Are Cake Sheds Safe for Coeliacs? What You Need to Know About Gluten Free Home Bakers & Cake Sheds

Right now cake sheds are everywhere, by peoples front doors or at the end of the driveway and can hold an impressive array of different baked goodies, some have been known to have whole celebration cakes in them. Alongside your general everyday regular persons cake there are some gluten free ones creeping in. In this guide, I am going to break down the UK food safety rules for home bakers, what “gluten free” really means in this setting, and how to tell whether a cake shed is genuinely safe for coeliacs or just appears to be.

Now, don't think I am against cake sheds or home bakers, I am not, I would love to do my own if I could. However, in the last few weeks I have seen a few things on social media related to how some bakers think they can literally just bake and sell....it isn't quite that simple though. One cake shed I saw was pulled up because they didn't list allergens and from what I heard, claimed to be gluten free but turned out wasn't. Like any food business they are subject to food safety laws and regulations, they can't just bake it and shove it in a shed.

There are absolutely loads of gluten free home bakers either with out without a shed around the UK, you can find a whole host of small businesses to buy from in my small business blog. You won't find just cakes but pies, bread and anything you desire gluten free.

What is a “cake shed”?

A cake shed is essentially a small home-based food business, often run from someone’s kitchen and sold via a garden shed often with a honesty box. While they can look informal, they are still legally classed as food businesses if they sell food regularly.

Do cake sheds have to be registered?

In short, yes. In the UK, anyone selling food (even from home) must be registered with the local council, follow food hygiene and safety laws and be inspected by environmental health.

A legitimate cake shed should be registered and have a food hygiene rating (even if it’s not displayed on-site). You can check on Food Standards Agency if somewhere is registered and has a hygiene rating.

Are they subject to allergen laws?

Again, yes. And this is where things get really important for coeliacs.

ALL food businesses whether a restaurant or a gluten free cake shed must

• Be able to provide information on the 14 major allergens (including gluten) in their products
• Be able to tell you the ingredients in their food
• Manage cross contamination risks

However, how they provide that information can vary but in whatever format, they must be able to provide it. In some instances certain information maybe allowed to be given just verbally.

What about labelling laws?

This one depends on HOW the cakes are sold.

If items are prepacked (wrapped and ready to grab):

• They must follow Natasha’s Law
• Include a full ingredient list
• Clearly highlight allergens like gluten

If items are not prepacked (e.g. loose in a shed) allergens must be available BUT they can be just a sign not necessarily a printed label with ingredients.

The line is very blurry between the two sometimes.

Here's a 2014 blog on labelling

Does “gluten free” mean coeliac safe?

Not necessarily.

To be truly gluten free, food must contain 20ppm gluten or less and cross contamination be tightly controlled.

This is would depend on the bakery, many normal home bakers will handle regular flour and may prep in the same kitchen with limited cross contamination controls. If these are offering "gluten free" options they are likely to be "made without gluten ingredients" and not necessarily coeliac safe.

If it is a purely gluten free cake shed, ask questions on their safety when it comes to Coeliac just like to would when eating out at a café or restaurant. They maybe an entirely gluten free kitchen in the house or, they may have a purpose built kitchen in the garage and strict contamination controls if they do gluten free baking as their main living but on the flip side they could be like above and use a shared kitchen...it is one to question as they could fall either way.

Check out over 4k gluten free places to eat in the UK

How to check if a cake shed is safe for gluten free

So let's summarise, if you’re coeliac, here are some key things to look for:

Green flags:

• Registered food business (check food hygiene rating online)
• Full ingredient labels on products
• Clear allergen information available
• Honest explanation of cross contamination controls
• Uses terms like “coeliac safe” and explains why

Amber flags:

• “Gluten free” with no detail
• “Made in a kitchen that handles gluten”

Red flags:

• No allergen information at all
• Just “GF” written on packaging
• No way to ask questions or verify ingredients

Cake sheds can be a fun and convenient way to grab a treat, but for coeliacs, they require extra caution.

While they must follow UK food safety and allergen laws, those laws focus on providing information, not guaranteeing a gluten free, coeliac-safe environment. Remember to check the legality of the sheds, there is so many popping up that aren't registered thinking they can get round the overhead costs.

Always check, ask questions where possible just like you would when eating out at a restaurant, and don’t assume “gluten free” automatically means safe.