How to Read Food Labels When You Have Coeliac Disease: A Gluten Free Guide

Living with coeliac disease means staying constantly vigilant about what is safe to eat and that includes reading food labels carefully every single time. That includes products you have eaten before, things can change! Even products labelled “gluten free” can sometimes be confusing if you’re newly diagnosed or unsure what the different terms and regulations mean. I've now been gluten free for 11 years, so like to think I have learnt a thing or two over the years, so here’s a helpful guide on what coeliacs should look out for when shopping or checking ingredients.

What does “gluten free” actually mean in the UK?
By law in the UK for a product to be labelled as “gluten free,” it must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten. This very small amount has been deemed safe for people with coeliac disease, based on scientific research. You can read more around that on Coeliac UK's website.

This means you can safely eat products that carry an official “gluten free” label, even if the ingredients include things like barley malt extract or barley malt vinegar, like Oxo gluten free stock pots do, as the final product tests below that 20ppm threshold. This is something that often causes confusion, the presence of barley doesn’t automatically make a food unsafe, there are processes that can remove gluten so it falls below the 20ppm level. In instances like this, where a product is labelled gluten free but still contains barley, it is being highlighted for those with an allergy to barley where trace amounts could trigger an allergic reaction or anaphylaxis, it still needs to be highlighted for that purpose, from a Coeliac level it is safe to consume.

By UK laws there are also such thing as gluten free oats. I'll come to oats more shortly!

Different countries have different rules though, this is just what UK laws dictate, Australia for example work to a 3ppm threshold and no such thing as gluten free oats.

Allergen labelling
Thanks to UK food labelling laws, if a product contains a cereal that has gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oat or spelt), it must be clearly highlighted in the ingredients list, this is usually in bold but it could also be capitalised or italics. This helps you quickly spot any unsafe ingredients.

Remember, the term GLUTEN FREE trumps anything, if it is labelled gluten free, then by UK laws it IS gluten free.

However, always check every time you buy, recipes and suppliers can change without warning, and a product that was safe last month might not be now!

By law allergens CANNOT be hidden in UK food products. I know another area that can cause confusion is yeast extract and soy sauce. Both can be gluten free, it depends what it is derived from. If it is derived from wheat, barley etc it will say, by law it has too! It will usually be highlighted in brackets next to the particular ingredient (for example "yeast extract (barley)"). Products like Marmite and many supermarket own brand yeast extracts usually contain barley extract which means they won't be safe unless carrying the gluten free label. Tesco own brand yeast extract is gluten free though, if you are looking for one.

Oh, and don’t get caught out by highlighted allergens that aren’t gluten. One thing that often confuses people with coeliac disease, especially when newly diagnosed, is seeing certain allergens like mustard or milk highlighted in bold on an ingredients list. It’s important to know: while they must be declared as allergens under UK law, mustard and dairy do not contain gluten. So if you see them highlighted, it just means they’re common allergens, not that they’re unsafe for coeliacs (unless, of course, you also have an allergy or intolerance to them). The things you are looking for are in the section below.

Remember BROWS
Remember you absolutely do NOT have to buy just products labelled gluten free. Many products which haven't gone through lab testing are fine. Just remember to check for BROWS and any may contains.

When you’re checking ingredient lists on products that aren’t specifically labelled gluten free, if you are new to coeliac, them remembering the acronym BROWS is a good way of knowing what allergens to look out for.

Barley

Rye

Oats (unless they’re certified gluten free)

Wheat

Spelt (a type of wheat)

These grains all naturally contain gluten and must be avoided. For oats, only choose those clearly marked “gluten free,” as they are processed separately to avoid contamination. The same goes with the others too, if they are in a product labelled gluten free then they fall under the 20ppm level by law.

What’s the deal with gluten free oats?
In the UK and Europe, oats that are specially produced to be gluten free (meaning tested to ensure they contain less than 20ppm of gluten) are grown in dedicated fields and processed to avoid contamination. Gluten free oats can be eaten by most people with coeliac disease, but, according to Coeliac UK, around 10% of coeliac react to gluten free oats.

In other countries, such as in Australia, products containing oats — even if grown and processed to be gluten free — cannot be labelled as “gluten free.” This is because Australian food law uses a stricter definition, anything containing oats must be excluded from “gluten free” claims, regardless of contamination levels.

If you still have symptoms when a gluten free diet is undertaken it is worth considering removing oats, some Coeliacs react to the protein Avenin in them, majority of people are able to tolerate them but for some they are still an issue, whether gluten free or not.

Watch for cross contamination
Even if a food is made from naturally gluten free ingredients, it can still become unsafe if it’s manufactured or prepared alongside gluten containing foods. Look for terms like “may contain gluten,” “produced in a factory handling wheat,” or similar warnings. These aren’t legally required, but many brands add them voluntarily to help consumers decide. FSA are also pushing for stricter laws around may contains so many manufacturers are getting tighter on their labelling.

For people with coeliac disease, cross contamination can be enough to trigger symptoms and damage the gut, so it’s best to avoid products with such warnings if possible. I always go by "if you had 100 glasses and 1 contained poison, would you drink any of them?" That is what a may contain is but with gluten. Many products of the same variety could be fine but one could have got contaminated because there was a risk in the factory be it from shared lines, flour handled in the factory or even from flavour sprays - you won't know until you risk eating it.

Know your labels
If there is one thing I would wholeheartedly push it would be, learn to read labels. Don't rely on apps to do it for you! Things change to often that technology can't keep up with it, or the humans putting in the new info can't keep up and things end up outdated way to often.

Overtime reading labels becomes second nature, just remember everything above.

• Check for BROWS
• If it contains a gluten ingredient, does it state gluten free anywhere? If it does it is safe for Coeliacs, if not then avoid
• If no gluten ingredients then all good on that front
• Are there any may contain warnings?

By UK laws, gluten CANNOT be hidden in food, it legally has to be declared, so if an ingredient is derived from a gluten product then it will state in brackets on the ingredients. This does not apply to imported food so always be super careful with those. On UK food though, following those rules and knowing what to look for will keep your gut healthy!

I hope you find this guide to labelling and how to read them useful, especially if you are new to the gluten free game! Have you picked up any tips along your journey? Let me know in the comments!