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This questions is growing from the wheat-in-wine theme and the bigger issue of FDA standards. It's is more targeted to the companies who advertise on our lists, but I welcome anyone with expertise to respond......

How do the gluten-free companies or food manufacturers that say something is gluten-free determine the gluten levels (or lack thereof)? In other words, what gives a company the confidence to say something is gluten-free, by whatever standard the FDA will set? 

One of the vintners said if he had to test his wine, he'd need a full-time chemist, but I'm thinking that no one out there has a full-time chemist on staff except for major corporations.

Are you testing your own foods? What tests? Who is doing it? Are you sending the samples to labs? How do you go about taking samples so they are truly representative of the product? Who determines which labs are reliable? 

Even if we're thrilled that the FDA wants 20ppm as a standard, and not the lower amounts (?) that CSA wants, it's all a moot point unless there is a standard procedure for testing for gluten that is both reliable and valid. 

Perhaps all of this has been answered in the past, but I seem to be woefully ignorant on the subject, even though I've seen advertisements for home-testing. 

Thank you. Linda

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