<\/p>\n\n
The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has published a note on labelling references to “gluten-free” and “lactose-free” products, in order to standardise the conditions of use of these terms.<\/p>\n\n
Currently, EC Regulation 1169\/2001 is the European regulation for labelling references to gluten and lactose.<\/p>\n\n
In the case of gluten, there is an obligation to indicate the presence of cereals containing gluten, as well as to voluntarily mention the absence or reduced presence of gluten under EC Regulation 828\/2014, not only in processed foods whose formulation has been adapted, by removing or modifying ingredients to reduce the gluten content, but also in foods that naturally lack gluten, provided they comply with Article 7 of EC Regulation 1169\/2011. In this sense, and in order to reduce unfair competition towards operators who comply with the standard not including the words “gluten-free”, which could influence purchasing decisions, AESAN has published an information leaflet “Coeliac disease. Food information”.<\/p>\n\n
Regarding lactose-related claims, and in the absence of regulation, AESAN has published some non-binding guidelines for the use of this claim, pending European regulation. They therefore propose:<\/p>\n\n
– “Lactose-free” food products: these are products that certify the absence of lactose according to the most sensitive analysis available with current science. That is, less than 0.01% lactose.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n – “Low-lactose” food products: these are products with a measurable residual lactose content, generally below 1%.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n In infant formula and follow-on formula, as well as in foods for special medical purposes, the term “lactose-free” may be used when the lactose content of the product does not exceed 2.5 mg\/100 kJ (10 mg\/100 kcal), in accordance with the regulations established at EU level. When these products are made from protein sources other than soy, the term “lactose-free” is accompanied by the statement “not suitable for infants with galactosaemia” in characters of the same size and visibility as the term “lactose-free” and next to it.<\/p>\n\n As for the conditions for applying these claims, as in the case of gluten, they are governed by Articles 3 and 7 of EC 1169\/2011.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) has published a note on labelling…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":21784,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-544689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulatory-watch"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n