28 June 2016

Changes to European legislation will mean gluten-free labelling changes from 20 July this year as statements, such as ‘no gluten-containing ingredients’ (NGCI), will no longer be allowed.

The factual statement ‘no gluten-containing ingredients’ was introduced as an option for food businesses to provide information about the absence of gluten-containing ingredients in foods and primarily used by caterers who felt they could not guarantee gluten-free in a commercial kitchen environment.

One of our main aims is to improve gluten-free provision both in and out of the home. Reading ingredients lists and checking packaging takes time and eating out remains the biggest challenge for many people. 

We have asked our Members about the usefulness of the NGCI statement and how often it is used. In practice, on packaged foods the statement is not relied upon and consumers tend to use the ingredients lists more often and alternative statements to gluten-free often led to confusion. The changes coming into effect in July make it clearer for consumers with coeliac disease to choose safe foods.

Whilst manufacturers and caterers adapt to the changes you may still see NGCI used on some packaged foods and menus, however they will be phased out over the coming months. We are communicating with food businesses about the changes and providing guidance and advice about producing safe and clearly labelled gluten-free food.

Regardless of the recent EU referendum result, the UK is still subject to EU regulations around food labelling and will be for at least two years.