Living Gluten Free

Ingredients and Additives Containing Gluten

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

Ale/Beer
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

Legumes and Beans

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

Bean Paste (possible preservatives)
Tofu (gluten content unknown)

Starches / Cereals

Bagel
Baguette
Barley
Bran
Biscuit
Bread, white/wheat/rye
Buckwheat
Bulgur
Cornbread
Cornbread, packaged
Couscous

Crackers, saltine
Crackers, graham
Croutons, plain
English muffin
Wheat flour
Hoagie Roll
Melba toast, plain
Malts
Matzo
Millet
Rye
Semolina

Noodles, Ramen
Oats
Orzo
Pasta, dry
Potato products, frozen
Tortilla, flour, 6-inch
Barley, dry
Cereal, oatmeal
Cereal, cream of wheat
Cereal, Kellogg’s All Bran Flakes
Quinoa

Dairy2

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

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)

Fats

Sweets

Mayonnaise, reduced calorie
(May contain vinegar)
Pam vegetable spray4
(Grain alcohol)
Sour cream, reduced calorie
(May contain maltodextrin)

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)

Miscellanous3

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. Safety will vary by producer. Many producers, such as Maytag, do certify they are gluten free and no longer use bread products to produce their Bleu cheese.

2. Some prepackaged shredded cheeses do contain small amounts of flour to prevent the product from sticking. Check the label carefully.

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.