USA – CHANGES IN CEREALS CONSIDERED ALLERGENS?

On 29 May 2026, H.R. 9048 (the “Celiac Safety Act of 2026”) was introduced in the United States House of Representatives and referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce. The bill would amend the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act by expanding the definition of “major food allergens.”

Under current US law, 𝐰𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐟𝐨𝐨𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐧 and is therefore subject to mandatory declaration. 𝐑𝐲𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐞𝐲, 𝐡𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫, 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭.

The proposal would introduce a new category: “gluten-containing grain.” This would include wheat (genus Triticum), rye (genus Secale), barley (genus Hordeum), and their crossbred hybrids, such as triticale. In practical terms, all gluten-source grains would be treated as major food allergens.

▶️ My take: tℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑏𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑠 𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑓𝑟𝑜𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑡𝑠𝑒𝑙𝑓. 𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑐 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑏𝑦 𝑐𝑙𝑜𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎 𝑔𝑎𝑝 𝑖𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑐𝑢𝑟𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑠𝑦𝑠𝑡𝑒𝑚. 𝑇ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑖𝑡𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑠, 𝑜𝑛 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑑, 𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑡𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑓𝑢𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔, 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑎𝑐 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑙𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑎 20 𝑝𝑝𝑚 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑒𝑠ℎ𝑜𝑙𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑠 𝑙𝑎𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑑 𝑔𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑒𝑛-𝑓𝑟𝑒𝑒. 𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑏𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑖𝑠 𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑒𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟𝑔𝑖𝑐 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒, 𝑤ℎ𝑖𝑐ℎ 𝑖𝑠 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑒𝑥𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑙𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑒.

▶️ This approach, nonetheless, 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐒 𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐔 𝐟𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤, where Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 already requires the mandatory declaration of such cereals containing gluten as allergens. One difference would nevertheless remain: unlike the EU list, the 𝐔𝐒 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐚𝐭𝐬.

The amendment would apply only to foods introduced, or intended to be introduced, into interstate commerce from 18 months after the Act enters into force.