Current status of online sales of gluten-free foods and challenges

Abstract

　We surveyed the current status of information provision on 117 Internet sites that sell gluten-free foods in Japan to investigate misunderstandings by customers when selecting products. On more than 90% of the sites, the prices, content, product photos, and sellers of their goods were listed, whereas the storage methods, expiration and freshness dates, and additives were only provided on 67.5%, 51.3%, and 47.9%, respectively. The specific raw materials, including allergens, were only listed on 40.2% of the sites. Approximately 60% of the sites listed "allergy” as an adverse effect of gluten-free foods. "Health” and "weight loss” were listed on 38.5% and 29.9% of sites, respectively, but "celiac disease” and "wheat intolerance/hypersensitivity”, which are the target diseases of gluten-free foods, were only described on 7.7% and 5.1%, respectively. Even on sites selling gluten-free foods for wheat allergy, more than half did not provide information on the possibility of allergen contamination or information on production lines. In addition, 64.7% of the sites indicating safety regarding the possibility of allergen contamination did not provide information on production lines, whereas 81.3% of the sites calling attention to allergen contamination provided such information.

　This suggests that all Internet sites selling gluten-free foods for wheat allergy do not provide sufficient information for wheat allergy patients to safely select them in Japan. In addition, some of them provide unfound information about beauty and health to healthy persons without wheat allergy. Accurate and detailed information is required to sell gluten-free foods.