Why?  Why are the foods that I put into my body not correctly certified gluten free? Why are they not tested properly?  Why are food manufacturers putting millions of people at risk when they incorrectly label their products to be certified gluten free?  I am tired of checking and rechecking every food I eat to make sure it is safe and sometimes it isn't.  I eat a food that says that it is certified gluten free then next minute I am being overloaded with of symptoms of eating gluten.    

The FDA requires that to be considered gluten free a food product must contain less than 20 ppm(parts per million).  That means that a food product containing 19 ppm can be considered gluten free even though it still contains gluten.  Even though many people with Celiac Disease are sensitive to gluten under 20 ppm.  This puts many people with Celiac Disease at risk.  Also if products containing gluten or are gluten cross breeds are allowed to be considered gluten free.  That means that if they are not properly distilled they could still contain gluten.  Plus, a quite disturbing piece of information, is that the manufacturer does not have to test their starting ingredients or finished product for gluten. 

The only way for the certified gluten free label to be removed is for the FDA to actually test the product, and it does not even have to be tested by a third party.  Also the regulation only applies to packaged foods.  That means that unpackaged foods, such as meals at restaurants, can be falsely certified as gluten free and there is nothing anyone can do about it because there is no regulation to stop it.  With this petition I am asking for the regulation to be revised so that all products that are specified as certified gluten free are tested by the FDA and a third party, this includes the starting ingredients and the final product.

In conclusion, I believe that the regulation for gluten free certification should be revised.  All food products are to be tested by the FDA and a third party to make sure that the product either contains or does not contain gluten.  They should test both the starting ingredients and the final product.  Finally this should be prominently displayed.  It should either say, "certified gluten free," or "contains gluten."

The undersigned certifies, that, to the best knowledge and belief of the undersigned, this petition includes all information and views on which the petition relies, and that it includes representative data and information known to the petition which are unfavorable to the petition.

My address is 104 Schoolhouse Lane Mount Laurel New Jersey.  My phone number is 609-784-9548.