In the laboratories of theFood Science Institute of the National Research Council (the CNR-Isa in Avellino), something that until a few years ago seemed impossible has been achieved: a bread made from real wheat flour with a native gluten content below 20 ppm (parts per million). A decisive threshold, because it is precisely the one set by international standards to classify a food as “gluten-free.”
The result-described in the scientific journal Food Frontiers-is the result of years of research conducted in the laboratory led by Mauro Rossi, a researcher at CNR-Isa. It is not a product that replaces wheat flour with naturally gluten-free alternatives, such as rice or corn. Instead, it is bread made from real wheat flour, from which gluten has been removed or rendered harmless for those with a form of intolerance to this substance.
How enzyme technology works
At the heart of the process is a food-grade enzyme-microbial transglutaminase-used to treat wheat flour. This treatment detoxifies the gluten, making it no longer recognizable by the immune system of people with celiac disease or intolerance. In a second stage, the treated gluten is separated and differentially recovered; then recombined with wheat starch, it reconstitutes a flour that retains the typical technological and organoleptic characteristics of traditional wheat.
A key point: the technology has been validated not only on the technological level, but also on the immunological level. Celiac disease, in fact, is not simply a food intolerance, but an autoimmune disease: the immune system reacts to gluten by damaging the intestinal mucosa. Therefore, it was not enough to prove that the bread “tasted like wheat”; it was necessary to prove that it did not trigger the immune response typical of celiac disease. And the results, according to the researchers, confirm both goals.
Studies conducted in collaboration with the group of lecturer Gianluca Giuberti, from the Catholic University of Piacenza, also revealed an additional advantage: the prototype bread shows nutritional superiority over traditional gluten-free products already on the market.
Celiac disease and gluten intolerance: a growing problem
The importance of this finding is best understood by looking at the numbers. Celiac disease affects about 1 percent of the world’s population-a seemingly low percentage, but one that translates into about 80 million people. In Italy, according to data from the Ministry of Health, diagnosed celiacs number about 280,000, but undiagnosed cases are estimated to be more than double that number: an“iceberg diseas,” as gastroenterologists call it, of which only the tip is visible.
Alongside celiac disease, so-calledNon-Celiac Gluten Sensitivity (NCGS) has become widespread in recent decades: a condition only recently recognized by the scientific community, which involves symptoms similar to those of celiac disease – bloating, fatigue, abdominal pain, headache – but in the absence of typical immunological markers. Some estimates put it at 3 to 6 percent of the population with this problem, although the figures vary considerably depending on the studies.
Added to these is wheat allergy-distinct from both celiac disease and NCGS-which affects about 0.5 percent of the general population, with higher peaks among children. Overall, an estimated 5 to 8 percent of people of adult age in Western countries follow or have followed a gluten-free diet, either for medical reasons or by personal choice.
A rapidly expanding global market
These numbers have fueled the growth of a global gluten-free market now worth billions. According to the most recent estimates, the sector has reached a value of several billion dollars worldwide and continues to grow at an annual rate of between 9 percent and 10 percent. In Italy, the market for gluten-free products is worth about 400 million euros a year, with steady growth driven both by demand from diagnosed celiacs and a growing segment of consumers sensitive to the problem.
Traditional gluten-free products are made with flours made from corn, rice, buckwheat, tapioca, or a combination of these. They often turn out to be lower in fiber, higher in added sugars and fats to compensate for the lack of elasticity, and have a lower nutritional profile than gluten-free equivalents.
Why this bread is different from everything else
This is where the work of CNR-Isa marks a sharp discontinuity. “The bread we have obtained represents the world’s first example in the gluten-free dietary-therapeutic sector, intended primarily for people with intolerance, celiac disease and gluten sensitivity,” explains researcher Mauro Rossi. “Products currently classified as gluten-free are based exclusively on flours that are naturally gluten-free, and therefore very different organoleptically and technologically from wheat. Our product opens a completely innovative scenario in the sector, in line with the expectations of intolerant individuals.”
In essence: no longer a substitute, but real wheat bread-with the crust, crumb, chewability and flavor of traditional bread-that, however, does not contain dangerous levels of gluten for those with celiac disease or intolerance. An achievement that meets one of the most concrete, everyday needs of millions of people: to eat bread without feeling excluded from the table.
There is still a long way to go from the laboratory to the supermarket: the prototype built on a pilot plant in Avellino will have to go through further validation, scale-up production and regulatory processes. But the scientific basis is there, the international patent is filed and the results published in a peer-reviewed journal. Italian public research opens a path for the food industry to follow.
