Living Gluten Free
If you have Celiac Disease or are allergic to wheat gluten, you need to know what foods and ingredients are likely to contain wheat gluten. Which ingredients should you avoid? Here’s a list of common ingredients and additives that contain wheat gluten. Download this list in PDF format.
Please note that ingredients can sometimes change and that this list is not necessarily a list of all possible foods that may contain wheat gluten. It’s important for you to do your own label-checking!
General |
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| Ale / Beer (Gluten free beers are widely available but most common lagers, ales and stouts are made with wheat, barley, rye or other gluten containing grains.) Brown rice syrup Canned baked beans Cereal additives Condiments made with grain distilled vinegar Cooking sprays that contain grain alcohol4 Dextrin Duram Einkorn Emmer Emulsifiers Excipients Far Farina Fillers Fried food in restaurants Gluten stabilizers Graham Granary Herbal teas made with malted barley Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP) |
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) Kamut Mir Modified food starch Most white pepper Oat gum Oatrim Oils not pure Olestra Packaged pudding Replace Some alcohol based extracts Some canned tuna Some cheese spreads and dips Some colorings Some commercial candies Some commercial salad dressings Some corn syrups Some flavorings Some ground spices Some ice creams Some mustard powder Some preservatives Some sherbets |
Vegetables |
Meats |
| Black- eyed peas, canned (may contain hydrolyzed wheat protein) Pepper, chipotle in Adobo sauce, canned (gluten content unknown) Spaghetti/Marinara sauce (check ingredients) |
Bacon, pork, cooked Bacon, imitation Fish, tuna, canned (may contain vegetable broth containing wheat) Freeze-dried meats Processed meats Prosciutto (gluten content unknown) Seafood, imitation |
Starches / Cereals |
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| Bagel Baguette Barley Bran Biscuit Bread, white/wheat/rye Buckwheat7 Bulgur7 Cornbread Cornbread, packaged Couscous Crackers, saltine Crackers, graham Croutons, plain English muffin Wheat flour Hoagie Roll Melba toast, plain |
Malts Matzo Millet7 Rye Semolina Noodles, Ramen Oats7 Orzo Pasta, dry Potato products, frozen Tortilla, flour Barley, dry Cereal, oatmeal7 Cereal, cream of wheat Cereal, Kellogg’s All Bran Flakes Quinoa7 |
Dairy2 |
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| Cheese, blue (Veined cheese1)(actually safe; evidence here) Cheese, cottage, low fat (Modified food starch) Cheese, fontina (Check for rennet) Cheese, goat (Check for rennet) Cheese, mozzarella, fresh (May contain vinegar) Cheese, parmigiano-reggiano (Check for rennet) Cheese, pecorino-romano (Check for rennet) Cheese, ricotta, reduced fat (May contain vinegar) |
Cool Whip (Modified food starch) Creamers, non-dairy Egg substitute (May contain unidentified vegetable gums) Ice Cream (May contain alcohol flavorings) Milk, soy (Usually O.K., check ingredients) Sour cream, non fat (May contain maltodextrin) |
Beverages |
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| Ale / Beer (Grain – Unless specified gluten free) Bourbon (Grain) Chocolate milk, commercial (liquid) Cocoa mixes (dry) Gin Grand Marnier (unknown gluten content) |
Ovaltine and similar malted beverages Root Beer (Modified food starch) Sherry (unknown gluten content) Triple Sec (unknown gluten content) Vodka (Grain) Whiskey Wine (U.S. wines are gluten-free) |
Sweets |
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| Chocolate, bakers, bittersweet (Gluten-free if pure) Cocoa, dry, powered (Gluten-free if pure, not a mix) Graham crackers (Wheat) Pie, apple (Wheat flour) |
Pudding (Modified food starch) Sherbet (Check ingredients) Splenda (safe if manufactured in the United States) Wafer, Chocolate (Wheat) |
Fats |
Legumes and Beans |
| Mayonnaise, reduced calorie (May contain vinegar) Pam vegetable spray4 (Grain alcohol) Sour cream, reduced calorie (May contain maltodextrin) |
Bean Paste (possible preservatives) Tofu (gluten content unknown) |
Miscellanous3 |
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| Capers (contains vinegar) Chutney (Gluten content unknown) Curry Powder (Contains flour to prevent clumping) Harissa Sauce (Gluten content unknown) Jerk rub (Gluten content unknown) Soy sauce (often contains wheat) Vanilla extract (May include grain alcohol) |
Vinegar, cider6 (May include grains) Vinegar, malt (Malt) Walnut extract (Gluten content unknkown) Worcestershire sauce5 (Distilled grain vinegar, hydrolyzed protein) Instant dry yeast or yeast extract (Dry, active yeast is gluten-free) |
May include distilled grain vinegar: |
May contain flour to prevent clumping: |
| Horseradish Ketchup6 Mustard Pickle, dill Pickle, gherkin Relish |
Allspice Cajun spice Cardamom, ground Cayenne pepper Chili powder Cinnamon, ground Cloves, ground Cumin Garam Marsala Garlic powder Ginger, ground Marjoram, ground Nutmeg, ground Seven spice seasoning |
Notes:
1. Blue cheese has been proven through clinical testing to be gluten-free.
2. Some prepackaged shredded cheeses do contain small amounts of flour to prevent the product from sticking. Check the label carefully or shred your own from blocks of unadulterated cheese.
3. Fresh herbs and spices are safe. In a ground and packaged form, use caution as some manufacturers do use trace amounts of flour to prevent the product from caking. Most major manufacturers, such as McCormick, do state their single herb or spice products are gluten and additive free.
4. Many commercial spray oils use grain alcohol as a propellant. Check the label carefully, or purchase a pump sprayer and fill yourself.
5. Lea & Perrins states that their Worcestershire products are gluten free, but ONLY the product distributed in the U.S. Other brands should be checked carefully for malt vinegar.
6. Heinz states that their brand of Red Wine Vinegar, Distilled White Vinegar, Apple Cider Vinegar, and Apple Cider Flavored Vinegar are gluten free, as are all of their varieties of Heinz Ketchup. Also gluten-free are Heinz Organic Ketchup, One Carb Ketchup, No Sodium Added Ketchup, and Heinz Hot & Spicy Kick’rs.
7. Many grains and flours are processed in factories that also mill wheat and other gluten-containing flours and cross-contamination could be an issue. Check the package to see if this has been certified gluten free.
