Sukrin Gluten Free Seriously

So, we make a Sukrin gluten free claim and we say our mixes are gluten free – but what does that mean, really? Is it just another “marketing term” like so many other fancy labels out there, designed to make the consumer think she is buying something that is healthy, good, natural, slimming or ?

And Sukrin products are European products – are the rules over there similar to the gluten free labeling requirements in the US ?

Two things in particular regulate the Sukrin claim to gluten free: EU regulations and the requirements of the AOECS – Association of European Coeliac Societies – for using the Crossed Grain Symbol.

EU regulations are very similar to US requirements. The current rules are given in Commission Regulation (EC) no. 41/2009

1.   Foodstuffs for people intolerant to gluten, consisting of or containing one or more ingredients made from wheat, rye, barley, oats or their crossbred varieties which have been especially processed to reduce gluten, shall not contain a level of gluten exceeding 100 mg/kg in the food as sold to the final consumer.

2.   The labelling, advertising and presentation of the products referred to in paragraph 1 shall bear the term ‘very low gluten’. They may bear the term ‘gluten-free’ if the gluten content does not exceed 20 mg/kg in the food as sold to the final consumer.

3.   Oats contained in foodstuffs for people intolerant to gluten must have been specially produced, prepared and/or processed in a way to avoid contamination by wheat, rye, barley, or their crossbred varieties and the gluten content of such oats must not exceed 20 mg/kg.

4.   Foodstuffs for people intolerant to gluten, consisting of or containing one or more ingredients which substitute wheat, rye, barley, oats or their crossbred varieties shall not contain a level of gluten exceeding 20 mg/kg in the food as sold to the final consumer. The labelling, presentation and advertising of those products shall bear the term ‘gluten-free’.

5.   Where foodstuffs for people intolerant to gluten contain both ingredients which substitute wheat, rye, barley, oats or their crossbred varieties and ingredients made from wheat, rye, barley, oats or their crossbred varieties which have been especially processed to reduce gluten, paragraphs 1, 2, and 3 shall apply and paragraph 4 shall not apply.

6.   The terms ‘very low gluten’ or ‘gluten free’ referred to in paragraphs 2 and 4 shall appear in proximity to the name under which the food is sold.

All three Sukrin bread mixes are additionally labeled with the Crossed Grain symbol. The Crossed Grain symbol can only be used under license from the Association of European Coeliac Societies AOECS – a license that is given after extensive testing to ensure that the whole supply chain lives up to the “gluten free” certification. The FAQ section on the website for each of the bread mixes links to the AOECS and the requirements documentation, and to the EU regulations. 

Please don’t hesitate to contact us with any further questions about the Sukrin gluten free claim!