I have an update on this public notice the Food and Drug Administration issued Friday, March 6th. The agency is seeking comments – but it may not be for exactly what you think. Not yet anyway. Right now the FDA wants comments about the Gluten Free Labeling Food Products Experimental Study’s design. Comments about the actual labeling are not happening just yet.
I checked in with Andrea Levario, Executive Director with the American Celiac Disease Alliance, she helped clarify the situation, “The notice indicated the purpose of the study and the types of information it will collect (when the study is ultimately conducted),” Levario said. She also described it as allowing people to comment on the design of the study.
Levario cited this section from the notice as the specific areas the FDA wants comments on right now:
“FDA invites comments on these topics: (1) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of FDA’s functions, including whether the information will have practical utility; (2) the accuracy of FDA’s estimate of the burden of the proposed collection of information, including the validity of the methodology and assumptions used; (3) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (4) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques, when appropriate, and other forms of information technology.”
So if you have comments about the aforementioned issues, then you can feel free to comment here.
For those of us who are getting antsy – me included – that the FDA make make some headway with gluten-free labeling rules we may only have to wait a few more months before we get to have our voices heard. “Based on the details in this notice the FDA will be seeking input from us this summer,” Levario said.
We will all look for that.
Tags: FDA, gluten-free, labeling
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