Jump to content
  • Welcome to Celiac.com!

    You have found your celiac tribe! Join us and ask questions in our forum, share your story, and connect with others.




  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A1):



    Celiac.com Sponsor (A1-M):


  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Our Content
    eNewsletter
    Donate

New 20ppm Codex Alimentarius


Lan

Recommended Posts

Lan Rookie

New 20ppm Codex Alimentarius

I have been reading that the New Codex Alimentarius was finally approved this year and the limit for the "Gluten Free" Label was changed from 200 ppm to 20 ppm. Is there any way to tell if what you are buying "Gluten Free" is 20 ppm or 200 ppm?


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



kbtoyssni Contributor

When this labeling takes effect, a product must test below 20ppm to have a gluten free label. You will not be able to label a product that's above 20ppm but below 200ppm gluten free. So this change is much better for us!

If you're talking about what amount of gluten a product that's currently labeled gluten-free contains, who knows. It's up to the company to decide what the criteria are.

Lan Rookie
When this labeling takes effect

I guess I was really wondering how I will know when the new labeling will take effect?

munchkinette Collaborator

Is this something that has been approved by the FDA? I just did a google search and couldn't find that. Who actually approved what?

home-based-mom Contributor
Is this something that has been approved by the FDA? I just did a google search and couldn't find that. Who actually approved what?

I don't think it has been finalized yet. I think everyone is just assuming that's what the FDA is going to do. Basically it will mean that products will be like Rice Dream milk - labeled "gluten free" but not really "gluten free."

gfp Enthusiast
I don't think it has been finalized yet. I think everyone is just assuming that's what the FDA is going to do. Basically it will mean that products will be like Rice Dream milk - labeled "gluten free" but not really "gluten free."

Actually it's a little worse than this...

To sum up the several pages:

If a product is naturally gluten free it cannot be labelled gluten free unless:

It has a substance usually containing gluten but rendered "gluten free below 20ppm" added.

I fully realise this does not make sense ... please don't blame the messenger. Read the document and decide for yourself.

btw CODEX is a FAO/WHO standard who's adoption by any nation or state is completely optional.

However the gluten part's biggest contributers are the US and Canada represented by the wheat farmers and food producers.

kbtoyssni Contributor
To sum up the several pages:

If a product is naturally gluten free it cannot be labelled gluten free unless:

It has a substance usually containing gluten but rendered "gluten free below 20ppm" added.

I fully realise this does not make sense ... please don't blame the messenger. Read the document and decide for yourself.

I think this is how it is in the UK. So something like fruit and veggies would not be labeled gluten-free, but something with wheat starch could be if it's less than 20ppm. I don't mind that fruits and veggies won't be labeled, but what about things like cheese or chicken? I don't usually think of them as gluten containing, but we all know that it's possible to have gluten in them. Will plain chicken breast be labeled? Do I need to read the label, see if there's gluten in it, then check for a gluten-free logo? Am I still going to have to do research on the possibility of CC - i.e. if plain chicken doesn't have any other ingredients but is manufactured right next to wheat flour? (Silly example, but I've got chicken on the brain!)


Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):
Celiac.com Sponsor (A8):



Celiac.com Sponsor (A8-M):



gfp Enthusiast
I think this is how it is in the UK. So something like fruit and veggies would not be labeled gluten-free, but something with wheat starch could be if it's less than 20ppm. I don't mind that fruits and veggies won't be labeled, but what about things like cheese or chicken? I don't usually think of them as gluten containing, but we all know that it's possible to have gluten in them. Will plain chicken breast be labeled? Do I need to read the label, see if there's gluten in it, then check for a gluten-free logo? Am I still going to have to do research on the possibility of CC - i.e. if plain chicken doesn't have any other ingredients but is manufactured right next to wheat flour? (Silly example, but I've got chicken on the brain!)

Nope you are spot on ...

Sainsburys plain cooked chicken breasts contain gluten ??? (really)

And your spot on .... its not the apples and oranges nor pasta and bread but things that regularly do have gluten ... cooked ham for instance. Its literally thousands of products from stick cubes to grated cheese and rice krispies.

In each case the Gluten Free label is pointless, the CUK directory worse than pointless and the small print all that helps but this itself is written in oft obscure language ...

To be honest, regardless of celiac disease isn't it about time boiled ham was cooked ham? Roast chicken was roast chicken? and roast chicken with herbs and garlic ... exactly that!

I really fail to see how hard it is that foods are labelled as their title. If this is "Roast Chicken with preservatives, gluten binder and injected water" then that should be the label...

Why do we have the "no added preservatives" .... surely this should be the case and all other foods should be labelled as "ham with preservatives" ???

gfp Enthusiast
Open Original Shared Link
Gwen B Rookie
Nope you are spot on ...

