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FDA New Rules for Gluten-free Products

in The Too Busy to Diet Blog on September 10, 2013

Written by Jennifer Martin, Dietetic Student at University of Illinois at Chicago

It’s unfortunate that although there are so many products advertised as “gluten-free” on the shelves these days, people with celiac disease (an autoimmune disease characterized by nutrient malabsorption and gastrointestinal damage from gluten consumption) are still getting sick. This is because these foods are incorrectly labeled and still may contain enough gluten (20 parts per million or greater) to induce an immune response. Luckily, the FDA is cracking down on this.
In order for manufacturers to label foods as “gluten free” they must produce their products to conform to the FDA’s new standards by August 5, 2014.
To label food as gluten-free:
• The gluten limit on all products must be lower than 20 parts per million (ppm). This is the lowest level of gluten that can be detected with food science laboratory equipment.
• Products cannot contain wheat, barley, rye, or crossbreeds of any of these varieties. These grains naturally contain gluten.
• If grains are derived from wheat, barley, or rye, gluten must be removed through processing.
• If the manufacturer complies with the rules above and processes the grains, they must contain less than 20 ppm of gluten.
With these rules in store, the FDA can better guarantee that people will celiac disease will now be able to trust gluten-free labels in grocery stores.
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