By now, you are aware that starting August 5, 2014, food manufacturers must comply with the Food and Drug Administration’s Gluten-Free Food Labeling Law by assuring that any packaged food product labeled as “gluten-free” contains less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. Five years overdue, we now have a universal definition.
What Does This Mean for Home Cooks? I think it has tremendous implications because one of my most common complaints from home cooks is that they don’t have much time. So, they welcome any time-saving shortcuts such as store-bought foods and the certainty of the gluten-free label makes it much quicker and easier to choose those foods in stores.
My Mission: Get More People in the Kitchen
In fact, this plea for quick recipes led to my latest cookbook, 100 Best Quick Gluten-Free Recipes, on bookshelves October 7. My mission is to get more people in the kitchen, cooking their own food. I think eating is the most profound thing we do for our bodies, and eating healthy, safe food is extremely critical—especially when we avoid gluten.
This new ruling from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guides us when we buy store-bought foods made from multiple ingredients—such as sauces, seasonings, marinades, and salad dressings—in order to shave precious time from meal preparation. I have always felt that it is not the amount of time we spend preparing meals that matters. Rather, it is how we use our time wisely to put the best meal on the table—in a time frame that suits our busy lives— that is most important.
How the Law Affects Home Cooks
In the past—to assure safety—gluten-free people like us had to prepare most of their own meals at home from plain meats, dairy, vegetables, non-gluten grains, and fruits. Any seasonings, dressings, marinades, or sauces had to be made at home because store-bought versions contain multiple ingredients, some of which could possibly contain gluten. But of course, these items add flavor, texture, and color to an otherwise stark flavorless entrée (such as a plain chicken breast seasoned only with salt and pepper) so this definition allows us to buy gluten-free ingredients with confidence and save time in the kitchen by not having to make everything from scratch.
For example, you can buy clearly-labeled gluten-free salad dressing rather than making it at home. In this case, the culprit can be wheat-laden soy sauce which manufacturers can replace with gluten-free soy sauce—without changing the flavor or appearance of the dressing. Or, home cooks can know if they are buying a barbecue sauce that is not thickened with wheat flour, as some sauces are. Store-bought gluten-free cookies can be made into a crumb crust for pies, rather than first baking the cookies at home from scratch with gluten-free flours. In each case, you can now have confidence that the gluten-free label complies with the FDA’s definition of less than 20 ppm—not some arbitrary level set by the manufacturer.
Not only does this new “standardized” gluten-free label mean these foods are made with gluten-free ingredients, but it also means that manufacturers did not allow them to touch gluten during the manufacturing process—known as cross-contact or cross-contamination. Another benefit of the 20 ppm level is that experts around the world, not just in the U.S., regard it as safe so it is a universal definition.
Caveats to the New Law
There are some caveats. The gluten-free labeling is not mandatory but manufacturers who use the label must meet the FDA standards. That is why it is so important to read labels on everything and keep reading until you find a gluten-free brand. The new ruling does not apply to meats, poultry, and most egg products, nor does it apply to restaurants.
Have Questions?
Finally, new laws generate many questions. To help you understand the new ruling and what it does and does not cover, the FDA provides “Questions and Answers: Gluten-Free Food Labeling Final Rule”. In addition, the Gluten Intolerance Group of North America provides a dietitian’s perspective on the ruling to make it easier to understand from a consumer perspective.
So, rejoice in this new ruling, but use it as an incentive to get in the kitchen and start cooking.
