Are your lollies gluten-free?Updated 2 months ago
The quick answer is NO, not officially.
We have many products that do meet Gluten Free standards but in order for us to safely label these as Gluten Free, we are required to have our products tested to show that they contain less than 3 ppm (parts per million) of gluten.
New Zealand and Australia have some of the strictest food labelling laws in the world. Because of this, it can be very difficult to label Gluten Free products correctly in line with government labelling guidelines.
For food to be labelled as gluten free (in Australia and NZ), there must be no detectable gluten*, nor oats or their products, nor cereals containing gluten that may have been malted, or their products.
*The most widely used and accepted test for gluten in NZ and Australia is the RIDASCREEN ELISA Gliadin kit. This kit has a Limit of Detection (LOD) of 0.5 ppm gliadin (corresponding to 1ppm gluten) and a Limit of Quantification (LOQ) of 2.5 ppm gliadin (corresponding to 5 ppm gluten).
Often a limit of less than 3 parts per million (<3ppm) is referred to as the accepted limit in NZ & Australia. This can be taken to be the 'middle ground' for the LOD and LOQ of the above testing kit. However, current legislation does not refer to any quantifiable limit, only what is stated in Standard 1.2.7.
Many products produced overseas arrive to New Zealand labelled as "Gluten Free". Due to regulations in New Zealand, these can not be advertised as Gluten Free to our customers as they adhere to overseas Gluten Free standards instead of New Zealand and Australia's.
For food produced in countries like the United States, United Kingdom and most of Europe, their products mush show fewer than 20ppm (parts per million) or gluten detected in order to be labelled "Gluten Free".
Australian & New Zealand Guidelines
Gluten Free labelling guidelines in AUS and NZ:
- Gluten Free: Contains no detectable gluten ([2ppm] or less).
[2ppm = 0.0002% = 2mg/kg] - Low Gluten: Contains 3ppm or more, but 200ppm or less of gluten.
[3ppm = 0.0003% = 3mg/kg] | [200ppm = 0.02% = 200mg/kg] - Contains Gluten: Contains more than 200ppm of gluten.
Coeliac Australia.
In Australia and New Zealand, if a food product is tested for gluten, and it shows that it contains between 3ppm and 200ppm, that product is considered 'Low Gluten' and cannot be labelled 'Gluten Free'. If the product tested results in gluten levels higher than 200ppm, it is considered 'High in Gluten' and must include 'Contains: Gluten' on the packaging.
For more information: https://coeliac.org.nz/fsanz-codex/