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Reintroducing the Gluten in Medications Disclosure Act

April 7, 2021

Congressmen Tim Ryan and Steve Stivers plan to re-introduce the Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act for the 117th Congress on Thursday, April 8, 2021.

If passed, the bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require gluten to be labeled in all medications.

The Act

The act is titled H.R.2435 – To amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to require the label of a drug that is intended for human use and contains an ingredient that is derived directly or indirectly from a gluten-containing grain to identify each such ingredient, and for other purposes.

What Will This Act Do?

  • Will make it easier to identify gluten in prescription drugs.
  • It would require drug manufacturers to label medications intended for human use with the list of ingredients, their source, and whether gluten is present.
  • A gluten-containing drug that does not meet these requirements would be considered misbranded under Section 502 of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.
  • This labeling will allow concerned consumers to know, for example, if the starch in their prescription drugs comes from wheat or corn; that small distinction is an important one.

How You Can Help

“Our community needs to have confidence that their medicines are helping them, not hurting them. Not knowing if your medication contains gluten forces you to take risks with your or your child’s health. Imagine if you or your child with celiac disease needs medication. Right now, there’s no way to know for sure if the medicine will trigger a gluten-related reaction, which may result in serious symptoms. This legislation is long overdue.”—Alice Bast, Beyond Celiac CEO

Beyond Celiac encourages you to support the Gluten in Medicine Disclosure Act of 2021 by contacting your representatives and encouraging them to cosponsor this bill. A list of those currently cosponsoring this bill can be found here.

  1. Call, write, email, or send a message to your Members of Congress urging them to cosponsor the bill. Include a personal story.
  2. Set up district meetings as Members of Congress are back home during recess.
  3. Attend local events and talk to their Member(s) of Congress and their staff at the events urging them to cosponsor.

Contact Your Representatives about Gluten in Meds

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