How to shop gluten-free

Living gluten-free doesn’t have to be a hassle, if you
know what to be on the lookout for. Here’s a quick guide.

Package check

1. Check for ‘gluten-free’ stamps, labels, stickers or badges

Manufacturers will usually tell you on the front of their packaging if they have gone to the trouble to make their product gluten-free.

2. Check ingredients lists. Avoid products containing:

• rye, rye flour
• triticale, triticale flakes
• oats, oatmeal, oat bran, oat flour, rolled oats
• wheat flour, wheat starch, wheat bran, wheatgerm, enriched wheat flour, bulgar, spelt, durum, couscous, semolina
• barley, barley flour, barley flakes
• cereal, flour, bran, some types of hydrolysed vegetable protein, starch, hydrolysed plant protein (often found in stock cubes), modified food starch, cornflour made from wheat

3. Check for small print

You may see words like ‘this product was produced in a plant that also processes nuts, wheat and dairy’, or ‘may contain traces of wheat (or nuts, dairy, etc.)’. If you see this, it doesn’t necessarily mean the food contains gluten, but it might.

4. Check the additives

Most food additives (the numbers on packaged foods) do not contain gluten, but modified starches (1400-1450) may do; if they contain gluten it should be specified elsewhere on the label.

Good sources of gluten-free related information:

www.mfd.co.nz
www.coeliac.co.nz

Products to check

These products may or may not contain gluten, depending on different brands, so it pays to check.

baked beans
baking powder
beer, lager
canned vegetables
cocoa, drinking and cooking chocolate
coffee substitutes
cornflour (check it comes from corn not wheat)
creamed corn
crumb coatings for meat, fish or poultry
curry powder
custard powder
dressings/mayonnaise
gravies
maltodextrin (this may be made from wheat starch or other ingredients)
mustard
processed meats
products containing malt • sauces
sausages
some beverages
some modified starches
soups
soy sauce
stock cubes/powder
taco shells
tofu
vinegar

Gluten-free products and ingredients

amaranth anti-caking agents
arrowroot
baby rice cereals
buckwheat
caramel*
corn
corn breakfast cereals
dextrose*
fructose*
glucose*
hyrdolised vegetable
protein
malitol
millet
plain popcorn
plain rice crackers/cakes
polenta
potato flour
quinoa
rice
rice bran
rice breakfast cereals
rice flour
rice noodles
sago
sorbitol*
sorghum
soy flour
taco shells tapioca
vegetable gums
white vinegar
wild rice

*Gluten is not detectable in these ingredients, even if derived from wheat.