August 2013

HOT OFF THE PRESS!!! FDA issued the update below today DEFINING the term “Gluten Free”.   As a Celiac, this is extremely exciting news! The reason this is a HUGE deal?  Us Celiac’s need to know we can trust food products that are labeled “gluten free”.  If they are not, the repercussions are severe, ranging from serious health problems, including nutritional deficiencies, osteoporosis, growth retardation, infertility, miscarriages, short stature, and intestinal cancers…

My sincere hope is FDA will now test imported products that make “GLUTEN FREE” claims, and assure these companies are legitimately using the gluten free claim.  Meaning, I hope FDA will enforce and penalize those that are importing misbranded product and not correctly utilizing the gluten free claim!  The enforcement tools I will look for include FDA detaining imported product making gluten free claims, and sending them to FDA’s own laboratories to check the parts per million of gluten in the product.  If the product contains more than 20 parts per million of gluten, FDA should refuse admission of the product – meaning it would need to be exported or destroyed within 90 days of the refusal, otherwise, companies would face a liquidated damages claim. I also hope FDA will take the added step of adding non-compliant companies to the FDA’s Import Alert (black list) so that the products are AUTOMATICALLY stopped before entering the U.S. and the importer is forced to prove compliance prior to getting FDA to release the goods.

The “Compliance Date” for this final rule is August 5, […]