The long-awaited final rule by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on gluten-free labeling was published in the Federal Register on Aug. 5. This voluntary rule became effective on Sept. 4, with the compliance date set for Aug. 5, 2014. The new regulation applies to foods and dietary supplements. It does not apply to foods regulated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), such as meats, poultry and certain egg products; alcoholic beverages regulated by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), such as distilled spirits, wine containing 7% or more alcohol by volume and malted beverages made with both malted barley and hops; cosmetics; prescription and nonprescription medications; and pet foods.
Manufacturers choosing to make a gluten-free claim must meet specific criteria. The product cannot contain an ingredient that is a gluten-containing grain in its whole form (such as wheat, spelt, einkorn, faro, emmer, barley, rye or crossbred hybrids like triticale) or be derived from a gluten-containing grain that has not been processed to remove the gluten (wheat flour, for example). On the other hand, the product may contain an ingredient derived from a gluten-containing grain that is processed to remove gluten, such as wheat starch, as long as the finished product contains less than 20 parts per million (ppm) gluten.