Parliamentary Secretary for Health Chris Fearne announced new measures regarding gluten free products and their distribution are in the works.

Currently, Dr Fearne is in discussions with stakeholders including the Celiac association. Celiacs are unable to eat even traces of gluten, and around 1,200 cases of this disease can be found in Malta.

Golden Harvest invested €350,000 in equipment and is now able to make gluten free products. The first products being baked include bread rolls, burger buns, chocolate and vanilla muffins and pizza bases. In the near future, the company will also produce multispeed rolls.

Chris Fearne mentioned that currently, gluten free products can be found at the Birkirkara polyclinic. He was unable to answer whether more polyclinics will offer such products in the near future, however did indicate that this could possibly be introduced with the new measures.