Tricia Thompson, MS, RD, and founder of Gluten-Free Watchdog is asking the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to enforce its own rules when it comes to gluten-free labeling.

As Gluten-Free Watchdog has found, some products are slipping through the FDA’s rules and are misbranding/mischaracterizing themselves as gluten-free while still using certain gluten-containing ingredients. According to Gluten-Free Watchdog, some products labeled gluten-free contain ingredients such as barley malt and wheat-based soy sauce, which are not allowed in gluten-free labeled foods, yet they’re still going out on shelves with the gluten-free label. The petition asks for the ability for consumers to easily and electronically report mislabeling of gluten-free products and specific protocols for surveillance/reporting/investigation processes to address facial misbranding violations of the gluten-free labeling rule. Additionally the petition calls for warning letters to be sent to companies misbranding their products.

To support Gluten-Free Watchdog’s efforts, you can sign the citizen petition to the FDA here: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=FDA-2017-P-5118

Also, here’s what more you can do to help get the word out:

• Comment on the petition
• Ask others to comment on the petition
• Spread the word about the petition on Facebook, Twitter, and blog posts
• Use the hashtags #EnforceGFRule and #ReclaimGF