FDA Sets Gluten-free Regulations after 9 Years!

The Basics of the Regulations

After nine long years, the label "gluten-free" will actually mean something. Gluten-free regulations, meaning the rules for using  labels claiming that a product is gluten-free, have been approved, and will go into effect on August 1, 2014, one year from approval. 

This means that products with "gluten-free", as well as "free of gluten", "made without gluten", and "no gluten", need to be tested for gluten and that these products must fall below the 20ppm gluten-free minimum standard specified in the regulations. Although several manufacturers already comply with the regulations, manufacturers have one year to comply with them.

Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, said the FDA took an “excruciating” amount of time to finalize its gluten-free definition in part because it had to consider a massive amount of research on celiac disease as well as varying opinions from activists who wanted even more stringent standards and industry officials who argued for more lenient requirements. In the end, he said, the agency struck the right balance.

From The Washington Post, "Nine years after Congress’s request, FDA defines ‘gluten-free’"

Other products, such as eggs, fruits, vegetables, and bottled water can also be labeled "gluten-free", as long as they inherently contain no gluten. The gluten-free community will still have to exercise judgement as manufacturers begin to comply with the regulations, and will still need to be diligent about other products that are not labeled, but could be cross contaminated with gluten.

This is a big win for the gluten/wheat-allergic, and the celiac community. It will cause less stress when shopping for food. We need to send a big thank you to Jules Shepherd of Jules Gluten-Free Flour, 1in133.org, and the vendors who participated in bringing awareness to this important cause.

Read More from Other Sources:

From The Washington Post, "Nine years after Congress’s request, FDA defines ‘gluten-free’"

From Jules Shepherd's Blog, "Blood, Sweat, Tears, and 700 pounds of Frosting Later, Gluten-Free Food Regulations are Here!"

From Forbes.com, "The FDA Gets Serious About Gluten-Free Labeling Law"

From FDA.gov, "Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods"