Gluten-Free Market Grows, But Food Needs Better Taste

AUGUST 07, 2007 -- With the market for gluten-free products growing rapidly around the world, many opportunities are opening for industry, but work still needs to be done on taste and texture, reports a FoodNavigator.com article.

"There is clearly a market opportunity for gluten-free foods. For the patients who suffer, the diagnosis rate is increasing. In response to this, we have witnessed over a 100 percent increase in gluten-free products over the last seven years," said Jodi Engelson, a senior research scientist at Cargill.

According to market analyst Mintel, the overall "free-from" market has already enjoyed sales growth of over 300 percent since 2000. The growing demand has opened up a new lucrative sector that many food makers are keen to exploit.

The free-from market was worth $123 million in 2005, and Mintel said that the gluten- and wheat-free sector has benefited in particular from the nation's increasing interest in healthy eating. Sales of products such as wheat-free breads and cakes have grown by almost 120 percent over the last three years alone, to reach $65 million.

However, while the market for such products is booming, according to the experts at the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), researchers have yet to fully solve their greatest challenge ― making products taste good.

Replacement of wheat in baked goods, like bread and cookies, poses technical problems since gluten impacts significantly on the texture and taste of the final product.

"That's the real challenge for a product development person," said Engelson.Ranjit Kadan, a researcher with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), said the gluten-free market is projected to be $1.7 billion by 2010.

"Until recently, we thought [celiac disease] was a rare disease," said Kadan, "But that's not so. In 2003, we found that one out of 133 in the U.S. had it."

Celiac disease is caused by an intolerance to gluten — the protein found in wheat, rye and barley — and currently affects an average of one in 300 people in Europe.

In the U.S., Congress mandated the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to define gluten-free products by 2008. For the moment, no standards exist, and products may claim food is gluten-free if it has no gluten, if it has a limited amount of gluten, or if it never had gluten.

"So far, we've received over 700 comments to the proposed rule," said Geraldine June, an FDA official.