Gluten-free labelling

United States

The FDA regulates all except: meat products, poultry products, egg products, and mixed food products that contain more than 3% raw meat or 2% or more cooked meat or poultry. These foods are regulated by the USDA. Allergen and gluten-free labeling of USDA food is voluntary. Allergen labeling of foods regulated by FDA is mandatory.
The FDA rule for gluten-free labeling is voluntary but defines and sets conditions on the use of the term “gluten-free” in foods, including:

• Foods that inherently do not contain gluten (e.g., raw carrots or grapefruit juice) may use the “gluten-free” claim.
• Foods with any whole, gluten-containing grains (e.g., spelt wheat) as ingredients may not use the claim;
• Foods with ingredients that are gluten-containing grains that are refined but still contain gluten (e.g., wheat flour) may not use the claim;
• Foods with ingredients that are gluten-containing grains that have been refined in such a way to remove the gluten may use the claim, so long as the food contains less than 20 ppm gluten/has less than 20 mg gluten per kg (e.g. wheat starch);
• Foods may not use the claim if they contain 20 ppm or more gluten as a result of cross-contact with gluten containing grains.

Canadian Labeling

Health Canada (HC) and Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are responsible for the regulation of all foods including mealt, poultry, and egg products. Canada’s Food and Drug Regulations (FDR) requires a complete list of ingredients on the label and if an ingredient or a component of the ingredient contains any protein, modified protein, or protein fraction that is derived from gluten sources (barely, rye, triticale, wheat, kamut or spelt) – it must be declared on the food label.
The ingredient must be declare in common language, such as semolina (wheat)in in the ingredient list or in a “contains“ statement.

The FDR regulations for labeling a product gluten-free have been in effect since 1995. They have recently been revised to allow for the inclusion of oats as gluten-free if they meet the regulation standard of under 20 ppm gluten.
There are many grains and foods that naturally do not contain gluten and can be safely consumed by individuals with celiac disease. The naturally gluten-free grains  include rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, amaranth, oats, quinoa, tapioca, sorghum and teff. Additionally plain potatoes, legumes, many dairy products, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, oils, fruit and vegetables are naturally gluten-free. A healthy balanced diet can be created using these naturally gluten-free foods.
There is also a wide range of commercially prepared gluten-free products including mixes, bread, pasta, cookies, crackers, cereals, etc. These manufactured products can be identified by the "gluten-free" designation on the packaging.
The notation of gluten-free by US or Canadian regulations ensures that the product does not contain more than 20 ppm gluten gluten threshold .