The explosion of gluten-free products in the marketplace is good news for people with celiac disease and gluten sensitivity. But confusion about product labeling continues to create challenges for both consumers and manufacturers, especially in the U.S.
When the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) was passed in 2004 and came into force in January 2006, it required manufacturers to declare eight major allergens (which included wheat but not barley and rye—two other gluten sources) on the labels of all packaged foods under the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) purview. FALCPA also required that the FDA develop a rule for the term “gluten-free” by August 2006 and a final rule by August 2008. The proposed gluten-free rule was released Jan. 23, 2007.