Meal Pattern Minute: Gluten

As a Child and Adult Care Food Program operator, you receive medical statements signed by a State licensed healthcare professional or registered dietitian indicating specific food modifications for a child or adult in your care. One of those food modifications could be to serve an individual a gluten-free diet. You’ve heard of this term and have seen products labeled as such, but what is gluten? 

Get the answer in this Meal Pattern Minute as Isabel Ramos-Lebron, MS, RDN, LD, explains what gluten is and which conditions may require a gluten-free diet. 

Need help identifying gluten-free products? Look at the resources below to help you further. 

• Gluten-Free Labeling of Food
  • The term “gluten-containing grain” means any one of the following grains or their crossbred hybrids (e.g., triticale, which is a cross between wheat and rye):
    • Wheat, including any species belonging to the genus Triticum;
    • Rye, including any species belonging to the genus Secale; or
    • Barley, including any species belonging to the genus Hordeum.
  • (The term “gluten” means the proteins that naturally occur in a gluten-containing grain and that may cause adverse health effects in persons with celiac disease (e.g., prolamins and glutelins).
  • The labeling claim “gluten-free” means that the food bearing the claim in its labeling does not contain any one of the following:
    • An ingredient that is a gluten-containing grain (e.g., spelt wheat);
    • An ingredient that is derived from a gluten-containing grain and that has not been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat flour); or
    • An ingredient that is derived from a gluten-containing grain and that has been processed to remove gluten (e.g., wheat starch), if the use of that ingredient results in the presence of 20 parts per million (ppm) or more gluten in the food (i.e., 20 milligrams (mg) or more gluten per kilogram (kg) of food); or
    • Inherently does not contain gluten; and any unavoidable presence of gluten in the food bearing the claim in its labeling is below 20 ppm gluten (i.e., below 20 mg gluten per kg of food).

• Learn About Gluten-Free Diets
  • Get details about the different reasons individuals must avoid gluten and identify foods that do and do not contain gluten. 
• Identifying Gluten-Free Foods
  • Provides tips for identifying gluten-free products and provides a list of whole grain gluten-free foods! The handout also includes a quick and easy CACFP creditable gluten-free recipe. 

On-Demand Webinar: Wheat & Gluten-Free Meal Modifications

• Develop an understanding about the differences between wheat and gluten meal modifications. Learn how to identify food products containing wheat or gluten. Receive recipe ideas that will help you adapt and modify your menus.
  • Define wheat and gluten allergens.
  • Learn about wheat-free and gluten-free products.
  • Discover wheat-free or gluten-free meal options.

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