There is finally a gluten-free labeling law in the U.S. (it went info effect earlier this month) which is cause for celebration. The FDA was supposed to have the law worked out by August 2008...oh well, we are talking about the government, after all.
If you notice some items no longer sport gluten-free on the label even though nothing has changed regarding the ingredients, don't be alarmed. Companies that want to claim their products are gluten-free have to be able to prove that fact. Therefore, some companies that previously listed gluten-free on their labels might drop it only because they never tested their products as there was not a reason for it.
If the only thing a company produces is canned pineapple, there is not a reason to test the pineapple to see if it's gluten-free. It is - period. So even though we finally have a labeling law, label reading is still going to be part of our shopping trips. At least if you see the GF symbol or the words gluten free now, you'll know the item is definitely gluten-free.
The worst part of the new law is a tiny stipulation which mentions restaurants have to meet the same requirements as food companies that produce packaged foods with labels. Yes, that is basically what the law says...it sounds ridiculous, right? There is obviously no way this is doable in a non gluten-free restaurant setting so guess what? Larger chains are already pulling their gluten-free menus and renaming them things like gluten-friendly menu, low gluten menu and avoiding gluten menu - yikes!!! I'm glad I'm not new to the gluten-free dining scene. If I was, I might be scared to death to eat out.
When you see packaged food items from Europe that contain gluten, they say just that - 'contains gluten'. How easy is that?!
If you notice some items no longer sport gluten-free on the label even though nothing has changed regarding the ingredients, don't be alarmed. Companies that want to claim their products are gluten-free have to be able to prove that fact. Therefore, some companies that previously listed gluten-free on their labels might drop it only because they never tested their products as there was not a reason for it.
If the only thing a company produces is canned pineapple, there is not a reason to test the pineapple to see if it's gluten-free. It is - period. So even though we finally have a labeling law, label reading is still going to be part of our shopping trips. At least if you see the GF symbol or the words gluten free now, you'll know the item is definitely gluten-free.
The worst part of the new law is a tiny stipulation which mentions restaurants have to meet the same requirements as food companies that produce packaged foods with labels. Yes, that is basically what the law says...it sounds ridiculous, right? There is obviously no way this is doable in a non gluten-free restaurant setting so guess what? Larger chains are already pulling their gluten-free menus and renaming them things like gluten-friendly menu, low gluten menu and avoiding gluten menu - yikes!!! I'm glad I'm not new to the gluten-free dining scene. If I was, I might be scared to death to eat out.
When you see packaged food items from Europe that contain gluten, they say just that - 'contains gluten'. How easy is that?!
