What, exactly, does "gluten-free" mean?

The question matters deeply to a fast-growing number of people who try to avoid gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley, rye and a large number of things made from those grains. But at the moment, a "gluten-free" label doesn't mean that a food contains no gluten at all, or even that it's free of all but trace amounts. "Gluten-free" means pretty much whatever the manufacturer wants it to mean.

That's not supposed to be the case. In 2004, Congress passed a law requiring the Food and Drug Administration to define the phrase. In 2008, the FDA blew its deadline. And in 2011, we still have no official ruling.

This matters to a lot of people. Among the most at risk are the estimated 3 million Americans — 1 in 133 - who suffer celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder in which even trace amounts of gluten trigger the immune system to misfire, attacking the body's own tissues. Symptoms vary wildly from person to person; they include digestive problems, stunted growth, infertility and neurological conditions.

Scientists say that an even greater number of people have other good reasons to avoid gluten. University of Maryland researchers estimate that 18 million Americans - 6 percent of the population - suffer gluten sensitivity; symptoms include abdominal pain, headaches, fatigue, "foggy mind" and tingling body parts. And in addition, there's evidence that gluten worsens the problems of some schizophrenic patients and autistic children.

For all of those people, the treatment is simple: Don't eat gluten.

But that's surprisingly hard to do. Sometimes a product with no obvious gluten-containing ingredients - corn tortillas, say, or roasted peanuts - has picked up smidgens of gluten from factory equipment used for other foods. And sometimes gluten hides deep inside an ingredient list: "caramel coloring," "emulsifiers," "natural juices" and dozens of other common additives might or might not contain gluten; it depends on where and how those ingredients were made.


Some manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure that their gluten-free products are, in fact, free of gluten: They test ingredients, scrupulously avoid contamination in their factories, then test the final products to make sure no stray molecules sneaked in. Other manufacturers don't do any of that. And without a meaningful label, consumers can't tell the difference.

The Center for Celiac Research complains that the FDA has spent far too long studying the subject, and the group argues that it's high time the agency established a uniform definition. We agree.

For millions of Americans, it's important that "gluten-free" means that their food is safe to eat.