A Barrister's View on Gluten Free

 

There has quite a bit of discussion on the new EU labelling rules and how it will affect products being labelled gluten-free.

My wife, Celia, who is a barrister, and I went for a meal at the Thai restaurant in Newmarket. It’s not strictly GF, but by eating selectively, I’m OK.

The subject got round to the fact that some people are worried about the new EU definitions on levels of gluten. She put her lawyer’s hat (wig!) on and said that if anything is labelled gluten-free then that means NO gluten. It’s got nothing to do with the labelling regulations, but all to do with unfair terms and things like the Sale of Goods Act. The basic legal premise is that free and no are words that are easily understood by everyone, so if free means so many parts per million, then that is a nonsense in a court of law in the UK.

So if you bought something labelled as gluten-free or suitable for coeliacs, and it made you ill, then you would have a claim. She also felt that this would not go unnoticed by supermarkets and manufacturers, who would make absolutely sure they don’t get sued.

Interesting!