Sainsburys plain cooked chicken breasts contain gluten ??? (really)

And your spot on .... its not the apples and oranges nor pasta and bread but things that regularly do have gluten ... cooked ham for instance. Its literally thousands of products from stick cubes to grated cheese and rice krispies.

In each case the Gluten Free label is pointless, the CUK directory worse than pointless and the small print all that helps but this itself is written in oft obscure language ...

To be honest, regardless of celiac disease isn't it about time boiled ham was cooked ham? Roast chicken was roast chicken? and roast chicken with herbs and garlic ... exactly that!

I really fail to see how hard it is that foods are labelled as their title. If this is "Roast Chicken with preservatives, gluten binder and injected water" then that should be the label...

Why do we have the "no added preservatives" .... surely this should be the case and all other foods should be labelled as "ham with preservatives" ???

I totally agree. When will the marketing execs realise that 1% of the population is a sizeable market segment, who are not buying these products and therefore the food companies are loosing money? :blink:

Lan Rookie
Open Original Shared Link

That is the old Codex - www.codexalimentarius.net is very slow about updating their website.

This just was finalized, if the information is correct, in July 2008.

Lan Rookie

The New 20 ppm Codex Alimentarius Gluten Standard

This is the draft which was accepted without modification on July 1, 2008.

Open Original Shared Link

This is the whole codex for 2008 (not just Gluten!) You can down load.

Open Original Shared Link

You can read more about it...

Open Original Shared Link

FDA Set to Adopt New Gluten-Free Labeling Standards In-Line with New Codex Alimentarius Standards

https://www.celiac.com/articles/21617/1/-FD...ards/Page1.html

The new standard allows food that would not normally contain gluten to still bear a label that says..

"This food is by its nature gluten-free."

"gluten-free" would only be allowed on food with a finished product that was no more than 20 ppm (20 ppm or less).

Food with more than 20 ppm could NOT carry a "gluten-free" label.

Food from above 20 ppm - 100 ppm could carry a different label, like "reduced gluten" or "gluten modified" but may NOT carry a gluten-free label.

This is good news in the Philippines who is now adopting this standard.

gfp Enthusiast
That is the old Codex - www.codexalimentarius.net is very slow about updating their website.

This just was finalized, if the information is correct, in July 2008.

They are very slow .... (website and updating the actual codex) :D

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Get Celiac.com Updates:
    Support Celiac.com:
    Join eNewsletter
    Donate

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):
    Celiac.com Sponsor (A17):





    Celiac.com Sponsors (A17-M):




  • Recent Activity

    1. - trents replied to marion wheaton's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

    2. - BlessedinBoston replied to marion wheaton's topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?

    3. - knitty kitty replied to Jmartes71's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      14

      My only proof

    4. - Jmartes71 replied to Jmartes71's topic in Related Issues & Disorders
      14

      My only proof

    5. - marion wheaton posted a topic in Gluten-Free Foods, Products, Shopping & Medications
      2

      Are Lindt chocolate balls gluten free?


  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A19):



  • Member Statistics

    • Total Members
      132,406
    • Most Online (within 30 mins)
      7,748

    Kbradway
    Newest Member
    Kbradway
    Joined

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A20):


  • Forum Statistics

    • Total Topics
      121.5k
    • Total Posts
      1m

  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A22):





  • Celiac.com Sponsor (A21):



  • Who's Online (See full list)

