FDA Rules Gluten-Free Fermented or Hydrolyzed Foods Must Utilize Only Gluten-Free Ingredients

Well written, Scott. Thank you.  

I would like to point out in your one link: "...distilled products like..."... Not all vinegar is distilled. And this may be a point of confusion for some folks who are new to this. Might want to re-word that sentence slightly. 

Hi. Not sure what you mean, I thought all vinegars were distilled. 

Apparently not: Open Original Shared Link

"The term "distilled vinegar" as used in the United States (called "spirit vinegar" in the UK, "white vinegar" in Canada) is something of a misnomer because it is not produced by distillation but by fermentation of distilled alcohol."

It can be made from almost any fruit or grain high in starch or sugar, including wheat. 

thank you for the update.  I usually stick to Mezzetta brand olives because they are labeled gluten-free,  but I just compared my Kalamata to green olive jars...the Kalamata has the certified label, and the Green has only the gluten free words...could this difference be due of the vinegar in Green olives?  

2 minutes ago, Jenny8413 said:

thank you for the update.  I usually stick to Mezzetta brand olives because they are labeled gluten-free,  but I just compared my Kalamata to green olive jars...the Kalamata has the certified label, and the Green has only the gluten free words...could this difference be due of the vinegar in Green olives?  

I checked Green olive jar again.  No vinegar.  I wonder why Green olives only were mentioned in your article.  

I think there may still be some confusion here because the FDA does NOT regulate distilled spirits(liquors)--the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau does and they still DO NOT recognize distilled spirits made from gluten containing grains as gluten free and such distilled spirits still cannot be labeled as such---their rule remains in effect and the FDA 's 2020 rule does not change the ATTB rule so this FDA 2020 rule DOES NOT apply to distilled spirits--essentially the FDA and the ATTB rules are NOT ALIGNED in regard to distilled spirits--nor is the ATTB rule aligned with most Celiac organizations which do consider distilled spirits gluten free and safe for celiacs

In reading this over it seems to me there is a contradiction concerning vinegar--in one paragraph you state--" products made with wheat or gluten ingredients cannot be considered gluten free even if they test at gluten  to levels  below 20ppm after processing. The rule covers fermented food products including soy sauce....etc., along with distilled foods including vinegar" and then in the section-ARE DISTILLED PRODUCTS GLUTEN FREE UNDER NEW FDA RULES you state- "distilled products like vinegar, .. etc. are considered gluten free and safe for people with celiac disease even if ..made with gluten ingredients".  Seems like a direct contradiction to me!---unless there were NO vinegars made with gluten ingredients- but that is not true--I can think of one---malt vinegar .  So which of these statements is accurate?

Malt vinegar is fermented, not distilled. The new rules state that anything distilled is gluten-free, no matter the source. Hydrolyzed products made using wheat or other gluten grains cannot be used in gluten-free products, and must declare "wheat" on the label if wheat is used to make it.

8 hours ago, Guest ANTHONY COLATRELLA said:

In reading this over it seems to me there is a contradiction concerning vinegar--in one paragraph you state--" products made with wheat or gluten ingredients cannot be considered gluten free even if they test at gluten  to levels  below 20ppm after processing. The rule covers fermented food products including soy sauce....etc., along with distilled foods including vinegar" and then in the section-ARE DISTILLED PRODUCTS GLUTEN FREE UNDER NEW FDA RULES you state- "distilled products like vinegar, .. etc. are considered gluten free and safe for people with celiac disease even if ..made with gluten ingredients".  Seems like a direct contradiction to me!---unless there were NO vinegars made with gluten ingredients- but that is not true--I can think of one---malt vinegar .  So which of these statements is accurate?

@Guest Anthony Colatrella: YES. This was my point. Thank you. 

19 hours ago, Scott Adams said:

Malt vinegar is fermented, not distilled. The new rules state that anything distilled is gluten-free, no matter the source. Hydrolyzed products made using wheat or other gluten grains cannot be used in gluten-free products, and must declare "wheat" on the label if wheat is used to make it.

Yes, sorry right after posting that comment I recalled malt vinegar was a fermented product and not distilled--so per FDA officially a distilled food product no matter the original ingredients is safe for celiacs---nonetheless the statements I highlighted still sound contradictory to me and could be a source of confusion and apparently at least one other reader thinks so  

On 9/2/2020 at 11:12 AM, Guest Celiac09 said:

Hi. Not sure what you mean, I thought all vinegars were distilled. 

Hope I am not misinforming you as I am not an expert in vinegar production but no-not all vinegar is distilled---much is a product of fermentation only---if the vinegar is made from fermentation of an alcohol(usually a fruit based alcohol) presumably the alcohol was distilled but all vinegar is not made from alcohol but fermentation of other products---now not to get more complicated I believe even when the vinegar is made from alcohol the FDA will require that the enzymes or the bacteria themselves that are used to ferment the alcohol must be grown on media that is gluten free which had not been the case previously

If the vinegar is fermented, then all ingredients used to make it must be gluten-free for it to be labelled gluten-free. If the vinegar is distilled, it can be labelled as gluten-free no matter what ingredients are used to make it, so distillation renders it gluten-free.