bake - February 2017 - 14

food safety

Big Gains for
Gluten-Free
Long-gone are the days when gluten-free was something a
bakery could afford to ignore.
According to the Celiac Disease Foundation, only 1 percent
of the US population has been diagnosed with the disease,
though demand for gluten-free items seems to be higher than
ever - according to Packaged Facts, sales of gluten-free products have increased by 11 percent since 2014, and pulled in $1.57

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billion in proﬁts just last year.
Gourmet, which produces six different kinds of gluten-free
"Although nearly half of consumers believe that gluten-free

ﬂours for retail use. "You have to experiment a little with the

diets are a fad, 25 percent report that they eat gluten-free food,

different ﬂours, but once you get the hang of what works, it's a

a 67 percent increase from 2013, according to a Mintel report,"

piece of cake."

says Eric Richard, education coordinator at the International
Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association. "Gluten-free is the top nutrition-

Like organic, labeling your bakery products as gluten-free does

al ingredient claim on menus, growing 127 percent from 2012 to

require meeting federal guidelines and restrictions, the main

2015. It's also the top dish claim, increasing 24 percent during

one being a set gluten limit of less than 20 ppm (parts per mil-

the same timeframe."

lion). This is the lowest level that can be consistently detected
in foods using valid scientiﬁc tools, and is also the highest level

And while trust in gluten-free claims decreased to 45 percent

at which most people with Celiac disease can tolerate gluten.

in 2015, he says, sales of gluten-free food increased 136 percent
- to $11.6 billion - from 2013 to 2015.

"This standard gluten-free deﬁnition eliminates uncertainty
about how food producers label their products. People with

And if you need more convincing, just look at the restaurant

Celiac disease can rest assured that foods labeled 'gluten-free'

industry. According to DataSsential Menu Trends, gluten-free

meet a clear standard established and enforced by FDA," says

appeared on more restaurant menus than "organic" in the past

Felicia Billingslea, director of FDA's division of food labeling

year, at 23.6 percent, and was present more often than "local"

and standards.

and "all-natural" combined.
In addition to the 20 ppm limit, foods can only be called
While a recent NPD Group survey found that one out of every

gluten-free if they don't contain any ingredients that consist of

four consumers think that "gluten-free is good for everyone,"

any type of wheat, rye, barley, or crossbreeds of those grains,

pretty much any health professional will tell you that's a mis-

unless they've been processed to have their gluten removed

understanding, and that gluten isn't bad for anyone who hasn't

below the 20 ppm level.

been diagnosed with a speciﬁc intolerance to it. This doesn't
mean that the trend can't be capitalized upon, however, and by

And like most guidance from FDA, you can't sneak around with

all means, it doesn't look to be going away anytime soon.

semantics. Under the ﬁnal rule, a food label that bears the claim
"gluten-free," "free of gluten," "without gluten," and/or "no glu-

"According to industry statistics, sales of gluten-free products

ten" - but fails to meet the requirements of the rule - is con-

will exceed ﬁfteen billion dollars by 2016, twice the amount

sidered misbranded and subject to regulatory action by FDA.

of ﬁve years earlier," says Brett Fuss, brand director at Pereg

STEPHA N IE DECA MP

14 < FEB 2017 | bakemag.com
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