    • There are no registered users currently online
  • Upcoming Events

  • Posts

    • trents
      @BlessedinBoston, it is possible that in Canada the product in question is formulated differently than in the USA or at least processed in in a facility that precludes cross contamination. I assume from your user name that you are in the USA. And it is also possible that the product meets the FDA requirement of not more than 20ppm of gluten but you are a super sensitive celiac for whom that standard is insufficient. 
    • BlessedinBoston
      No,Lindt is not gluten free no matter what they say on their website. I found out the hard way when I was newly diagnosed in 2000. At that time the Lindt truffles were just becoming popular and were only sold in small specialty shops at the mall. You couldn't buy them in any stores like today and I was obsessed with them 😁. Took me a while to get around to checking them and was heartbroken when I saw they were absolutely not gluten free 😔. Felt the same when I realized Twizzlers weren't either. Took me a while to get my diet on order after being diagnosed. I was diagnosed with small bowel non Hodgkins lymphoma at the same time. So it was a very stressful time to say the least. Hope this helps 😁.
    • knitty kitty
      @Jmartes71, I understand your frustration and anger.  I've been in a similar situation where no doctor took me seriously, accused me of making things up, and eventually sent me home to suffer alone.   My doctors did not recognize nutritional deficiencies.  Doctors are trained in medical learning institutions that are funded by pharmaceutical companies.  They are taught which medications cover up which symptoms.  Doctors are required to take twenty  hours of nutritional education in seven years of medical training.  (They can earn nine hours in Nutrition by taking a three day weekend seminar.)  They are taught nutritional deficiencies are passe' and don't happen in our well fed Western society any more.  In Celiac Disease, the autoimmune response and inflammation affects the absorption of ALL the essential vitamins and minerals.  Correcting nutritional deficiencies caused by malabsorption is essential!  I begged my doctor to check my Vitamin D level, which he did only after making sure my insurance would cover it.  When my Vitamin D came back extremely low, my doctor was very surprised, but refused to test for further nutritional deficiencies because he "couldn't make money prescribing vitamins.". I believe it was beyond his knowledge, so he blamed me for making stuff up, and stormed out of the exam room.  I had studied Nutrition before earning a degree in Microbiology.  I switched because I was curious what vitamins from our food were doing in our bodies.  Vitamins are substances that our bodies cannot manufacture, so we must ingest them every day.  Without them, our bodies cannot manufacture life sustaining enzymes and we sicken and die.   At home alone, I could feel myself dying.  It's an unnerving feeling, to say the least, and, so, with nothing left to lose, I relied in my education in nutrition.  My symptoms of Thiamine deficiency were the worst, so I began taking high dose Thiamine.  I had health improvement within an hour.  It was magical.  I continued taking high dose thiamine with a B Complex, magnesium. and other essential nutrients.  The health improvements continued for months.  High doses of thiamine are required to correct a thiamine deficiency because thiamine affects every cell and mitochondria in our bodies.    A twenty percent increase in dietary thiamine causes an eighty percent increase in brain function.  The cerebellum of the brain is most affected.  The cerebellum controls things we don't have to consciously have to think about, like digestion, balance, breathing, blood pressure, heart rate, hormone regulation, and many more.  Thiamine is absorbed from the digestive tract and sent to the most important organs like the brain and the heart.  This leaves the digestive tract depleted of Thiamine and symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi, a thiamine deficiency localized in the digestive system, begin to appear.  Symptoms of Gastrointestinal Beriberi include anxiety, depression, chronic fatigue, headaches, Gerd, acid reflux, gas, slow stomach emptying, gastroparesis, bloating, diarrhea and/or constipation, incontinence, abdominal pain, IBS,  SIBO, POTS, high blood pressure, heart rate changes like tachycardia, difficulty swallowing, Barrett's Esophagus, peripheral neuropathy, and more. Doctors are only taught about thiamine deficiency in alcoholism and look for the classic triad of symptoms (changes in gait, mental function, and nystagmus) but fail to realize that gastrointestinal symptoms can precede these symptoms by months.  All three classic triad of symptoms only appear in fifteen percent of patients, with most patients being diagnosed with thiamine deficiency post mortem.  I had all three but swore I didn't drink, so I was dismissed as "crazy" and sent home to die basically.   Yes, I understand how frustrating no answers from doctors can be.  I took OTC Thiamine Hydrochloride, and later thiamine in the forms TTFD (tetrahydrofurfuryl disulfide) and Benfotiamine to correct my thiamine deficiency.  I also took magnesium, needed by thiamine to make those life sustaining enzymes.  Thiamine interacts with each of the other B vitamins, so the other B vitamins must be supplemented as well.  Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.   A doctor can administer high dose thiamine by IV along with the other B vitamins.  Again, Thiamine is safe and nontoxic even in high doses.  Thiamine should be given if only to rule Gastrointestinal Beriberi out as a cause of your symptoms.  If no improvement, no harm is done. Share the following link with your doctors.  Section Three is especially informative.  They need to be expand their knowledge about Thiamine and nutrition in Celiac Disease.  Ask for an Erythrocyte Transketolace Activity test for thiamine deficiency.  This test is more reliable than a blood test. Thiamine, gastrointestinal beriberi and acetylcholine signaling.  https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12014454/ Best wishes!
    • Jmartes71
      I have been diagnosed with celiac in 1994, in remission not eating wheat and other foods not to consume  my household eats wheat.I have diagnosed sibo, hernia ibs, high blood pressure, menopause, chronic fatigue just to name a few oh yes and Barrett's esophagus which i forgot, I currently have bumps in back of my throat, one Dr stated we all have bumps in the back of our throat.Im in pain.Standford specialist really dismissed me and now im really in limbo and trying to get properly cared for.I found a new gi and new pcp but its still a mess and medical is making it look like im a disability chaser when Im actively not well I look and feel horrible and its adding anxiety and depression more so.Im angery my condition is affecting me and its being down played 
    • marion wheaton
      Wondering if anyone knows whether Lindt chocolate balls are gluten free. The Lindt Canadian website says yes but the Lindt USA website says no. The information is a bit confusing.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

NOTICE: This site places This site places cookies on your device (Cookie settings). on your device. Continued use is acceptance of our Terms of Use, and Privacy Policy.