Letter to Restaurant Managers: Do not use wheat-based soy sauce in foods represented as gluten-free
At Gluten Free Watchdog we have received a number of complaints about restaurants in the US using wheat-based soy sauce in sauces and meals represented as gluten-free. When eating at a restaurant, please ask whether a sauce contains soy sauce & whether the soy sauce contains wheat. Please also share this letter with restaurant managers. A pdf is available for download GFWDRestaurantLetterSoySauce
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Dear manager,
It has come to our attention that some restaurants are mistakenly representing soy sauce made from wheat as gluten-free. Under the FDA’s gluten-free labeling rule, wheat-based soy sauces and sauces containing wheat-based soy sauce as an ingredient may NOT be labeled gluten-free. While restaurants do not technically fall under the gluten-free labeling rule, the FDA has stated: “If restaurants cannot ensure that the foods they prepare fully comply with FDA’s definition of gluten-free, restaurants should not refer to their foods as being “gluten-free.”
According to the FDA, “If a soy sauce is made from wheat and soybeans, “wheat” is a gluten-containing grain, and, therefore, cannot make the gluten-free claim (emphasis mine).”
Also according to the FDA, “If a restaurant manager confirms that a menu item bearing a gluten-free claim is made with an ingredient prohibited by FDA regulations on gluten-free food labeling, or if any persons sensitive to gluten become sick after consuming restaurant foods claimed to be gluten-free, it is important that these cases be reported to both the overseeing state agency and to FDA.”
To read the full statements on soy sauce and restaurant use of gluten-free claims, see https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/make-no-mistake-about-it-wheat-based-soy-sauce-is-not-allowed-in-foods-labeled-gluten-free/ and http://www.glutenfreedietitian.com/restaurants-and-gluten-free-labeling-claims/
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Thank you,
Tricia Thompson, MS, RD
Founder, Gluten Free Watchdog, LLC
Comment (1)
Thank you for catching this one! Yes, a huge issue. If Chinese restaurants can find innovative work-arounds, why can’t Western restaurant chefs?