The Trump administration is weighing changes to how it regulates food allergens as consumers with celiac disease call for an update and food manufacturers urge caution.
Thousands of celiac patients urged the Food and Drug Administration to make it easier to avoid the health consequences of unintentionally ingesting gluten by declaring it a major food allergen and requiring its disclosure on packaged foods and dietary supplements, according to comments submitted ahead of the deadline for public input on a citizen’s petition requesting the changes.
Only Congress, however, has the authority to make such a declaration, and overhauling label disclosures for gluten could be expensive and confuse consumers, food makers said in comments.
“This would be an abrupt change in how FDA has dealt with allergens before” that could expose companies to greater liability, Pejman Javaheri, founder of food law firm Juris Law Group, said in an interview.
The Make America Healthy Again Commission, created by President Donald Trump and chaired by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to fight chronic disease, is injecting fresh urgency into gluten regulation discourse. That task force named increasing food allergen disclosures—including for gluten—among its priorities in a September 2025 policy strategy report.
Trump administration officials who align with Kennedy’s MAHA goals, including FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, point to the rising rates of food allergies in the US as a sign of a polluted food supply.
To date, FDA has only named nine foods as major allergens, and all cause anaphylaxis, which can be fatal. Celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder that damages the gut, does not cause anaphylaxis but is associated with intestinal damage and an increased risk of developing some cancers.
Wheat is among those nine whose presence manufacturers must disclose, but celiacs argue that doesn’t adequately inform them about foods with other gluten-containing grains such as barley and rye.
Trade groups urged FDA to stick with a voluntary framework companies can use to market foods as “gluten free.” One study estimates the market for food sold as “gluten free,” a term FDA regulates, will grow from $10.1 billion in 2026 to more than $14.4 billion by 2030.
The agency didn’t return a request for comment on its next steps involving gluten, but has said the public input will inform its deliberation of gluten labeling. Much of the Trump administration’s harsh rhetoric targeting the food industry has yet to translate into concrete action backed by the weight of regulatory enforcement.
Industry Warns of Labeling Confusion
Adding gluten to the list of major food allergens or changing how manufacturers must disclose its presence could prove complicated, industry groups said in comment letters shared with Bloomberg Law.
The packaged goods group Consumer Brands Association warned FDA in a letter against exceeding its authority by making gluten a major food allergen and said the agency must follow the formal rulemaking process if it opts to deviate from the voluntary “gluten free” labeling framework.
It urged the regulator to consider differences between the immediacy and severity of reactions caused by celiac disease compared with the nine major food allergens, and argued further research into consumer comprehension of nutrition labels is needed before regulatory changes are made.
“Labeling gluten as a food sensitivity would increase the complexity of the food label, resulting in information overload and potential confusion for consumers and imposing an unfounded burden on food manufacturers with no evidence of significant consumer benefit,” the letter said.
The American Bakers Association, a trade group representing commercial bakers, pressed FDA to avoid creating duplicative disclosures for gluten in instances where bakers must already disclose wheat’s presence.
“Requiring additional gluten labeling or preventive controls for such products would provide little added benefit, could potentially be a misuse of important resources, and, in the labeling context, add to an already crowded label space,” the association’s letter said.
Some regulatory attorneys are already taking notice of the percolating discussion.
“The non-disclosure of an allergen is the No. 1 reason why products get recalled,” Javaheri said, adding recalls can trigger class actions in states with strong consumer protections such as California.
After Congress passed a law (
Some companies hedged by adding sesame directly to their products or including a label reading “may include sesame,” the Wall Street Journal reported at the time.
Food trade groups also lobbied against other FDA proposals to bolster ingredient disclosures.
Voluntary Labeling ‘Inadequate’
The stakes of FDA’s next steps are high for celiacs. Stories submitted to the agency describe how inadvertently ingesting even tiny amounts of gluten can lead to diarrhea, vomiting, and fatigue.
There’s no known cure for the 3.3 million Americans estimated to have celiac disease, making avoidance consumers’ best strategy to minimize symptoms.
So celiacs spend hours combing the ingredient lists of packaged foods, avoid restaurants, and compile lists of products such as blue cheese or soy sauce that one might not expect to contain gluten, according to comments consumers sent FDA.
“The voluntary labeling of gluten in the United States is inadequate—it’s dangerous and leads to many people getting sick,” Jon Bari, the founder of patient advocacy group Celiac Journey, said in an interview.
Bari, whose son was diagnosed with celiac disease at age 5, filed a citizen’s petition asking FDA to declare gluten a major food allergen and bolster its disclosure in 2023.
Brian Ronholm, who submitted comments supporting Bari’s petition as food policy director at Consumer Reports, said in an interview FDA’s ask for public input on the matter was a step in the right direction.
“I’m just really worried that this is going to be one of those empty proposals,” Ronholm said, “in which there is a lot of discussion, a lot of comments, a lot of considerations, but ultimately nothing gets done.”
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