Evaluation of the information regarding to the presence or absence of gluten in some processed foods

Abstract

Celiac disease (CD) is an autoimmune disease, caused by the permanent intolerance to gluten and it induces a damage to the lining of the small intestine, which produces a reduction in the absorption of essential nutrients for the proper functioning of the organism. The treatment for celiac disease is the complete withdrawal of gluten from the diet of patients. The present study evaluated the veracity of labels of the processed foods through enzyme immunoassay (ELISA). The analysis of gluten contamination was performed in six products labeled as “gluten-free product” (GFP) and five products labeled as “glutencontaining product” (GCP). One of six foods labeled as GPF showed discordant results when compared with the respective label wordings. This event might lead to the recurrence of CD symptoms by the patients who consume this product inadvertently. As to the second food group, only one of five samples had the correct label. These findings evidence that the implementation of corrective actions by the Health Surveillance is in urgent need for the CD carriers patients to give a guarantee on having access to a safe and varied diet, and mainly to the trusty wordings in labels on the food packages.