How can we be reasonably sure that the food we consume is gluten free? Two common strategies are to read ingredient labels defensively and to trust gluten free labels on food containers from companies that we trust. There is a third option. Three national organizations place their “seal of approval” on items that they have tested and/or manufacturing processes that they have “certified”.
The Celiac Sprue Association awards its “recognition seal” to products that they find to be totally free of oats and to contain less than five parts-per-million harmful gluten.
The Gluten Free Certification Organization (a service of The Gluten Intolerance Group) certifies products that contain no more than ten parts-per-million harmful gluten. Oats are OK if they do not cause the product to exceed ten parts-per-million.
The National Foundation for Celiac Awareness uses exactly the same criteria.
So now we have one more tool in our repertoire of ways to identify gluten free food. I suggest that you look at each website for more details. Look carefully at the group’s logo so that you will now what to look for on the food packages you look at.
Be sure that you understand the idea of ‘parts-per-million’. One part-per-million is the equivalent of one inch in sixteen miles, 1 second in eleven and a half days, or one minute in two years. Our food may not be gluten free in the strictest sense of the word, but we do deal with a rather strict definition.
These certifications will become even more important after the Food and Drug determines the official definition “Gluten Free”. These three organization all use a definition that is much stricter than the FDA proposal. Many people will prefer their standards.
