Comparing the FASTER Act with the Celiac Safety Act - Two Bills, Major Differences, Millions of Lives at Stake
- Jon Bari
- 3 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 17 minutes ago
CALL TO ACTION - Contact Congress at www.FASTERact.org
and ask your Member of Congress to co-sponsor the FASTER Act.
Below are some of the key differences between H.R.9988, the Food Allergy, Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research Act of 2026 (FASTER Act of 2026) and H.R.9048, the Celiac Safety Act:
FASTER Act requires that Oats are labeled as a Major Food Allergen along with Barley and Rye. Oats are required to be labeled in many other countries including in Canada, in Mexico, in the United Kingdom and across the European Union.
FASTER Act requires the HHS Secretary to issue a comprehensive report on Celiac Disease (diagnostics, treatment, research, prevention of new cases).
FASTER Act requires FDA to update the Compliance Policy Guide.
FASTER Act is designed to better protect and estimated 26.2 million Americans have some type of food allergy or intolerance to gluten: 3.3 million with Celiac Disease, 20 million with gluten intolerance, 2.4 million with an IgE-mediated wheat allergy with potential cross-reactivity to barley, rye, and oats, and 0.5 million with eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE).
FASTER Act does not have any special interests behind it (i.e., "Big Food" like General Mills which is the largest seller of Oats). Note: It appears that the Celiac Safety Act was ghost-written by and for General Mills, the largest seller of Oats in the U.S. General Mills also sponsors the Celiac Disease Foundation with an undisclosed amount, and places Celiac Disease Foundation's logo on every box of Cheerios, even though many Celiac patients have reported that they get sick from eating Cheerios. General Mills is based in Minnesota with substantial operations and economic ties throughout the Twin Cities, and Rep. Betty McCollum represents Minnesota's 4th congressional district. However, none of these conflicts of interest are ever disclosed, even as potential conflicts of interest. In a parallel path, General Mills, via the Consumer Brands Association, is also fighting against Jax's FDA Citizen Petition to require the labeling of of Barley, Rye and Oats under the HHS Secretary's existing statutory authority. The irony is that General Mills has represented to the U.S. government that: "Absent dedicating land, harvesting equipment, transporting vehicles, storage units, packaging and production facilities, and the like only for use in connection with oats, cross contamination [with Gluten] is inevitable." -- General Mills, U.S. Patent 9,968,937, May 15, 2018.
Global Best Practices on Labeling Gluten Containing Grains of Wheat, Barley, Rye & Oats
For additional information on the global best practices for labeling Gluten-containing grains including wheat, barley, rye and oats, see the UK's Food & Drink Federation's "Gluten Labelling Guidance: Best Practice for Prepacked Foods which Include or Exclude Cereals Containing Gluten."
Additionally, please see the following article, "Hey FDA - Let's Follow the UK's Food Standards Agency and the UK's Food & Drink Federation: Best Practices for Labeling Gluten on Packaged Foods."
The FASTER Act of 2026 is modeled after the FASTER Act of 2021 (which required Sesame labeling as the 9th Major Food Allergen) in which the Congressional Budget Office estimated the new FDA staffing and related expenses would cost about $5 million over the 2021-2025 period.
Conflicts of Interest Between Celiac Disease Foundation and General Mills, the Maker of Cheerios
It's no wonder that the Celiac Disease Foundation only supports the Celiac Safety Act and not the FASTER Act. Just follow the General Mills' money...
