Anyone with celiac disease or a gluten sensitivity understands the importance of label-reading. If you fail to scrutinize food package labels, you may end up eating gluten and experiencing the painful digestive symptoms and possible intestinal damage that follows. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has made things easier by setting standards and regulations for gluten-free labeling, but it's not as simple as it seems.
The Law
The 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act prompted the FDA to define the term "gluten-free" with regard to labeling. By 2006, foods were permitted to use the term, and the final rule was issued in 2008. From that date, any food labeled "gluten-free" was not allowed to contain any "prohibited grains," which includes wheat, barley, rye, or any grain hybridized from these grains. Labeling itself is voluntary, but foods so labeled are required to meet the guidelines. As comprehensive as the law seems, there are still some things to look out for.
Allowable Threshold
Foods labeled "gluten-free" are still allowed to contain gluten in concentrations of 20 parts per million or less. Although this technically makes the food a gluten-containing food, 20 parts per million is considered a "safe" level of gluten that does not produce a reaction in most people. Dietitian Tricia Thompson notes that eating 10 ounces of grains that meet the 20 parts per million rule would supply only 5.7 milligrams of gluten. According to a 2007 study in "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," an intake of up to 10 milligrams of gluten per day doesn't seem to affect celiac sufferers, although 50 milligrams per day may. If you wish to avoid gluten entirely, you may wish to stick to foods that do not naturally contain gluten.
Naturally Gluten-Free
Dairy foods, fruits, vegetables, juices, lentils, nuts, fresh fish and seafood and non-gluten grains do not naturally contain gluten, so are safe for those on a gluten-free diet. The FDA allows these foods to be labeled "gluten-free," but the labels must contain language explaining that foods of that type are always gluten-free. Foods that are naturally gluten-free but have been treated or processed with gluten may not use the gluten-free language. For example, fruits and vegetables polished with gluten-containing wax cannot be labeled "gluten-free."
Exemptions
Oats inhabit a gray area -- they are not considered "prohibited grains," but they are not necessarily allowed to carry the gluten-free label either. The FDA concluded that most celiac sufferers can tolerate some oats, and there is no reason to exclude them from the diet. Some oats can contain gluten, however, so the 20 parts per million rule applies.
The only alcoholic beverages covered under the labeling rule are wine and cider that contain less than seven percent alcohol, and beer made from a barley substitute -- these beverages may carry the "gluten-free" label as long as they meet the 20 parts per million rule. All other alcoholic beverages are regulated by a different agency and are not allowed to make health claims of any kind on the label. This means that these beverages may or may not contain gluten, but the label cannot mention it.
References
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Questions and Answers on the Gluten-Free Labeling Proposed Rule
- "Atlanticville"; Changes in FDA Labeling Law for Gluten-Free Items Begin in August; July 10, 2008
- Gluten Free Dietitian; Gluten-Free Labeling of Alcohol; Tricia Thompson; January 8, 2011
- Gluten Free Dietitian; How Much Gluten is 20 Parts Per Million?; Tricia Thompson
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; A Prospective, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Trial to Establish a Safe Gluten Threshold for Patients With Celiac Disease; Carlo Catassi, et al.; January 2007
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