Zara has pulled a T-shirt with a gluten-free slogan from its shelves after sparking a backlash amongst its customers

Some problems may not be mentioned, apparently.  Going gluten free has become something of a fad among perfectly healthy people and the T-shirt was most probably intended as a comment on that. I remember one period when I had a very on-off relstionship with a nice lady.  During one of our "off" periods, she discovered she was allergic to gluten.  When we got back together, however, her allergy vanished!  She was just unhappy.  I still think well of her

The graphic print white top, which read 'Are you gluten-free?', enraged shoppers who accused the Spanish fashion brand of trivialising coeliac disease.

Marta Casadesus, from Terrassa, Spain, started a petition to have the T-shirt removed, which amassed 53,000 signatures, and Zara apologised for any offence caused.

She posted: 'Coeliac disease is not a fad, nor is it a disease to take it in jest, because of the strictness of the diet that must be followed, gluten-free, and the problems it can cause if it is not done properly.

'The message of this shirt trivialises an important health problem, which affects more people and should be considered whenever the intolerant person - gluten, in this case - is eating out, for example.

However Mollie Sheppard, who suffers with coeliac disease, said she wanted to get hold of the T-shirt to wear as a badge of honour.

Zara's parent company Inditex posted a response on the Change petition. It said the shirt has been removed online and is being removed in stores.

A spokesperson said: 'We sincerely regret that this case can be interpreted as a trivialization of coeliac problem completely opposite intention of Inditex.

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