Codex standard - what is it?

The Codex Standard for gluten-free

Dating back to 1976 the Codex Standard for gluten-free was applied to special gluten-free foods for people with coeliac disease and dermatitis herpetiformis.  The standard was set at 200 parts per million in 1981.  This means that any foods using the term ‘gluten-free’ had to have less than 200 parts of gluten per million of finished product.  The standard is sill in force today.

In November 2007, there was agreement to introduce a new dual standard at the Codex meeting.  Discussions concluded that only foods that contain less than 20mg gluten/kg can be labelled as gluten-free.

Products containing gluten above 20 and up to 100mg/kg are thought to be suitable for the vast majority of people with coeliac disease and an appropriate labelling description is due to be discussed at EU level and implemented in the UK by the Food Standards Agency.

The timetable for changes is still being discussed.  Coeliac UK is involved in discussions with the Food Standard Agency, industry and consumers to progress implementation plans.

You can download the current and draft standards from the Codex Alimentarius website.

Codex Wheat Starch

This is a highly processed wheat starch guaranteed to have a level of gluten within the Codex standard of 200ppm. Codex wheat starch is used by some manufacturers who produce gluten-free food for prescription sales as it can improve the taste and texture of the food, making it more like the gluten-containing varieties.

Everyone with coeliac disease is different in terms of their level of sensitivity to even tiny amounts of gluten. Whilst the majority of people with coeliac disease can tolerate Codex wheat starch, there are those who are more sensitive and suffer symptoms if they eat products containing it, and so need to choose gluten-free and wheat-free products. There is also likely to be an additive effect which means that large amounts of products containing codex wheat starch eaten on a regular basis may trigger symptoms in more sesitive people.

The role of the Codex Alimentarius Commission

The Codex Alimentarius Commission was created in 1963 by the Food and Agriculture Organisation and the World Health Organisation to develop food standards, guidelines and related texts such as codes of practice under the Joint FAO/WHO Food Standards Programme. The main purposes of this programme are protecting health of consumers and ensuring fair trade practices in the food trade, and promoting co-ordination of all food standards work undertaken by international governmental and non-governmental organisations.