Many food giants and restaurants use the term “gluten-free” in a way that is “a total disservice” to those most at risk – bordering on “exploitation”. “A product is either gluten-free or it is not,” said Dr. Stefano Guandalini, NASSCD’s (North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease) president and founder and medical director of the Celiac Disease Center at the University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital. For people with celiac disease, an autoimmune disease that can damage the small intestine, even a small amount of gluten — as little as 10 milligrams in a day — can trigger a reaction. Repeated exposure can have grave consequences, including infertility or even cancer. The problem is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has yet to establish a legal definition for the term “gluten free.” The FDA has proposed standards that include a gluten limit of no more than 20 parts per million for any product to qualify as gluten free. The FDA has yet to finalize the rules. Are these rules consistent with the scientific findings from the North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease? Meanwhile, the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, or NFCA, has developed a credential and training program to help restaurants understand the needs of customers on a medically necessary gluten-free diet. Alice Bast, NFCA’s president, said the group agrees with NASSCD that the “gluten-free” claim should only be used by corporations and restaurants that are “confident their product is gluten free.”