EZ Gluten^® is very simple. It was designed for industry, but simple enough for home use. Everything you need is included and you have results within 10-15 minutes. You can learn more about successfully running your test in the video here or download the instructions here.

No, EZ Gluten^® is only for detecting the presence of gluten in foods, beverages, and surfaces.
There are biopsies, serological, and genetic tests for celiac disease, but there are no reliable tests for food sensitivities, including non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Your physician or registered dietician can help with celiac testing or exclusion diets if you are looking for help with a diagnosis.

No, these are single-use tests.

Yes. Everything you need is small and compact.

Yes. EZ Gluten^® is a PTM^SM certified method (License #051101). In fact, EZ Gluten^® was used by the AOAC to establish the PTM^SM requirements for rapid gluten tests and remains the only PTM^SM certified gluten test available for home use.
PTM^SM (Performance Tested Method^SM) is a rigorous certification offered by the AOAC Research Institute, the organization that advises the FDA on food standards and official test methods, and this certification is required for tests to be recognized by many gluten-free certification bodies.

Our CoAs are now publicly available. Visit our CoA page and find your lot number to download your certificate.

EZ Gluten^® was developed by ELISA Technologies, Inc. in Gainesville, Florida over 15 years ago, where it remains manufactured without interruption today. Since our founding in 1991, ELISA Technologies has been an independent, family-owned, small business dedicated to food safety and our community. This is what guides our approach to business and the communities we serve.

We manufacture EZ Gluten^® with a 12 month expiry. Depending on where we are in our production cycle, you will typically receive kits with nine to eleven months remaining before the expiration date.

Once you remove the strip from the test tube hold the test alongside the test identification sheet to read your results.

• Negative (Gluten is not detected): The red control (C) and red hook (H) lines are present, but there is no red test (T) line.
• Positive (Gluten is detected): The red control, hook and test lines are all present.
• High Positive and Very High Positive (High level of gluten): Red control (C) and test (T) lines are present but there is no red hook (H) line.
• Invalid: There is no red control (C) line present, regardless of the presence of other red lines. In this case, the test must be repeated. Or you may call our office for more information.

Active enzymes will cause a lower result by ELISA testing and a higher result by a lateral flow test, such as EZ Gluten^®, leading to false negative and false positive results, respectively. It is necessary to inactivate any enzymes prior to testing to obtain an accurate result. We recommend heating the liquid sample at 95-100 °C in a water bath or by placing the sample in a bag or container and floating it in boiling water for 10-15 minutes prior to testing. Dry samples must be hydrated prior to heat-inactivation; for such samples instead perform the heat treatment between steps 3 and 4 of the EZ Gluten instructions.

Testing a product with an extremely low pH may give in a false positive result if this is not accounted for during testing. We recommend using the minimum amount of test material required (0.5 g) and checking the pH of the extracted sample before testing. The solution should be slightly basic (pH ~9), and the pH should be adjusted upward if it is below 7. When possible, we recommend adjusting the pH with sodium hydroxide, although sodium acetate or sodium carbonate would be an acceptable alternative.

The EZ Gluten^® test was designed and validated for testing foods. While it will also work in a variety of other sample types, we cannot guarantee the results or the limit of detection for non-food items. For solid samples containing enzymes, heat-treatment of the extracted sample (between steps 3 and 4) is necessary to inactivate the enzymes prior to testing. Active enzymes can lead to a false positive result with a lateral flow device or a false negative result by ELISA testing.

A high dose “hook effect” refers to the false negative result seen with lateral flow tests when very high levels of target are present in the tested sample. Under these conditions, unbound gluten can block the test line, interfering with binding of the colloidal gold-labeled antibody-bound antigen, resulting in a false negative result. The hook line found on the EZ Gluten^® test strip allows the user to determine if a weak or absent signal at the Test line is due to low levels of gluten, or to excessively high levels of gluten. If the Test line is weak or negative, and the Hook line is present, then the weak or negative signal is due to low levels of gluten. If the Test line is weak or negative, and the Hook line is not present, this indicated a hook effect, or a high level of gluten in the sample. The EZ Gluten^® test can detect gluten levels as high as 100,000 ppm (10%), corresponding to the amount present in wheat flour.

No. The buffers in the Extraction Solution were formulated to deal with a sample size of 0.5-1 g (the amount that fits in the provided spoon). Amounts greater than this can alter the pH of the extract and give false readings on the test.

No. After an extended period of time, and particularly if the strip is allowed to dry out, there will be an artifact that forms along the test line due to the drying out of the conjugated antibody. If you have a valid test at 10 minutes, meaning that the ‘Control’ line is present, then this is the point at which the test should be read.

If the liquid does not appear to be absorbing: After Step 6, gently tap the test tube 2-3 times against the counter or table top. Continue to Step 7.

