Commercial Information Circulars

24-hour hotline : 23 922 922

e-mail address : enquiry@tid.gov.hk

Ref : EIC 111/2/19

5 August 2013

Dear Sirs,

Commercial Information Circular No. 630/2013

US : FDA Sets a Standard on "Gluten-Free" Labeling of Foods

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced in the Federal Register (FR) of 5 August 2013 a final rule defining and setting conditions on the voluntary use of the term "gluten-free" in food labeling. The relevant FR notice is available at http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2013-08-05/pdf/2013-18813.pdf.

DETAILS

2. Under this rule, foods may claim to be "gluten-free" if they do not contain gluten, or have ingredients that contain gluten yet were refined to remove the gluten, so long as there are 20 parts per million (ppm) or less gluten in the foods (i.e., below 20 mg of gluten per kg of food.)

3. This final rule will become effective on 4 September 2013, but compliance is not required until 5 August 2014.

ENQUIRIES

4.For enquiries concerning this circular, please contact the undersigned at telephone number 2398 5682.

Yours faithfully,

(Ms Linda Ng)
for Director-General of Trade and Industry