I mentioned yesterday that the UK rules on what counted as gluten free have been tightened up … i.e. that the upper limit should be 20 parts per million, rather than 200ppm as it is currently.
From Coeliac UK:
Recent Codex Committee discussions have concluded that only foods that contain less than 20mg gluten/kg can be labelled as gluten-free.
Products containing gluten above 20 and up to 100mg/kg are thought to be suitable for the vast majority of people with coeliac disease and an appropriate labelling description is due to be discussed at EU level and implemented in the UK by the Food Standards Agency.
The changes will provide consumers with greater certainty that the gluten level will be safe and we look forward to adoption of the new standard.
Sarah Sleet, Chief Executive of Coeliac UK said: “The decision to change the Codex Standard has been debated for 13 years – far too long. Coeliac UK has worked closely with the Food Standards Agency over the past two years to provide an evidence base to move the standard on and we are delighted with the result.”
Coeliac UK is now closely involved in discussions to agree the timeline of the labelling of products above 20 and up to 100mg gluten/kg and subsequent communication to consumers and the food sector.
So, they haven’t yet decided what to call food that has between 20ppm and 100ppm – low gluten, perhaps? Luckily, my daughter isn’t sensitive at these low levels of gluten, but I know that it does affect other people.
It’s going to be very interesting, as they (we?) transition from one labelling system to the next.
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