Petition for FDA Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods for Celiacs

By Peter Olins, PhD and Gillian Olins, PhD on October 5, 2012.

A petition urging FDA gluten-free labeling has just been started, and will be submitted to the US White House if enough signatures are collected.

In 2011 we wrote extensively on the subject of preferred FDA labeling for gluten-free foods in the US, in a blog entitled: Proposed FDA Standard for Gluten-Free Foods (20 ppm) May Not Adequately Protect the Food Supply for Celiacs. After considering the comments that we received, we refined our position and submitted our recommendation to the FDA during it’s open comment period in 2011. Details of this letter can be found at: Letter to FDA on Labeling of Gluten-Free Foods for Celiacs.

Just to recap, based on the very limited clinical safety data available, we believe that the proposed 20 ppm standard for gluten-free labeling of foods is too lenient, and this standard should either be lowered or an interim “low gluten” labeling be used. A key point in our commentary was that a 20 ppm gluten concentration was not meaningful from a safety perspective, since the actual intake would depend on the amount of a food consumed. Instead, we recommended that the FDA develop an amount per serving labeling. This would have the added benefit that some food products with a greater than 20 ppm gluten concentration would still be considered safe for celiacs.

In a teleconference last year, the FDA stated that it hoped to issue a final ruling by the third quarter of 2012. The FDA has let its deadline slip again, and we are concerned that little apparent progress is being made. We are not aware of the reason for the delay—it may be logistical or it may reflect the difficulty of developing a meaningful standard—no public statement has been made. One new way to voice your opinion about the urgency of this would be to add your name to the petition below, created by Jennifer I. of Sebastopol, CA. The petition can be found here, and includes the following text:

If this petition urging FDA gluten-free labeling appeals to you, please note that the deadline is November 1, 2012, and 25,000 signatures will be required for it to be submitted.