluten free bread, such protein is replaced with carbohydrates, increasing overall calories. For cheesecake, yogurt replaces cheese. In fact, I was also concerned about high calories of starch in gluten free breads put in order to create the starchy taste. Hence, Homi utilizes vegetables instead of starch to create the same taste.

Do you know what happens when gluten intolerant patients eat gluten?

There are two types of people who should not consume gluten. First is those afflicted with celiac disease. If they eat gluten, it results in seizure, cardiac arrest, and in worst case, death. Second type is those who cannot digest gluten. Common symptoms are impairment in digestive ability, skin disease, destruction of intestinal villi, and impairment in immune system.

Can you advise patients who cannot eat gluten?

Gluten free does not mean that the bread is totally healthy. Limits do exist. I think people’s conception of regarding bread without flour as good should change. Our country is a lot short in healthy food than foreign countries. More development is needed.

Do you have anything else to say?

Even if it isn’t our store, I hope people’s awareness of health and gluten free bakeries to increase. Healthy people cannot recover one’s health after losing it. Hence, people should take heed of what they eat from youth.

We have created facebook page in order to offer introduction to the research, post relevant news, and facilitate communication with other teams for collaboration. For example, we uploaded a brief explanation of the basic protocols of synthetic biology via the facebook page. We communicated with team from Greece and East Imperial Highschool through our facebook page.

6. Crowdfunding

Gluten contains wheat protein. In gluten free bread, such protein is replaced with carbohydrates, increasing overall calories. For cheesecake, yogurt replaces cheese. In fact, I was also concerned about high calories of starch in gluten free breads put in order to create the starchy taste. Hence, Homi utilizes vegetables instead of starch to create the same taste.