News

17 Feb 2020

Sticky Fingers Bakeries: Enriched Wheat Flour isn’t an ingredient “processed to remove gluten”

To manufacturers of gluten-free foods (in particular Sticky Fingers Bakeries because yes, this is a label from a Sticky Fingers Bakeries’ product):

1. The FDA has a codified gluten-free labeling rule. Read it
at https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfcfr/CFRSearch.cfm?fr=101.91

2. In the codified rule, wheat flour is considered “An ingredient that is derived from a gluten-containing grain and that has not been processed to remove gluten.”

3. In the codified rule, wheat starch is considered an ingredient “that has been processed to remove gluten.”

4.  This rule includes
the […]

By Facial Misbranding 2 Comments Read more...
06 Feb 2020

General Mills Proposed Gluten Friendly Line

UPDATE February 12, 2020: Thank you so much to everyone who emailed and posted comments. Comments were sent to General Mills today.

Their response: “Thank you for sharing this information. I will be forwarding it on to the team that is working on the concept. I think it is also important for you to know that based on all of the feedback we received from the gluten free community, we removed the images from our website as we reevaluate […]

By Uncategorized 171 Comments Read more...
21 Jan 2020

ANY Enforcement Action FDA??

ALL FOUR PRODUCTS ARE LABELED GLUTEN-FREE

ALL FOUR PRODUCTS APPEAR TO BE IN VIOLATION OF FALCPA

THREE CONTAIN WHEAT FLOUR

ONE CONTAINS BARLEY

PRODUCT 1: Update: Recalled! THE WRONG OUTER PACKAGING WAS USED; CHOWDER CONTAINS WHEAT FLOUR; WHEAT IS NOT INCLUDED IN THE INGREDIENTS LIST OR CONTAINS STATEMENT

PRODUCT 2: Update: Recalled! PACKAGING CONTAINS WHEAT PASTA; LABELED “GLUTEN-FREE (WITHOUT PASTA)”; WHEAT ISN’T DECLARED IN THE INGREDIENTS LIST OR SEPARATE CONTAINS STATEMENT (LISTED AS DURUM SEMOLINA FLOUR)

PRODUCT 3: WHEAT FLOUR IS INCLUDED IN THE […]

By Facial Misbranding, FDA Action Alerts 9 Comments Read more...
15 Jan 2020

Restaurants: Stop Using Wheat-Based Soy Sauce in Gluten-Free Meals

If you come across a restaurant using wheat-based soy sauce in a meal marked gluten-free, please share the information below with the manager. A pdf of the letter is available here.

Dear restaurant manager,

It has come to our attention
that your restaurant is using certain sauces, including shoyu soy sauce and
representing these sauces as gluten-free to your patrons. 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. According to the FDA, “If a soy sauce is made from
wheat […]

By Restaurants 4 Comments Read more...
07 Jan 2020

Reclaim Gluten-Free: Help Stop the Misuse of the Term Gluten-Free by Restaurants

The
term gluten-free has a regulatory definition. This definition was created
because of celiac disease. Only those restaurants that are able to provide
appropriate meals for folks with celiac disease should use it.

What the FDA says about gluten-free claims and restaurants: “If restaurants or other retail food establishments wish to make “gluten-free” claims (or the synonymous claims “no gluten” “free of gluten” or “without gluten”) for any of their menu items, these foods should meet all of the requirements FDA has established […]

By Restaurants 11 Comments Read more...
06 Jan 2020

Call to Action to Stop Facial Misbranding of Gluten-Free Foods: Contact HHS Secretary Alex Azar

As we usher in 2020, facial misbranding of gluten-free foods continues to be a problem. Just this weekend, Gluten Free Watchdog filed three formal reports with FDA via CAERS for products labeled gluten-free but listing germinated barley seed powder, durum semolina flour, or enriched wheat flour in the ingredients.

While we have been advised by FDA that progress is being made, there continues to be lax enforcement of the gluten-free labeling rule and manufacturers continue to misuse the gluten-free labeling […]

By FDA Action Alerts 4 Comments Read more...
09 Oct 2019

What Does 10 mg of Gluten Look Like?

10 milligrams of gluten per day is generally considered by experts to be a safe amount for individuals with celiac disease. But what does this look like in terms of bread crumbs?

Regular white wheat bread has been reported to contain 12,400 milligrams of gluten per 100 grams (or 124,000 parts per million of gluten). Assuming this is accurate, a one-ounce slice of regular bread would contain 3,515 milligrams of gluten.

Based on this assumption and using a nonscientific scale: […]

By Gluten Contamination of Food 42 Comments Read more...
08 Oct 2019

Gluten Free Watchdog comment on the recent gluten cross contact study “Preparation of Gluten-Free Foods Alongside Gluten-Containing Food May Not Always Be as Risky for Celiac Patients as Diet Guides Suggest”

The study, “Preparation of Gluten-Free Foods Alongside
Gluten-Containing Food May Not Always Be as Risky for Celiac Patients as Diet
Guides Suggest” was recently published online by the journal Gastroenterology.  It is available in full at https://www.gastrojournal.org/article/S0016-5085(19)41340-1/pdf.

Personal note:
I have been out of the country and a little late to the party in terms of
commenting on this study. Thank you to everyone who reached out over the past
week for your patience. A comment from Adrian Rogers, Senior Research Scientist
at Romer Labs is […]

By Gluten Contamination of Food 8 Comments Read more...
18 Sep 2019

Gluten and Cross-Reactivity

For the past several
years there have been rumblings in the celiac disease community about gluten
and foods that are “cross-reactive”. These foods supposedly include coffee,
dairy, yeast, corn, millet, and rice. 

Where does this information come from?  The information comes from a study published in 2013 and co-authored by the Chief Scientific Advisor at Cyrex Laboratories. We’re not going to get into the weeds in this brief post but the full article entitled Cross-Reaction between Gliadin and Different Food and Tissue […]

By Gluten-Free Diet 20 Comments Read more...
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