Gluten-free diet and gluten-free foods

The gluten-free foods global market has significantly grown during the last decade. Gluten-free diet represents the treatment for celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy. Another group of persons that follows gluten-free diet has emerged, perceiving this diet as healthier feeding habit. It is especially this latter group that has increased to such an extent that they modified the market of gluten-free foods, improving availability of these products. However, because their demands and requirements are different, gluten content control of many of the currently existing local gluten-free foods is unsatisfactory. We present the information available on these issues, emphasizing the few local data available, which refer to school-age snacks and the "Basic Food Basket", with and without gluten. Local studies show that gluten-free snacks for school-age children and the gluten-free Basic Food Basket are less available, their cost is higher and less than 8% meet FAO/WHO nutritional recommendations.