This page is complemented by:
Food labeling is the tool that allows consumers to know the characteristics of the food products they are going to consume and thus be able to choose safely according to their tastes, requirements and/or needs.
European Regulation (EU) No. 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers provides guidelines for labelling foods containing any of the following 14:
European Regulation (EU) No. 828/2014 on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in foodstuffs establishes the following authorized claims regarding the absence or reduced presence of gluten in foodstuffs and their conditions:
- “GLUTEN-FREE”: These products contain no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten or 20 parts per million (ppm). They are certified with the European Licensing System (ELS or Crossed Grain Trademark) > SUITABLE FOR CELIACS.
- “VERY LOW IN GLUTEN”: These contain foods consisting of wheat, rye, barley, oats or their hybrid varieties, and have been specifically processed to reduce gluten content, but contain between 20 and 100 mg/kg or between 20 and 100 ppm.> NOT SUITABLE FOR CELIACS.
A gluten-free certificate is a document that confirms a food product has been manufactured, processed, and/or handled in such a way that it contains very little or no gluten. This certificate is important for people with celiac disease or other gluten-related disorders, as it helps them identify and select safe foods. The gluten-free certificate offers an additional guarantee of compliance with the standards established by the relevant organizations or authorities regarding the production of gluten-free food.
A certified gluten-free food will bear the logo of a wheat ear enclosed in a cross or circle, with a code below it. For Spain, this will always be ES - YYY - ZZZ.
- ES reference is made to the country
YYY will be the code corresponding to the company
ZZZ the product code
To use this symbol, a formal application for certification under the European Licensing System must always be made in the relevant country.
A celiac patient can only consume products that guarantee a gluten content of less than 20 mg/kg or 20 ppm. Therefore, the mere mention of "gluten-free" does not compromise the health of celiac patients. This is supported by the study conducted by Catassi et al. (2007) with 20 patients with celiac disease who consumed approximately 50 mg/kg of gluten per day for 90 days, resulting in intestinal damage.
For a food to be considered gluten free it must contain less than 20ppm of gluten, corresponding to the size of a point like this: .
