Today, August 5, 2014, the Food and Drug Administration’s gluten-free labeling rule went into effect. Packaged foods labeled on or after today must comply with the requirements of the regulation. Pursuant to the regulation, gluten-free foods must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten. Foods may be labeled “gluten-free” if they are inherently gluten free; or do not contain an ingredient that is: 1) a gluten-containing grain (e.g., spelt wheat); 2) derived from a gluten-containing grain that has not been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat flour); or 3) derived from a gluten-containing grain that has been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat starch), if the use of that ingredient results in the presence of 20 ppm or more gluten in the food. The rule applies only to packaged foods; however, FDA states that restaurants and other establishments making a gluten-free claim on their menus should be consistent with FDA’s definition of gluten-free. FDA has released an updated questions and answers document on the rule, as well as a small business compliance guide. Please contact us if you have any questions.
