Gluten-Free Labels

Have you ever read a label while grocery shopping that felt like it had conflicting information?  You’re not alone.  Label-reading can be tricky with celiac disease, and not just because gluten can hide in many  ingredients.

Anything marked “gluten-free” on the label is safe to eat.  Some products have a “certified gluten-free” symbol on it while others do not.  However, any product in the United States labeled “gluten-free” must have less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

Products that do not have a "gluten-free" label are where it gets trickier. Although the FDA requires products to be labeled with allergen warnings alongside the ingredients, these allergen warnings are only for the 8 major allergens identified by the FDA. Those allergens are milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, and soybeans.  So, only wheat appears on the allergen lists, not gluten.  If the allergen statement tells you the product contains wheat, of course don’t eat it. But, you have to look a little bit further into the ingredient label for any listed gluten.
Here are other common gray areas in labeling that need more clarification:

• “Made in a facility that processes wheat/gluten”: Factories can be absolutely massive (think the size of multiple city blocks), so it does not mean cross-contamination is guaranteed—it just means all of the equipment is under one roof.  If you have concerns, call the company to ask more about its manufacturing methods.
• “Made on shared equipment that also processes wheat/gluten”: The FDA requires strict equipment cleaning between each product using shared equipment.  There is still, however, a risk for cross-contamination.  Call the company to ask more about its manufacturing methods.
•  “May contain wheat/gluten”: Don’t bother with a product that has this label.  The risk is too high that there will be extensive cross-contamination or even larger quantities of gluten in the product.

It is important to remember that those three labels on foods are all voluntary statements.  Many companies with these labels sell perfectly safe products but decide to include these statements purely for liability purposes.  As always, if you ever have questions about products with or without these labels, feel free to call the manufacturer with your questions!

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