The EU has notified the World Trade Organization (WTO) that it intends to allow two new labels on foods for people intolerant to gluten:
- “gluten-free”: max. 20 ppm gluten (unchanged).
- “very low gluten”: max. 100 ppm gluten (unchanged).
- New label: “suitable for people intolerant to gluten”: may accompany “gluten-free” or “very low gluten” labels, without further requirements.
- New label: “specifically formulated for people intolerant to gluten”: may accompany “gluten-free” or “very low gluten” labels, if the product is specially produced to
- reduce the gluten content of gluten containing ingredients (i.e. gluten-free wheat starch), or
- substitute the gluten containing ingredients with other ingredients naturally free of gluten.
Furthermore, the regulation explicitly forbids the use of these labels on baby milk, pointing to an earlier directive forbidding the use of gluten-containing ingredients in all baby milk.
Although the notification was sent to the WTO on 25 March 2014 already, it seems to have gone unnoticed by the celiac community until now, probably because the document was never really announced and is unlikely to be stumbled upon.
Continue reading EU to add two new food labels for gluten intolerant in 2016