Consumer Safety Awareness – How the Labelling Can Protect Health of Gluten-Intolerant People

Abstract

Recent years have witnessed a growing number of people who are gluten-intolerant and whose diet cannot contain gluten (celiac disease, allergy to gluten and gluten-intolerance). Consequently, the consumers’ interest in non-gluten diet is progressively increasing. Gluten is a mixture of prolamins and glutelins, present in the cereal grains: wheat (gliadin), rye (secalin) and barley (hordein). Wide use of gluten in the food industry results from its positive influence on products’ consistency, taste and moisture preserving. Since the only effective method of gluten-related diseases treatment is a strict gluten-free diet, this study examines the market of the gluten-free carbohydrate products. A growing desire to avoid gluten is changing the whole food industry. The task was to analyze the labelling correctness of selected nutriments suitable for gluten-intolerant people. The analysis was based on the current EU and national regulations. Besides of common EU regulations and directives dedicated to food production sector and food safety, we can find specified law regulating the composition and labelling of foodstuffs suitable for people intolerant to gluten. In total, 100 food products were subjected to the analysis, divided into 5 groups of gluten-free carbohydrate products (flours, groats and rice, pastas, snacks and sweets, breads). Summarizing our research the correct labelling of analysed products was present in all examined groups. 97% of the items were labelled by a text stating they were gluten-free products. Also, the composition of the assortment did not give rise to objections to their gluten-free characteristics. 86% of the analysed gluten-free food was produced from natural free-gluten ingredients, whereas 14% was made of low-gluten wheat ingredients. 78% of the examined items were gluten-free products, bearing both text and graphic labelling as gluten-free products. 63% out of this group were products with the AOECS (Association of European Celiac Societies) certificate for safe gluten-free foodstuff.