Countdown and Cupcakes is an event is sponsored by the American Celiac Disease Alliance, a not-for-profit organization that advocates for the needs of celiac and gluten-sensitive patients.  Last year, on August 2, the anniversary of the passage of the Food Allergen Labeling and Protection Act (FALCPA) and two months after the Gluten Free Labeling Summit, FDA announced it would allow 60 more days of comments on the gluten free labeling proposal. When the comment period closed in October, the agency had received hundreds and hundreds of comments. Among the letters was one signed by nearly 5,000 individuals urging the FDA to require products labeled gluten-free to meet a set standard not to exceed 20ppm, the same standard adopted for use in the international community.

The month of May has been designated Celiac Awareness month. In this segment of The Organic View, best-selling author, Beth Hillson, founder of Gluten-Free Pantry, President of the American Celiac Disease Alliance and editor of Living Without Magazinewill be our guest to talk about this initiative.