Whether you’re like me and have been gluten-free for years or you’re just getting started with the diet, having to read labels is a chore. I don’t mind that it has made me more aware of what’s in the food I’m eating and has helped me make healthier choices, but sometimes it’s just a pain.
Recently I was reminded that it’s important to read labels on everything, every time. Reading small print has become difficult for me as I have aged. I always have my reading glasses out when I’m grocery shopping, but some of the print is so small it’s frustrating! So I admit, I sometimes scan labels pretty quickly, and it is possible to miss things.
While it wasn’t anything that made me sick (that I know of), I recently took a closer look as my vitamin bottles. I found that one contained 30 mg. of soy (it was a women’s formula). Soy does not contain gluten, but it is something I try to avoid for other reasons, and here I was taking it in a supplement.
The other vitamin contained a phytonutrient blend and that blend included barley grass. Technically, grasses are gluten free because gluten is found in the grain part of the pant, not the grass. But contamination seems highly likely, and I would never intentionally consume barley or wheat grass.
Discovering those two things in my supplements was a good reminder to me. It’s easy to do the same thing with food – to skip reading the label or to skim over it and miss something. Even with products and brands that you have checked before, don’t assume that nothing has changed.
And if you find yourself having symptoms or just feeling not quite right, it’s always a good idea to double check any processed foods and supplements that you consume regularly.
How to read labels to determine if a food contains gluten
Most of the time you can determine from reading a food label if the product is gluten-free and safe for you to eat. Here are the steps I take.
- Look for a certified gluten free symbol. I don’t mean that the package says the food is gluten free, but rather that there is a symbol on the package stating it is certified by an outside company. If so, then it is safe (though it’s not a 100% guarantee and you should look into what the standards are for that certification). If there is no symbol, go to the next step.
- Look for an allergen statement below the ingredients. If it contains wheat, it’s not safe. If wheat is not listed there, go on to the next step.
- Read the list of ingredients looking for wheat, rye, barley, malt, brewer’s yeast, or oats. If it contains any of these (unless the oats are specified gluten free or the source of malt is not barley), then it is not gluten free. If it does not contain these ingredients, the food is likely gluten free, but go on to the next step.
- Look for any statements about the manufacturing process such as “processed on equipment that also processes wheat.” Read about what these statements mean and how I use them.
- Call the manufacturer if you are in doubt or unclear about the information on the label. You can also check web sites. Some companies list their products that are gluten free or do not contain any gluten ingredients.
More Information
If you are on a gluten-free diet for medical reasons, then it’s important to your health to take the time to read labels. I know I slack off on at times, and I’m sure you do too, so this is a reminder for all of us.
I’ve written in more detail in the past about reading labels. You can find those posts here:
- Reading Labels Part 1 – What ingredients you’re looking for
- Reading Labels Part 2 – FALCPA, How I Read a Label
- Reading Labels Part 3 – Cross Contamination and Warning Statements
yes! I had to learn the hard way to scan both the allergen warning and the ingredient list. thankfully though, my hubby and i are able to eat foods that are produced in a factory where evil gluten is also. But, i do try to avoid it. No sense it pushing our poor sensitive stomachs over the line. thanks for sharing this!
Inevitably, I leave my reading glasses home. 🙂 Boy, that print is so small. Yes, when in doubt, I have even called the 800 number on the label right there from the store. I’ve found that most manufacutrers don’t mind answering whether their product is gluten free. Thanks, Linda.
It is definitely difficult to read labels with the small print. I believe that’s one reason that some folks mistakenly started reading only the “CONTAINS” allergen statement, if one was present. Those usually are all caps and bolded which makes for easier reading (even without any needed glasses) but doesn’t give the complete picture as you say. I don’t think that all gf consumers know that companies have a choice of showing the 8 major allergens in the allergen statement OR in the ingredients listing, so it’s a good reminder to everyone to read everything related to ingredients.
With barley grass and wheat grass, the main concern is if the grass was harvested before the seed (which contains the protein, the gluten) is formed. I know you know that, Linda, but wanted to mention it for others reading. Therefore, most celiac/NCGS experts see consuming these grasses to be too risky. I won’t ingest anything that contain such grasses. And, of course, as you state, cross contact is a concern as well. Some of the supplements with grasses are labeled gluten free, but as we know from the probiotics information shared from Columbia Celiac Center a while back, a gluten-free label on a supplement is not much of a guarantee that it really is gluten free. (And we’re seeing that concern with other products, not just supplements, of course.)
Thanks for the reminder, Linda. We really can’t enough of these!
Shirley
So true! I have 2 boys on the autism spectrum, so we’re gluten- and dairy-free for them, although we do have some non-GFCF foods in the house (mostly b/c the GFCF versions are just SO expensive, but also b/c DH refuses to totally give up his regular foods!); I’m the main enforcer of the diet, and also the main grocery shopper, but I’ve learned … and re-learned … the importance of CAREFULLY reading the ingredients of each food, each time. (Now, if I could just get DH & my other 2 boys to get totally on board …)