Gluten awareness, risk assessment and management
International Coeliac Day was held on 16th May 2018 to raise awareness of the disease across the globe; in the UK, the awareness campaign was extended into a week of activities (14th-20th May). Earlier in the year, Coeliac UK launched an initiative, as part of their 50th anniversary celebrations, to raise £5m to support improvements to the lives of those with coeliac disease. As part of this initiative, Coeliac UK announced a new research fund to encourage developments in diagnostics, self-care and gluten-free food production. In North America, there have been developments in the field of certification; Allergen Control Group Inc. which owns and operates the only ISO 17021 accredited management scheme for gluten-free food production, was acquired by BRC Global Standards. This move is complimentary to BRC’s growth towards becoming a global brand and consumer protection organisation. Its food safety standard is already a global brand – having over 17,000 certified sites – and operates in over 90 countries. Issue 8 of the BRC food safety standard is expected to be published in August, with the first audits starting in February 2019.
Related products: onsite Gluten R5 FlowThrough™ tests for assessing the effectiveness of gluten controls; Gluten-Check™ ELISAs, an R5 Mendez method for quantifying the gluten content of ingredients, swab solutions & finished products; and Surface-Check™ Swabbing for collected environmental samples.