Hidden Danger of “Grain Free” Food Companies Don’t Want You to Know
by Jennifer Fugo of GlutenFreeSchool.com

Full Article: http://bit.ly/1mJMakK

Read more: http://bit.ly/1OQVXSN

• 14/328 (4%) labeled gluten-free products contained a level of gluten of at least 20 p.p.m. Of these products, 12/14 (86%) did not include an allergen advisory statement for wheat or gluten on product packaging.

• The 14 products that contained a level of gluten of at least 20 p.p.m. included two beverages, one spice, and 11 grain-based foods. Of the grain-based foods, 5/11 (45%) were oat products.

• 31/328 (9%) foods tested for gluten included an allergen advisory statement for wheat or gluten on product packaging. Three of these 31 (10%) products contained quantifiable gluten of at least 5 p.p.m.

SUMMARY
On the basis of this retrospective data analysis, the use of allergen advisory statements (regardless of type) on foods labeled gluten-free was not indicative that a food was out of compliance with the gluten-free label ing rule. Due to the current lack of federal regulations for allergen advisory statements, consumers with celiac disease and other gluten-related disorders should not make gluten-free purchasing decisions based solely on the presence or absence of an allergen advisory statement for wheat.

4/45 (9%) products that DID include an allergen advisory statement for wheat or gluten on product packaging contained quantifiable gluten.

52/384 (14%) products that did NOT include an allergen advisory statement for wheat or gluten on product packaging contained quantifiable gluten.

The FDA should strongly consider regulating allergen advisory statements, especially in light of the Food Safety Modernization Act.

Read more: http://bit.ly/2GWIaM2

A handy one page summary of the study. Click image for full PDF

In this database review, precautionary labeling for wheat or gluten on products not labeled gluten-free but appearing to be free of gluten-containing ingredients was NOT a useful predictor of gluten content. In some cases, consumer reliance on precautionary statements for wheat or gluten could have resulted in choosing a product contaminated with gluten.

• 87/101 (86%) products tested for gluten did NOT include an allergen advisory statement for wheat or gluten on product packaging.

• Fourteen products (14%) tested for gluten DID include an allergen advisory statement for wheat or gluten on product packaging.

• Of the 87 products that did NOT include an advisory statement, 13 (15%) contained quantifiable gluten at or above 5 ppm including 4 products (5%) that tested at or above 20 ppm of gluten.

• Of the 14 products that DID include an advisory statement, only 1 (7%) contained quantifiable gluten at or above 5 ppm.

SUMMARY
On the basis of this analysis, the current use of allergen advisory statements for wheat or gluten are not useful predictors of whether or not a single or multi-ingredient food product contains 20 or more p.p.m. of gluten. Precautionary statements should be regulated and standardized so that they are helpful to the consumer.

In terms of foods labeled gluten-free, consumers are advised to trust the label regardless of allergen advisory statements for wheat or gluten. This is due to the gluten-free labeling rule applying to both gluten in ingredients and gluten that may be found in a product due to cross contact. However, when it comes to foods not labeled gluten-free but appearing to be "gluten-free" based on ingredients, there are no established guidelines for individuals with celiac disease on whether they should avoid products with allergen advisory statements for wheat or gluten.

Increased education is also required to let consumers know that FALCPA includes ingredients only and does not include allergens that may be in a product unintentionally due to cross contact. Increased education is also needed to let consumers know that a gluten-free label applies to gluten that may be in a product due to ingredients and cross contact and that regardless of the source of gluten the product must contain less than 20 p.p.m. gluten.

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“‘May Contains’ on Food Labels: What You Need to Know"
By: Claire Gagné
http://bit.ly/27fg1ok

– Because advisory labels are voluntary, there is no guarantee products without these warnings will not contain traces of allergens. If you are ever unsure about a packaged food, Allergic Living suggests calling the manufacturer to find out about its food allergy management practices. If company representatives can’t adequately answer your questions, avoid the food.”

Read More…

• Seed Purity: All gluten-free oats must start from seed, either purchased or harvested from the previous crop, that is free from all gluten-containing grains as determined by seed counts.
• Crop Rotations: Growers shall follow a nongluten crop rotation, or a minimum three-year crop rotation between the last gluten-containing crop and the first pure oat crop, and document all previous crops grown.
• Isolation Strips: Isolation strips are required between adjacent gluten-containing crops or conventional oat crops and must be a minimum of 6 feet in width.
• Field Inspection: There must be inspections for potential sources of gluten cross-contamination during the growing season; these should be performed by third party inspectors trained specifically for gluten-free inspection.
• Traceability: The farm must identify the oats by land location, and document the harvesting equipment, cleaning equipment, transports, storage facilities, and final distribution for the grain from each location.
• Equipment Cleaning (trucks, cutters, harvesters, augurs, conveyors): Whenever possible, growers should use dedicated equipment. If not, they must use a validated cleaning process prior to handling gluten-free crops. Growers must also maintain documentation of the previous grains in the equipment.
• Harvest Samples: These must be visually inspected, preferably by a third party laboratory, for purity. Sometimes referred to as a “seed count.”
• Storage: Dedicated storage should be maintained for gluten-free oats.
• Cleaned Samples: Growers must visually inspect samples for gluten-containing grains prior to scheduling deliveries.

• Dedicated gluten-free receiving systems.
• Dedicated gluten-free in-process tanks/silos/storage.
• Dedicated gluten-free grain cleaners, or appropriate procedures for cleaning grain-cleaning equipment and for the storage of portable grain cleaners.
• Dedicated gluten-free milling equipment.
• Dust control/collection procedures and schedules for changing or cleaning filters.
• Dedicated pneumatic equipment/aspirators.
• Dedicated extrusion equipment, or written procedures for cleaning or purging extrusion equipment, if applicable. Must document purge volume, and that purge material tests negative for gluten prior to beginning gluten-free processing.
• Dedicated baggers/fillers.
• Dedicated pre- and postprocess containers (such as totes).
• Dedicated rail cars, trucks, or transports, or procedures for the cleaning and inspection of rail cars, trucks, or transports used to deliver product to other facilities or customers.
• Sorting equipment may not be used for oats as a substitute for obtaining purity, but may be used as a supplement to the purity protocol to ensure purity.
• The final product must meet the 20 ppm threshold in order to be labeled gluten-free in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other countries following the Codex Alimentarius guidelines. The product must meet the regulations for gluten-free labeling in the country of sale.
• The final product must meet the 10 ppm threshold in order to be certified gluten-free by GFCO.

Definition of the “Purity Protocol” for Producing Gluten-Free Oats
Read more: http://bit.ly/2oqTmpZ

"A brand and communications marketing associate responded in part (via email on May 22, 2016), “Bakery On Main’s top priority has always been to provide great tasting products that all those with Celiac Disease can trust and know are safe. We recently decided to soon begin using the mechanically sorted oats in some of our products only due to the fact that the supplier that we will be working with has been third party certified gluten free by the GFCO.” Please contact Bakery On Main for more information."