FDA Sets Standard Definition For Gluten-Free Food Marketing Claims

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration published a regulation that includes a definition of the term “gluten-free” for voluntary labeling by food manufacturers. Aimed at helping as many as 3 million Americans who have celiac disease, an autoimmune digestive disorder whose symptoms can only be managed effectively by having patients adopt a gluten-free diet, the new policy will standardize the meaning of “gluten-free” marketing claims by food manufacturers. Food marketers are allowed to use the term on their product labels if and only if the product meets all the requirements of the definition, which includes the rule that the food must contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten.