Assessment of the gluten content in gluten-free labelled foodstuffs

Abstract nº 42, publicado no livro de resumos "3rd International Symposium on Gluten-Free Cereal Products and Beverages", pela ICC – International Association for Cereal Science and Technology.

Food labelling helps consumers to get important information about the food they consume, this information is particularly important for those with food intolerances, like celiac patients. As the number of persons with gluten intolerance increases, the food industry demonstrates a greater concern to produce food that can be safely consumed by this group of people. In accordance to the European Regulation No 1169/2011, it’s mandatory to include the substances or products that cause allergies or intolerances on the label. At European level there is a great concern with this type of food intolerance, therefore foodstuffs intended for particular nutritional use have a specific regulation (No 41/2009). This regulation, applicable since past January, concerns the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people with gluten intolerance. In order to comply with this regulation, and to insert reliable information on the food labels, our laboratory works with the food industry companies and carry out analyses for detection and quantification of gluten in food and raw materials. Our laboratory also collaborates with the Portuguese Food Safety Authority (ASAE) in the programme for monitoring food intended for particular nutritional uses, which includes the food labelled as gluten-free. In order to access if the information gluten-free was being correctly applied on the labels, foodstuffs from different brands were analysed. With this study we evaluated the conformity of labelling, connected with gluten-free information, in 35 samples. Gluten analysis was performed using two different immunoenzimatic assays: RIDASCREEN® Gliadin and/or RIDASCREEN® Gliadin competitive. All the samples analysed in the study contained levels of gluten below the 20 mg/Kg limit proposed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission for gluten-free foods. These results were in agreement with the information gluten-free presented on the sample labels. This study underlines the importance of the laboratory in ensuring that the information gluten-free on the labels is reliable, so people with food intolerances, like the celiac disease, can safely consume this products.