A Butte County farming company is working to develop gluten-free foods for people with celiac disease.
The California Farm Bureau reports that sufferers asked Lundberg Family Farms, based in Richvale, to consider developing more rice-based convenience products, allowing them to eat more "normal" foods, according to a bureau e-newsletter.
Celiac disease is a digestive disorder that affects children and adults and triggered by consumption of the protein gluten, according to www.mayoclinic.com.
The disease affects about one in 250 people nationwide, the bureau reports.
Gluten is found in bread, pasta, cookies and other foods containing wheat, barley or rye.
Rice does not contain gluten.
The U.S. market for gluten-free products is expected to surge in coming years, up from $1.6 billion in sales in 2008 to $2.6 billion by 2012, the bureau states.
Lundberg Family Farms specializes in organic and whole grain rice products and has more than 150 rice products on the market, including rice, flour, pasta and chips.
For more information about the company, go to www.lundberg.com.
Call The Bee's Niesha Lofing, (916) 321-1270.
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