Proposed FDA legislation for gluten-free labeling moves forward, responding to pressure from Americans with celiac disease, who experience intestinal harm from ingesting gluten
Yohana Valdez
LOS ANGELES
,
August 18, 2011
(Industry Intelligence)
–
After almost three years at a standstill, proposed legislation for gluten-free labeling appears to be moving forward, Forbes reported Aug. 18.
The 1 in 133 movement, whose name refers to the rate of celiac disease, along with other groups, such as the American Celiac Disease Alliance (ACDA), is seeking a legal requirement from the Food and Drug Administration that defines what it means for foods to be “gluten-free.”
Wheat, barley and rye grains contain gluten, which cannot be digested by people with celiac disease and causes intestinal harm when ingested.
Earlier this month, after Congress received a 10,000-signature petition calling for regulation, the FDA re-opened the comment period through Oct. 3 for the matter of gluten-free labeling, the publication stated.
The proposed law stipulates that food can be labeled “gluten-free” only if its gluten content is equal to or less than 20 parts per million, a level deemed by experts as acceptable for people with celiac disease.
The legislation also makes it illegal to label food as “gluten-free” if the food is innately gluten-free, such as a non-grain product. Furthermore, labeling will be noncompulsory.
Andrea Levario, Executive Director of ACDA, is optimistic that the FDA standard will be released by the third quarter of 2012.
The primary source of this article is Forbes, New York, New York, on August 18, 2011.
* All content is copyrighted by Industry Intelligence, or the original respective author or source. You may not recirculate, redistrubte or publish the analysis and presentation included in the service without Industry Intelligence's prior written consent. Please review our terms of use.