Gluten-free labeling of foods (FDA)

The short answer

A US gluten-free claim is a voluntary claim with a mandatory meaning: the food must meet FDA’s 21 CFR 101.91 rule, generally under 20 ppm gluten, without wheat, rye, barley or their hybrids as ingredients. It is not a synonym for “Contains: wheat” being absent.

Where this shows up in a real kitchen

Oat cookies labeled gluten-free get people sick when the oats are wheat-contaminated. FALCPA would not have required “wheat” if wheat was never an ingredient — the gluten-free claim still fails. UK gluten-free rules exist too; do not mix the logos and assume the tests are identical in paperwork.

The US rule

FDA’s gluten-free labeling rule defines the claim, including how oats and fermented foods are handled. You may not use the claim if the food has wheat as an ingredient. Testing and supplier control are how you know you are under 20 ppm. The gluten-free page on FDA.gov is the primary source.

How to apply it

If you do not need the claim, do not make it. If you do, lock suppliers of oats, spices and starches, test, and keep wheat, rye and barley out of the formula. Still declare milk or egg if they are present — gluten-free is not allergen-free.

1. Decide whether you need the claim at all.
2. Remove wheat, rye, barley and hybrids from the formula.
3. Control oats and shared equipment, then verify gluten levels.
4. Keep FALCPA names for milk, egg, soy, nuts — the claim does not replace them.

Worked example

A certified gluten-free brownie using cocoa, sugar, butter (milk), eggs, almond flour: Contains: milk, egg, almond. No wheat. A “gluten-free” brownie that uses regular soy sauce with wheat is misbranded even if the front is full of wheat-ear logos.

Printing GLUTEN-FREE because you used almond flour once

A flour swap without a 101.91 process is a claim, not a feeling.

Questions