It means that the liquid did not get absorbed all the way up the strip. You may wait 15 more minutes to see if the product absorbs, or if you see that the product is too thick, follow the suggested steps above.

If you have any questions at any time in your testing process, please contact us. During normal business hours, someone should be able to help you during your testing.

If a sample absorbs all of the extraction solution, and there is no clear liquid layer on top of the sample, try letting the sample settle for an extra 5 minutes (10 minutes total). If this does not result in enough clear solution to perform the test, then it may be necessary to repeat the test with a new vial of extraction solution, this time using only half a spoonful. Using less sample will affect the sensitivity of the test, but may be necessary for highly absorbent samples.

If the liquid extract is very thick:

On Step 4, allow extra time (up to 30 minutes) for the product to settle to the bottom before extracting the drops to the test tube.
Extract liquid closest to the top with the pipette provided.

OR, you may use a coffee filter. After Step 3, place a coffee filter on top of a clean container, and pour the extraction solution through it. You can skip Step 4, and continue to Step 5.

OR, if you have access to a centrifuge, you can spin the extract at 1000 ×g for 10 minutes. This should leave you with a less viscous upper layer for testing.

Yes. We’re in Florida, so we’re used to summer heat. We base our expiration dates on products sitting for at least a week in our summer heat (>95 °F) to account for shipping temperatures. Our retain testing program requires each kit lot to be stored at outdoor ambient temperature for a week to simulate shipping conditions before regularly testing the product through the expiration to ensure the kits we ship out are valid following the same conditions you receive them.

EZ Gluten^® requires refrigeration upon arrival and for long-term storage (i.e., more than a few days). Ensure EZ Gluten^® and the product you are testing are at room temperature by removing from refrigeration at least 30 minutes prior to testing. Always store the kits between 36 and 77 °F (2 to 25 °C); avoid freezing.
While travelling, it is acceptable for the kits to be at ambient temperature even for a few weeks, but any remaining tests should be refrigerated upon your return.

Yes. We will give 10% off for 10 or more of the same kit size. This applies to 10 of any pack size (a pack consists of 5, 10, 25, or 100 tests), not 10 or more individual tests. For placing these orders online, use the appropriate 10for10 discount for the kit size you are purchasing, i.e., 10for10-5, 10for10-10, 10for10-25, or 10for10-100.

Yes, we’d love to meet you! For our local customers ordering online, we offer two options: we can ship the product to you for $10 (usually next day delivery) or you can stop by and pick it up during our normal business hours. If you don’t have a local address and want to pick up your test kits while you’re in the area, enter our address for shipping. This will qualify the order for local pickup and we’ll hold it for you until you come in.

Our address is:
2501 NW 66th Ct.
Gainesville, FL 32653

Quantitative gluten tests require a laboratory to use and can determine accurate gluten levels from below 10 ppm up to pure gluten. These assays take much more time and training to perform and are often used by accredited testing laboratories with cost ranging from $75 to hundreds of dollars per sample.

The quantitative assay most similar to EZ Gluten^® is the ALLER-TEK^® Gluten ELISA. Because this is also a PTM certified test method, results from either of these tests can be used when applying for gluten free certifications. This quantitative assay is manufactured in the same facility using the same antibodies and is used for our accredited gluten testing services. This is also the assay most often used for trouble shooting or confirmatory testing follow a presumptive positive result by EZ Gluten^®.

There are several antibodies for gluten detection in food products with the most common being the following: 401.21 (Skerritt), R5 (Mendez), and G12. Each of these antibodies has been rigorously tested in interlaboratory studies around the world. Although these are sometimes referred to as “methods,” each of these antibodies is a tool found in commonly used test methods.

Skerritt is the oldest of these antibodies and recognizes both gliadin and glutenin components of gluten, providing the broadest view of gluten content. Tests using the Skerritt antibody are useful for testing processed foods for total gluten content when gluten sensitivity or Celiac disease is of concern.

R5 is a newer antibody targeting a repeated segment of the gliadin protein found in most wheats and in the larger fragment primarily responsible for the autoimmune response in celiac disease. Some tests using the R5 antibody are specifically designed for testing hydrolyzed or fermented products for the presence of gliadin that may be broken down.

G12 is the newest of these three antibodies and specifically recognizes the portion of gliadin that can most often cause an immune response in patients with Celiac disease. Gluten-free products or wheat (and gluten) containing products lacking this specific component of gliadin may be less damaging to some patients with celiac disease. Tests using the G12 antibody are useful for analyzing foods when Celiac disease is the primary concern.
Newer test kits use a variety of approaches to improve upon the existing test options, with some using antibodies that are even more specific while some are going back to the older approach of detecting several proteins within gluten. Ultimately, it’s up to the user to decide which tests best fits their own needs.