The Customs Laboratory has performed analysis of the gluten content in products for more than ten years. The gluten content is examined in products that have been labelled gluten-free or low in gluten, as well as naturally gluten-free products where gluten might have landed unintentionally during the manufactoring process.
The availability and assortment of gluten-free products has broadened considerably in recent years. At present, you can get almost any foodstuff, such as bread, pastries, pasta and muesli, as gluten-free. Gluten-free foodstuffs suit people who suffer from coeliac disease getting abdominal and gut-related symptoms from the gluten protein contained in wheat, barley and rye. A coeliac disease patient can remain asymptomatic by observing an absolutely gluten-free diet.
During the last three years, the Customs Laboratory has examined a total of 73 products labelled as gluten-free. The European Commission Regulation provides that products containing max. 20 mg/kg gluten may be called gluten-free. Gluten was found in nine of the products examined, but the content was below the threshold value. The rest of the products were totally gluten-free.
