Ahead of proposed regulatory changes next year, the Food Standards Agency has put forward a new factsheet designed to make those in the catering sector aware of when they can label a food as ‘gluten free.’

FSA’s publication and unveiling of the factsheet coincides with Coeliac UK’s National Awareness Week, ‘The Gluten Free Challenge,’ which will take place on 16 to 22 May and seeks to encourage people to rise to the challenge of taking on a gluten free diet to help them appreciate what those living with the condition are going through.

The key difference in regulation as of 1 January 2012 will be that only foods with less than 20 parts of gluten in every million can be labeled as ‘gluten free.’ This impending change has been driven by recent evidence that purports that using such a low level will offer those with gluten intolerances or faced with coeliac disease better protection. There was previously no limit established for ‘gluten free’ foods, with levels therefore varying.

Equipped with a user-friendly flow chart, the FSA’s factsheet will help caterers and others active in the hospitality sector to give their staff the right guidance and increase awareness of the new descriptions and their exact implications, in order that they are sufficiently informed to be able to explain to customers what the foods comprise and how they have been provided.

Later on this year, it is reported that the FSA will also be releasing information specifically for consumers, to raise their understanding about what the new regulation will mean for them.

Posted by Hayley on the 27th May 2011