To be or not to be Certified Gluten-Free. What does that mean? (That’s our question.)

So I don’t know about you, but I’ve been on this gluten-free lifestyle roller coaster for almost 15 years.  When I first got diagnosed finding food to buy was a nightmare!  I hated going grocery shopping and it usually took my new groom and myself an entire day if not weekend to do it.  It involved driving to other cities to find items/ingredients I was looking for, or giving up entirely.  I was loath to experiment too much because if something was not labeled correctly it meant I was stuck at home sick and in pain for usually around 3 days.  I was over the moon when the legislation went through that the top 5 allergies had to be listed on packaged foods!  It still took about a year until it started showing up on food, but when it did it was amazing!!!

Until I realized that not all “gluten-free” foods were created equal.  Anyone else discover this–the hard way?  Some food may be listed gluten free on the package but it could have been processed on equipment with gluten/wheat.  This opened up a whole new can of worms for me and it was hard to trust labels.  Enter the GF logo!

Certified Gluten Free-What EXACTLY does that mean?

When a product has been given the GF logo, it means that it has been Certified Gluten Free. 

In order to earn this logo, the manufacturing of gluten-free goods must meet strict quality and purity guidelines. Their products are tested to ensure that they are free of gluten and cross-contamination within tolerance levels.

There have been multiple studies that prove even the people with the most severe cases of Celiac Disease or Dermatitis Herpetiformis can withstand a miniscule amount of gluten and all products must remain below this threshold (less than 10 parts per million (ppm)) to be certified gluten free. Within the United States we have such strict labeling laws that a product cannot be labeled gluten free unless it meets these standards.  When buying products from other countries, be sure to read all labels carefully and when in doubt contact the manufacturers. The Certified Gluten Free logo, though, has been a God-send and has been tremendously helpful in making grocery shopping just a bit easier!

A good recourse if you are looking for more information is at The Gluten-Free Certification Organization.