For the European Union, the legal requirements for gluten-free products are set out in EU Regulation 828/2014. “Gluten-free“ in this context does not mean that the products have to be absolutely free from gluten. Products labelled as “gluten-free“ may contain a maximum of 2.0 g/100.0 kg (20 ppm) gluten. In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a limit of less than 20 ppm for gluten-free foods. Furthermore, 20 ppm is the content that can be reliably detected using analytical methods. In contrast to an allergy, people suffering from coeliac disease tolerate very small amounts of gluten, which means that a gluten content of 20 ppm is tolerable from a medical point of view (Food and Drug Administration, 2023).
The German Leitsätze für Brot und Kleingebäck (guidelines for bread and morning goods) state under “gluten-free bread“ that gluten-free bread is made from non-gluten-containing types of grain such as maize, rice and millet as well as pseudocereals and/or other starchy products (e.g. gluten-free wheat starch, tapioca starch, plantain flour, chestnut flour) (Bundesministerium für Ernährung und Landwirtschaft, 2021).
