Whether you're the one person out of 100 who has Celiac disease and can't eat gluten -- or you're one of those who simply choose not to eat it -- you may be swayed to purchase products that highlight the fact that they don't contain it.
Brands that sell grocery items that have always been gluten free are now seizing the trend and marketing them as such -- like chile peppers, for example, which aren't even close to containing gluten because gluten is a protein found in grains such as wheat, barley, and rye. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, this gluten-free label is voluntary, but can only be applied if:
- The product is inherently gluten free
- The product is not derived from gluten-containing grains
- Gluten proteins have been removed from any gluten-containing grains
- Any unavoidable presence of gluten in the product is less than 20 parts per million.
There's nothing wrong with a product clearly stating what it does and doesn't contain, but as one Imgur user points out below, labeling popcorn as gluten-free is "like bragging about lactose-free orange juice." So don't be swayed to buy anything you normally wouldn't, just because its label says it's gluten free.
For example, all of the following are naturally gluten-free:
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