Are there alcohol products which are gluten free?

Posted on Fri, 29 May 2015

Question: I am not a celiac but do experience some gluten sensitivity. My symptoms with it are more GI related. My question is regarding beer. I have been doing alot of research on the PPM of gluten in beer that is required for a product to be considered gluten free. There are actually some "gluten free" labeled beers that have less than 20 ppm of gluten while there are regular beers that have less (i.e. 10 ppm) of gluten but not labeled as gluten free.
Can someone with knowledge about the topic offer beer suggestions/guidelines on what is safe or less problematic? It is very confusing

Answered by Dr. Shoaib Khan (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
I hope I have helped to shed some light on the situation

Detailed Answer:
Hello sir and welcome.

Thank you for writing to us.

I have gone through your query with diligence and would like you to know that I am here to help. You have a very good question, and the answer is quite simple quite frankly.

The beer manufacturing industry has begun to cater to the needs of gluten intolerant individuals, but to be labeled 'gluten free', the manufacturing company needs to abide to the rules of the particular country. Some countries require to have less than 20 ppm (parts per million) gluten to be labelled 'gluten free', whereas some countries have allowed beer manufacturing countries to be labeled 'gluten free' only if they have absolutely no gluten.

So the beers that you have seen labelled 'gluten free' with less than 20 ppm gluten may be manufactured as per their guidelines and rules, whereas the others with less than 10 ppm gluten may still not be labeled 'gluten free' because it is still not permitted for them to be labeled 'gluten free' as per their rules, laws and guidelines.

I hope I have explained things in a manner best understood by you. Please feel free to write back to me for any further clarifications, I am always here to help.

Best wishes.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar