We do not intend to alarm you with this headline. The quick answer is yes. However, there is a significant amount of gluten-free beer in which it is not clear if it has or not. It all depends on how you measure it and in this article we explain the crazy conclusions of a study that will leave you stunned. Will you see beer with the same eyes again? Pay a lot of attention.
Gluten-free beer for half a million Spaniards
In a country like Spain lives half a million celiac people. All of them see their social life restricted due to precautions when eating or drinking outside the home. This factor affects the consumption of a beverage such as beer. It is a liquid made from barley y wheat. For this reason, it is not considered a gluten-free drink from the outset. Therefore, it requires special treatment.
The elaboration process entails the destruction of the protein of the grain during the phase of malted. In addition, a filtering process means that they can be remove protein debris so it is possible to get gluten free beer In addition, the guarantee is greater if enzymes that degrade gluten are added during fermentation. The problem is that this can affect properties such as the texture and flavor of the final product. So manufacturers are very careful with these processes.
How do we know it is gluten free?
So we need methods to calculate the gluten level of foods and beverages. The UE only considers valid methods based on a antibody called R5. These are the tests ELISA and determine if the product is gluten-free. For this, it cannot exceed 20 milligrams of gluten for each kilo of product. That's 20 parts per million total.
However, beer is a hydrolyzed product in which the starches are transformed into sugars and the gluten is reduced to small fragments. These may not be detected by analytical methods. However, they can pose a risk to celiacs by preserving their toxicity. That is why the gluten analysis laboratory of the University of the Basque Country has decided to test the different methods.
The studio
The sample was 106 European beers (65 for general consumption and 41 "gluten-free"). All of them were made from the snowfall without excluding other components such as wheat, rye or oats. Regarding the methods, the Competitive ELISA-R5 from R-Biopharm, Besides, a subset of 71 beers was subjected to a comparative Analysis, with the other test ELISA-R5 of the Spanish laboratory Ingenasa.
The GLUTEN TEC 5171GT test from the Dutch laboratory was also used. europroxima. On the other hand, for the comparative study of the 71 beers, the near infrared spectroscopy analysis (NIR, Near Infra Red Spectroscopy). This technique had not been used in beers before, although it has been used for some time for the evaluation of certain components in foods.
Result
As for the beers for general consumption, a greater amount of gluten was detected in the Ale and in which they used wheat as raw material. On the other hand, in the gluten-free there were no great differences although they used to contain more if they were artisan, Lager-type or if they lacked wheat. Among those for general consumption, 15 of 65 (23%) contained less than 20 ppm, despite not having been prepared to be gluten-free.
In addition, 3 of the 41 "gluten-free" exceeded 20 ppm. None had wheat as raw material and two were lager-type. Of all these ways of measuring, the test of R-Biopharm was the most restrictive as it detected gluten above 20 ppm in more beers than its competitors from ingenase y europroxima. In this way, many beers "without gluten" they do not pass all the existing controls. These last two tests detected three beers above 20 ppm while R-Biopharm only one.
⚠️One of the biggest problems faced by the celiac group when complying with the #dietsingluten is cross contamination
Here are some very simple tips to avoid it ↘️https://t.co/MuDeKZNVun
— Federation of Celiac Associations of Spain (@FACEceliacos) April 12, 2022
To finish, we clarify that the study concludes that the NIR technique is not reliable when the gluten content is low. In this way, the most effective way is the method ELISA-R5 competitive type. Thus, it is seen how we should go deeper into the study of alternatives for celiac people. Everyone should be able to enjoy a cold beer! Be sure of the brand you choose before consuming it. There is a gluten-free beer waiting for you.
