The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has adopted standards for what foods companies can label as “gluten free.”
Federal law will mandate that only foods containing 20 parts-per-million of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, can be labeled and sold as gluten-free. Before this legislation passed, there was no uniform standard on labeling foods “gluten free.”
Experts say the law will help protect those with celiac disease, an auto-immune condition that makes it impossible to digest gluten.
“For people with celiac disease, it is a major step for the FDA to at last issue its ruling concerning gluten-free foods,” said Dr. Peter Green from Columbia University’s Celiac Disease Center, in a written statement. “This ruling will increase awareness and facilitate further diagnoses.”
U.S. Rep. Nita Lowey, D-Westchester/Rockland, announced the law at a Westchester press conference Monday.
The requirement of labeling foods as containing gluten was first established under the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which was authored by Lowey and went into effect in 2004. The aim, she said, was to crack down on foods that don’t include clear packaging or list the top ingredients that can cause allergic reactions. The latest standards define what constitutes a gluten-free food.
“Nearly a decade after the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act was signed into law, I am pleased that our federal government has finally set clear, uniform standards that will rein in a fast-growing, unregulated market and provide consumers and families the tools they need to protect their health,” Lowey said. “For the millions of Americans who suffer from celiac disease, these new standards for gluten-free food labels have been a long time coming.”
The standards will go into effect next year.
