engleski

Cereals and flours in nutrition for persons with celiac disease in Croatia

Celiac disease is a digestive disease that damages the small intestine and interferes with absorption of nutrients from food. People who have celiac disease cannot tolerate a protein called gluten, which is found in wheat, rye, barley and possibly oats. The smallest amount of gluten in food damages the small intestine of these patients. The aim of this work was to establish some statistical data about nutrition of this population in Croatia, especially about using gluten-free flours and some other types of allowed cereals. The survey results for persons with diagnosed celiac disease and their families show that all patients (100 %) used their gluten-free flour. 86, 96 % of examinees used corn, and 54, 39 % examinees used rice. Four samples of gluten-free flour (marked with crossed ear) from Croatian market were tested with Elisa-test and results showed that these products contained gluten in amounts from 0 to 90 mg/kg of sample. The problem appeared because patients thought that those products with crossed ear shouldn’ t contain gluten at all. Codex Alimentarius regulated that these products could contain gluten, depending on the category, from 20 mg/kg to 200 mg/kg. So, the quantity of gluten should be declared if there is any, because patients should be able to count their daily gluten intake. In conclusion, supervision of “ gluten-free” flours is particularly important and necessary.

celiac disease; gluten-free diet

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