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Showing results for tags 'ingredient labels'.
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Open Food Facts is a free food database: https://world.openfoodfacts.org/discover There's an app to access it which is also free (with no in app commercials). You can use it to look up information about foods such as ingredients, Nova score (to help avoid ultra processed foods), environmental impact and nutritional scores, allergy related information and more. It can scan a product's barcodes and bring up relevant information about that product. The project relies on volunteers to share information about products. We can add information on our favorite gluten free products to share with each other. It has several gluten free items in the database already: https://world.openfoodfacts.org/cgi/search.pl?search_terms=gluten+free&search_simple=1&action=process I think it could make a great tool for people with celiac.
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Celiac.com 11/12/2022 - It is the issue that unites every family affected by celiac disease: The need for clear and understandable food labeling in the United States. At a time when so few celiacs receive a diagnosis, those that do often fend for themselves when learning the gluten-free diet. Mistakes are made, and the person with celiac disease can face debilitating symptoms and health problems later in life. After years of working to raise awareness, the celiac disease community felt the floodgates open when the U.S. celiac disease prevalence study was published in the Archives of Internal Medicine. Since February, there has been a significant amount of news coverage on celiac disease, including a segment on the Today Show, articles in the nation’s most prominent newspapers and news segments on local television stations across the country. A key group of advocates has come together to build on this momentum, specifically by calling on Congress to enact legislation that would significantly improve food labeling for consumers affected by celiac disease and food allergies. The American Celiac Task Force is comprised of research institutions, support organizations and industry representatives (14 organizations in all) that have been working since March to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy on food labeling. The Task Force is lead by highly experienced advocates who have a track record of success on Capitol Hill and are personally affected by celiac disease. The primary objective of the Task Force is to influence the development of legislation that addresses the most important issues of the celiac community in a manner that is likely to be approved at the committee level and in both houses of Congress, and then signed into law. While many celiacs have noticed that companies such as Kraft have voluntarily begun to identify the eight major food allergens in their foods (dozens of companies have voluntarily done the same), this arrangement has been at the initiative of the manufacturer, and many food companies are not doing so. The American Celiac Task Force has decided to join forces with the food allergy community to work towards a comprehensive bill that will require companies to label the eight major food allergens in their foods. Wheat is one of those allergens, and it is the ingredient that causes the most headaches and heartaches for the celiac community (rye is almost never labeled as anything but, and barley, when not labeled barley is most often listed as malt). This approach is most ideal because it has already received some industry support (evidenced by voluntary labeling) and it is not a piecemeal approach to labeling, unlike legislation that calls for labeling only the sources of spices and natural flavors. The American Celiac Task Force strategy would effectively encompass that and far more. The reality of enacting food labeling legislation for celiacs is that a label stating "gluten-free" will not be acceptable to lawmakers and the industry (think of the last time you called a company and they said "we cannot guarantee that this product is gluten-free"). Eliminating the fear of lawsuits is the key to developing—and passing—food labeling laws. While we would all wish it to be the case, it is not possible to legislate away all of the work that a celiac has to do in order to go grocery shopping. You can imagine, however, what a tremendous burden would be lifted if you could read a statement that says “this product contains wheat.” Many celiacs and their families are experiencing this now when they purchase a Kraft product, for instance. What you imagine today could become real in the near future, but not without your help. Join the efforts of the American Celiac Task Force and speak with one voice to educate and influence members of Congress. You can find out how by going to www.celiaccenter.org/taskforce.asp and registering to receive regular updates. You can go to www.capwiz.com/celiac to send your member of Congress a letter urging them to support better food labeling laws. Most importantly, if you receive publications, mailings or are a member of an organization on the American Celiac Task Force (such as the University of Chicago Celiac Disease Program) you can be assured that you will be hearing more about the American Celiac Task Force and what you can do to help this tremendous effort. Each organization is working to educate its own constituency directly, in addition to a public effort to urge families to join this effort. Make sure you do your part.
