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New FDA Gluten Free Label Guidelines

Gluten-Free Labels Now Have Meaning

With the FDA finalizing what exactly constitutes the meaning of “gluten-free,” consumers (especially those with celiac disease) will now be able to reliably select gluten-free foods without having to wonder what they’re actually getting.

What does that mean for you? If you have been or will be marketing gluten-free foods, you’ll need to follow these new FDA guidelines.

The term “gluten-free” now refers to foods that are either inherently gluten-free or foods that do not contain any ingredient that is:

  • A gluten-containing grain (e.g. spelt wheat)
  • Derived from a gluten-containing grain that has not been processed to remove gluten (e.g. wheat flour)
  • 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 parts per million (ppm) or more gluten in the food

Help for Celiac Disease

Because celiac disease has no cure, and the only treatment is dietary, this label standardization is long overdue in the minds of many. Because sufferers of celiac disease risk extreme medical problems if they were to ingest gluten, standardized labels are going to be a huge help.

Most people with celiac disease (there are approximately 3 million in the United States) can tolerate small amounts of gluten, and the 20 ppm level is the lowest that can be consistently detected, which is why the FDA instituted this threshold.

Gluten-Free Timeline

The regulation went into effect on August 5, 2013. Manufacturers will have one year to comply, meaning all foods will be subject to regulatory action if they are not in compliance by August 5, 2014.

Anyone looking for a workaround would be better advised to put that energy into complying. For the purposes of this regulation, “gluten-free,” “free of gluten,” “without gluten” and “no gluten” will be treated the same. A label making a gluten-free claim of any sort must be in compliance.

If you are looking to make the shift to gluten-free product offerings, please let us know how we can help with your ingredient needs. Click Here to Connect With Us Today.

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High Gluten Flours and Gluten Free Alternatives

Gluten Free foods are a growing sector for food manufacturers and bakeries. While on the outside this movement might look like a trend, the number of people who could benefit from a gluten free diet is large, including those suffering from celiac disease to folks with eczema (a very common skin condition).

Gluten is a protein found in wheat. It helps make dough rise, keep shape and gives your dough elasticity. However, According to the National Library of Medicine, Celiac Disease is a condition that damages the lining of the small intestine by not being able to process gluten and prevents your small intestine from absorbing parts of food that are important for staying healthy. The damage is due to a reaction to eating gluten, which is found primarily in wheat. With roughly 1 out of every 100 people in the US having this disease and that number growing constantly, how can you not help serve this growing community?

Now that we understand what gluten is and the risks of exposure to gluten for those with this disease, we must figure out a way to bake and manufacture goods that do not include gluten. There are a few different types of gluten free wheat, here at Bremer we have yellow cornmeal and buckwheat flour.

Yellow cornmeal is made from ground corn and is generally heavier than cornflour. Though it is not interchangeable in cornflour recipes, there are many great pastries and pie crusts that can be made with cornmeal. The buckwheat flour is actually not a flour as the name says, but is actually related to rhubarb with the small seeds of the plant used to make the flour. Buckwheat flour has a great nutty flavor and is often used in muffins.

There are a lot of different gluten free recipes and ways to replace certain flours with gluten free flours. Let us know if you have any questions and please share any recipes you have!

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