Why isn't Gluten itself labelled/ declared?
Hi
In our gluten containing product labels we declare the allergen in the ingredient list by capitalising WHEAT and listing Wheat again in the allergen list. My question is why isn't Gluten itself labelled/ declared?
Thanks
Hi Alfiebru
The Gluten is not declared itself because it is not listed in the product specification as an added ingredient but came from an ingredient (wheat which is listed and is an added ingredient).
pure gluten is available as a product in the market and when it is part of the ingredient list in the product specification then it should also be listed in the ingredient list of the product label
Kind regards
Dr. Humaid Khan
Managing Director
Halal International Services
Australia
+61411588329
Hi Alfiebru,
The EU requirement is for the allergenic ingredient to be emphasised, which in this case is wheat, as per 1169/2011 below:
29. Cereals containing gluten will be declared in the ingredients list using the specific name of the cereal, i.e. wheat (such as spelt or Khorasan), rye, barley or oats. Where ‘spelt’, ‘Khorasan’and ‘Kamut’have been used;the inclusion of a specific reference to wheat would be required; for example ‘spelt(wheat)’or ‘Khorasanwheat’and ‘Kamut (wheat)’.
30. The voluntary inclusion of glutenwithin the ingredientslist following the mandatory declaration of a cereal containing gluten is possible. However, the regulation requires that it is the cereal that should be emphasised, rather than the gluten; for example ‘barley(gluten)’.
In a general sense it is possible to have an allergy to proteins other than gluten that are found in cereals, hence the cereal itself requiring declaration.
Because Gluten comes from an ingredient and is not an ingredient itself.
Because Wheat is the major food allergen according to FDA, not gluten. Some companies put gluten between brackets next to wheat. You don't see them indicating the protein allergen of shrimp for example. You just list the ingredient itself.
Because Wheat is the major food allergen according to FDA, not gluten. Some companies put gluten between brackets next to wheat. You don't see them indicating the protein allergen of shrimp for example. You just list the ingredient itself.
The OP appears to be in the UK, although the labelling requirement in this area is similar - Annex II of Regulation (EU) 1169/2011 defines the cereal as the allergen rather than the specific protein.
It is optionally permissible to include a reference to gluten within the ingredients list for the EU/UK market, so long as the correct emphasis is placed on the actual ingredient as used - e.g. Wheat (gluten).
However, the Food & Drink Federation (FDF - UK industry trade body) in conjunction with Coeliac UK, The Anaphylaxis Campaign, and BRC, has published best practice guidance on labelling of gluten that recommends against this approach.
Full details in this document: https://www.fdf.org....lling doc_7.pdf
Also, there's not really such as thing as gluten. The proteins are glutenin (from wheat), hordein (from barley), secalin (from rye); and avenin (from oats).
I suspect when the consultations were going on around what to change and the decision to put the allergens into the ingredients box came about, that probably made the decision for them. It would be rare for gluten to be specifically added as an ingredient whereas I'm sure they were keen for the allergen names to be as simple as possible for allergic consumers to understand.
Also I believe some of the potential allergic / sensitivity response is meant to be associated with other proteins in the grain not just gluten? Certainly I have a friend who has anaphylaxis to wheat who cannot eat all gluten free foods. This can leave you in a bizarre situation where you could have ingredients on the label which are derived from wheat but the product could have a gluten free claim. For my friend though, the ingredients listing is still really important.
Also, there's not really such as thing as gluten. The proteins are glutenin (from wheat), hordein (from barley), secalin (from rye); and avenin (from oats).
Gluten in wheat is a mixture of glutenin & gliadin. It's simply a mixture of proteins rather than one.
Gluten in wheat is a mixture of glutenin & gliadin. It's simply a mixture of proteins rather than one.
Exactly. In fact, the glutenins and gliadins are classes of proteins, not named chemicals the way, say, citric acid is. So regulators and people who are allergic don't want to have to parse all that terminology and deal with companies trying to obfuscate their ingredient labels.