Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay gliadin assessment in processed food products available for persons with celiac disease: a feasibility study for developing a gluten-free food database.

Inappropriate food labeling and unwillingness of food companies to officially register their own gluten-free products in the Greek National Food Intolerance Database (NFID) result in a limited range of processed food products available for persons with celiac disease (CDP). The objective of the study was to evaluate the feasibility of developing a gluten-free food product database based on the assessment of the gluten content in processed foods available for CDP. Gluten was assessed in 41 processed food products available for CDP. Group A consisted of 26 products for CDP included in the NFID, and group B contained 15 food products for CDP not registered in the NFID but listed in the safe lists of the local Celiac Association (CA). High-sensitivity ω-gliadin enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used for analysis. Gluten was lower than 20 ppm in 37 of 41 analyzed products (90.2%): in 24 of 26 (92.3%) products in group A and in 13 of 15 (86.7%) products in group B (P = .61). No significant difference was found between the 2 groups regarding gluten content. No product in either group contained gluten in excess of 100 ppm. Most of the analyzed products included in the Greek NFID or listed in the lists of the local CA, even those not officially labeled "gluten free," can be safely consumed by CDP. The use of commercially available ω-gliadin ELISA is able to identify those products that contain inappropriate levels of gluten, making feasible it to develop an integrated gluten-free processed food database.