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There seems to be a lot of confusion about the amount of gluten allowed
in a gluten-free diet in European countries. In the Netherlands (and I
believe in a number of other European countries) products containing
less than 200 ppm (parts per million) gluten are allowed to be labelled
gluten-free. This limit is defined by the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius.
This means that for many coeliac patients wheat-starch based products
are allowed in their diet provided they meet the Codex standards. It is
believed that sensitivity of patients to gluten varies and it seems that
many patients tolerate wheat starch and in fact their biopsies and
antibody tests showno signs of reaction.

However, there's quite a large number of patients who do not tolerate
such levels of gluten intake. They are advised to eliminate wheat starch
from their diet. A product labelled gluten-free therefore may or may not
contain wheat starch. If it does, it's stated on the ingredients list.
It must, however, meet the Codex standard.

Presently the AOECS (Association of European Coeliac Societies) is
discussing their position regarding new Codex regulations. As I
understand it - I am not personally involved - there seems to be a lot
of problems regarding the detection limits and the reliability of tests.
Anyway, to my knowlegde there isn't a European Coeliac society who
would state that products containing 3% gluten are suitable for
coeliacs.

Maria Heigl
Amsterdam, The Netherlands