""NutritionalOutlook.com reports, “Beginning August 3, FDA has reopened the comment period for its proposed gluten-free food-labeling rule. The comment period will remain open for 60 days.”

“The agency is overdue to finalize its gluten-free labeling rule since issuing the proposed rule in 2007. The agency has faced continued pressure to set standards that would establish the maximum gluten threshold for products labeled ‘gluten-free.’ Thus far, FDA has proposed that gluten-free foods cannot contain more than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. It notes that this standard takes into account current technologies for detecting gluten in food and that “validated methods could not reliably detect the amount of gluten in a food when the level was less than 20 ppm.” Notably, the 20 ppm-standard matches those set by the Codex Alimentarius and by 27 countries in the EU.”

“Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley. Those intolerant to gluten include celiac disease sufferers, which are estimate to include 1% of the U. S. population.”

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