A Cautionary Tale of Purity, Labeling and Product Literacy in the Gluten-Free Market

Like the market for organics, the gluten-free products market is expanding rapidly. Rapid expansion in the organic foods market led to changes in the regulatory structure, which in turn, made possible the transition of organics from something considered exclusive and value-laden, to something that is conventional and void of many of the original substantive characteristics. Moreover, this process of conventionalization has contributed to a decline in product literacy. Despite a standardized label, consumers generally know less about the products' attributes once conventionalizatiun has occurred. Using the case of organics, we show how the current governance structure for gluten might also be in the process of conventionalization. Yet, this trajectory is not inevitable. Transmutation of the market, which is accomplished via critical analysis and consumers' active engagement in defining "gluten-free," may provide an antidote to product dilution and may improve product literacy for those who need or desire gluten-free products most. ********** ... don't tell me parts per million, I want it absent of wheat, barley, rye, and oats. I don't know what these numbers mean (Director, Celiac Sprue Association, stating how members" define "gluten-free," quoted in McCabe 2010, 12). The rate of new cases of celiac disease (CD) is on the rise. Estimates suggest that as many as 1 in 133 persons in the Western world have CD. A gluten-free life is the only life possible for these individuals (e.g., Veen et al. 2010) as consumption of gluten, a protein found in wheat, barley and rye, can lead to an array of gastrointestinal problems, cancer and death. Recent studies suggest that undiagnosed CD leads to a fourfold increase in the risk of untimely death (Rubio-Tapia et al. 2009). Complete abstinence from gluten may mean no bread, no cakes and no pasta; and surprisingly, some sauces, salad dressings, toothpastes, cosmetics and other products are off limits too. To make the best choices consumers are forced to rely on manufacturers' voluntary labeling, and they depend on full disclosure and accuracy in labeling. Unlike the products associated with other food allergens such as those free of peanuts, eggs, wheat (1) and shellfish, "gluten-free" has a companion consumer base that is on the rise: individuals who consider a gluten-free lifestyle ethical or healthy (McCabe 2010). This latter group of consumers has elected this lifestyle, even if only temporarily, with no known consequences to themselves when they adopt and if they later reject the gluten-free diet (GFD). In this paper, we present a cautionary tale of the market trajectory of gluten-free products. Purity of gluten-free products is the core value of the original gluten-free market. As new, larger firms enter the market to meet the desires of a companion consumer base, industry concentration may occur. Based on the experience of organic foods, we assert that an erosion of both product purity and product literacy is likely to occur. This would mean that consumers living with CD will be forced to seek out new alternatives. We conceptualize product literacy from recent special issues on financial, privacy and health literacy in the Journal of Consumer Affairs. Researchers have called for consumers to have "greater knowledge and self-efficacy relative to personal finance" (Remund 2010); greater understanding of the information landscape in "which they interact and their responsibilities within that landscape" (Langenderfer and Miyazaki 2009); and for consumers to be able "to derive meaning from different forms of communication" (Adkins and Corus 2009, 202). Further, in the case of health care, Adkins and Corus (2009, 202) described literacy as "a public act rather than an individual act of decoding...." We define product literacy as the capacity of the consumer, not just one, but the corpus of consumers in a particular market, to look at a product, to have some comprehension of the product's attributes, and to have some agency over the meaning and use of the product. …