The biggest challenge of going gluten-free is knowing which packaged food products you can eat. What seems logical to eat may very well contain gluten. For example, corn flakes are made from corn, and thus have no gluten, that is until manufactures throw in some malt flavoring. Yogurt, which is made from milk – also gluten-free, may have gluten-containing thickeners in it. Other products such as soups, sauces, salad dressings, prepared meats, candy and flavored teas can contain gluten-containing ingredients. Heck, even some chocolate covered espresso beans can contain gluten. Is there no justice?

Well, actually, there is some justice for those of us with food allergies. In first update to their guidelines since 1983, the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which was formed by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), approved an accepted threshold for gluten in “gluten-free products. In July 2008 the limit was hugely cut from 5 g per kilogram (500ppm) to 20 mg per kilogram (20ppm) –a level that is considered to pose no risk to allergy suffers. Yahoo! Finally a more precise and useful definition.

But what about US guidelines? Currently, there is no there is no specific definition for the term “gluten-free” or what ingredients cannot be used in products labeled gluten-free in the United States. In 2004 the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) requires the eight major food allergens that are used as ingredients to be declared in plain English terms on the label of all prepackaged foods under the purview of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). A major food allergen is defined by FALCPA to be one of the following eight food/food groups or an ingredient that contains a protein derived from them: milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, and soybeans. For example, if a food item contained seasonings containing whey powder and wheat flour, the terms “milk” and “wheat” must be declared on the label. Although wheat must be declared, the FALCPA labeling does not apply to other gluten-containing grains (barley and rye)

But, the US is catching up to international standards. In 2006 the FDA issued a proposed rule to define the food-labeling term gluten-free. The final rule to establish a regulatory definition for the term gluten is not expected until the Fall of 2008. A clear definition of gluten and a revised labeling requirement would help those of us with celicac disease to identify foods with hidden sources of gluten, like those deceitful little chocolate covered espresso beans. Stay tuned……………