Watch Out for Barley Flour

When Frito-Lay put out the press release about their updated gluten-free and non-gluten ingredient product list, several previously listed items were missing. The reason is that the items now contain barley flour. Yes, barley flour is now in some snack items. So far, it seems that food companies are listing barley in the ingredients, which is helpful. Barley is not considered a major allergen in the U.S. – by the FDA anyway. Therefore, it does not have to be called out on food labels. In the case of barley flour, companies know that just listing the word “flour” results in them getting flooded with calls from people asking exactly what kind of flour is in the item.

According to the Barley Foods website, barley flour contains over three times as much fiber as wheat flour. This gives the large food companies good reason to consider adding it to products, to make the products “healthier” for people who can eat gluten. Then the product labels will list a higher amount of fiber, possibly making gluten consumers reach for one bag of chips (or other items) over another that is barely free. Oh, and according to this report (or partial report), barley is heart-healthy too. Barley even made it into the May issue of Good Housekeeping in the healthy grains blurb. Interestingly, the few gluten-free grains that were listed were not called out as being gluten-free.

Most of us are aware of the powerful lobby of the National Wheat Association. However, the National Barley Foods Council is a group to be reckoned with. The powers that be in the group fought congress tooth and nail when Dr. Alessio Fasano tried to convince them to change the labeling law to include all forms of gluten. And the barley industry won. When food companies slowly started using corn malt instead of barley malt, the companies that grow barley started thinking of ways to get their product into other foods. And they have been successful in getting it added to some unsuspecting products, including Lays “Barbecue” and “Flamin’ Hot” potato chips. Even the Baked Lays “Barbecue” chips now contain barley flour.

Several times in the past, I’ve been contacted by people looking for help during visits to the U.S. These people were mostly from various parts of Europe. Each person asked various things, but all of them asked if it was actually true that in the U.S., products did not have to call out gluten – as in having to state “contains gluten” on packages of anything that does. I remember being embarrassed when I was diagnosed with celiac, that the U.S. was so far behind other countries on the issue. Each time I got notes from people outside the country, indicating they were in disbelief over the labeling situation here, I was a little embarrassed for our country – again.

There is nothing wrong with an industry trying to make sure their product is used as much and as often as possible, of course. But we have to make sure and stay on top of the food companies and let them know that they have got to list barley as an ingredient, regardless of what the law requires. Frito-Lay is a company willing to do that for us, and for that, we should be grateful. Think of all the odd places you see wheat in products today. Now think about the barley industry convincing companies to replace wheat with barley. This could turn into a total nightmare for our community. If there was ever a time for a formal labeling law regarding the term gluten-free in the U.S., it was yesterday.