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USA Has Yet to Define “Gluten-Free” for Food Labels
Tina Turbin posted an article in Winter 2011 Issue
Celiac.com 01/12/2011 - When Americans shop for caffeine-free tea or soda, the process is a simple one. First, they find their brand of choice, scan the labels for “decaffeinated,” then toss the product into their shopping baskets. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple to find gluten-free versions of foods. Although proposals for gluten-free labeling laws are in the works, currently there is no official definition in this country for “gluten-free,” meaning that gluten-free shoppers can’t rely on a gluten-free label to tell them whether a food product is gluten-free. According to Living Without, neither of the two major food government agencies, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which regulates egg, meat, and poultry products, nor the FDA, which regulates packaged and other foods, have a specific definition for “gluten free.” Currently, the FDA’s standard for gluten-free labeling is that the label be “truthful and not misleading,” so if a food product is designated “free” of an ingredient, it shouldn’t have that ingredient in it. Whereas certain products can claim to be “free” of substances such as caffeine, a fact which can be confirmed with testing, the analytic technology for testing for zero gluten doesn’t exist yet. Gluten is tested in parts per million (ppm), and currently the smallest detectable amount is 20 ppm. According to Living Without, while celiac experts seem to agree that this is a safe gluten level, other countries define “gluten-free” as containing below 20 ppm of gluten. This means that the current FDA guideline isn’t very useful when it comes to gluten-free labeling. The American Celiac Disease Alliance has published on its website, AmericanCeliac.org, a question-and-answer series from the FDA on the current gluten-free labeling guideline proposals, which were developed in 2006 in accordance with the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) of 2004. Due to the limitations in the current analytic technology, the current proposals require that a product contain less than 20 ppm of gluten. According to Living Without, “With the number of products making unregulated gluten-free claims on the rise, the marketplace can be potentially dangerous for consumers with gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy.” Before a labeling regulation can be put into effect, however, the FDA needs to make another draft of the proposal available to the public, then gather and consider the commentary it generates. Following this, a notice regarding the safety assessment must be published. “The FDA will likely publish the notice on the safety assessment soon,” Celiac.com reports, but there is no indication as to just when they will issue the final rule. With “gluten-free” labeling on the rise, it seems more crucial than ever to get these regulations passed with a clear definition for “gluten free.” With even the tiniest amount of gluten having the capacity to make celiac patients ill, reading labels when shopping for gluten-free foods is a fundamental skill to be acquired from the very start of a gluten-free diet. Until there is a standard definition for “gluten-free” and a reliable set of FDA guidelines governing voluntary gluten-free labeling, celiacs need to be especially vigilant when hunting for gluten-free foods. This watchfulness begins with the vital understanding that a “gluten-free” label doesn’t guarantee a product is gluten-free. Resources: • American Celiac Disease Alliance: Gluten-Free Labeling Proposed Rule • Celiac.com: FDA Set to Adopt New Gluten-Free Labeling Standards In-Line with New Codex Alimentarius Standards • Diet.com: Contamination of Naturally Gluten-Free Grains • “GF Product CLAIMS: Can You Trust Them?” Living Without: April/May 2010.-
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Celiac.com 03/21/2019 - Calls are mounting in India to eliminate the term "low-gluten" from food labels, and to push for “zero gluten” labels for foods that are gluten-free. The Heart Care Foundation of India (HCFI) is calling for the term "low-gluten" to be eliminated from food labels, and for gluten-free foods to be labelled as "zero gluten," with the idea that the public perceives foods labeled "gluten-free" to include some gluten. Moreover, HFCI is calling for gluten-free food options on all airlines and trains, and in all parties, marriages and restaurants for people who need to avoid gluten for medical reasons. They are also calling for gluten-free options for non-celiac wheat sensitive persons, which includes up to ten percent of the population. HFCI is calling on medical associations to pass resolutions supporting these changes forthwith. The HCFI is also pushing honey water wine, with under 3% alcohol, as a harm reduction alternative to beer. Earlier in 2016, FSSAI had notified the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Second Amendment Regulations, 2016, relating to standards for gluten food and low-gluten food. Read more at FBRNews
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