Nutrixe
Gluten is found in three cereals: wheat (in all its forms and under all its names), barley and rye, as well as in their hybrids such as triticale. Everything made from them contains it. The rest — rice, corn, potatoes, pulses, meat, fish, fruit, vegetables — contains none by nature, but can pick some up along the way.
That last point is what it’s all about. A list that simply splits foods into “with” and “without” is reassuring, and wrong for someone with coeliac disease. We never say “it’s gluten-free” without saying what remains at risk. Hence three tables rather than two.
Cereals and products that contain gluten
Wheat, under all its names
Wheat is the main source of gluten, and it often changes its name. The word “wheat” doesn’t always appear on the label, or on the menu.
| Food | What it is |
|---|---|
| Common wheat (soft wheat) | The flour in bread, pastries and cakes |
| Durum wheat | Pasta, semolina |
| Semolina | Durum wheat ground into grains |
| Couscous | Rolled durum wheat semolina |
| Bulgur | Pre-cooked, cracked durum wheat |
| Freekeh | Durum wheat harvested green and roasted |
| Spelt (large spelt) | An ancient wheat |
| Einkorn (small spelt) | An ancient wheat |
| Emmer | An ancient wheat |
| Kamut (Khorasan wheat) | A variety of durum wheat |
| Farro | The Italian name for three ancient wheats |
| Seitan, wheat gluten, wheat protein | Gluten itself |
| Wheat germ, wheat bran | Parts of the wheat grain |
“Ancient wheats” are marketed as rustic or easy to digest: for someone with coeliac disease, they are still wheat. We go through these false friends in detail in seitan, kamut, couscous, bulgur.
Barley, rye, triticale
| Food | What it is |
|---|---|
| Barley (pearl, pot, flakes) | A gluten-containing cereal distinct from wheat |
| Malt, malt extract, malt vinegar | Usually sprouted barley |
| Barley beer | Made from barley malt |
| Rye | Rye bread, traditional French gingerbread (pain d’épices), some crackers |
| Triticale | A cross between wheat and rye |
Products made from them
As a result, the following contain gluten unless labelled “gluten-free”: bread and rusks, pasta, viennoiseries, cakes, biscuits, pizzas, tarts, quiches, wheat crêpes, doughnuts, breadcrumbs and breaded coatings, breakfast cereals made with wheat or malt, rye crispbreads.
Naturally gluten-free foods
These contain no gluten by nature. This table tells you what the plant or animal contains, not what happens at the mill or in the kitchen.
| Family | Foods |
|---|---|
| Gluten-free cereals | Rice (all varieties), corn, millet, sorghum, fonio |
| Pseudo-cereals | Buckwheat, quinoa, amaranth |
| Other seeds and flours | Teff, chestnut, cassava (tapioca) |
| Tubers | Potatoes, sweet potatoes, cassava |
| Pulses | Lentils, chickpeas, beans, split peas, soya |
| Fruit and vegetables | All, fresh, plain |
| Nuts and seeds | Almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, pumpkin, flax and sesame seeds |
| Meat, poultry, fish, seafood | Fresh and unprocessed |
| Eggs | All |
| Plain dairy products | Milk, butter, cream, plain yogurt, cheese |
| Fats | Oils, butter |
Buckwheat, despite its French nickname of “black wheat”, has nothing to do with wheat. Rice, corn and quinoa are gluten-free by nature, but not necessarily in the packet: contamination along the supply chain — a neighbouring field, the silo, the mill, bulk bins — is common. For a strict coeliac diet, choose flours and grains labelled “gluten-free”.
Foods to check
This is the most useful column, and the one simple lists forget. These foods don’t necessarily contain gluten, but they often do, without their name giving it away.
| Food | Why check |
|---|---|
| Oats | Frequent contamination; avenin poorly tolerated by some coeliacs |
| Beer | Usually made from barley; “gluten-free” and “gluten-removed” don’t mean the same thing |
| Brewer’s yeast, yeast extract | Sometimes derived from brewing yeast, and therefore from barley |
| Sauces (soy, béchamel, thickened sauces) | Soy sauce is often brewed with wheat; thickened with flour |
| Stocks and bases | Flour, malt extract or yeast extract possible |
| Cured and processed meats | Binders, breadcrumbs, flour in some recipes |
| Ready meals, soups | Thickening flour, pasta, breading |
| Spice and seasoning blends | Flour possible as a carrier or anti-caking agent |
| Breadcrumbs, coatings, fried food | Almost always wheat; shared fryer at restaurants |
| Processed cheese, dairy desserts, flavoured yogurts | Added ingredients: thickeners, biscuits, cereals |
| Sweets, filled chocolates, ice cream | Biscuits, malt, wafers |
| Wheat starch | Allowed in a “gluten-free” product if purified below the threshold, to be avoided otherwise |
| Maltodextrin, wheat glucose syrup | Derived from wheat, but exempt from allergen labelling |
The rule for anything processed: the label is what counts. In Europe, wheat, barley, rye and oats are among the allergens that must be highlighted in the ingredient list. We explain how to read it in our label guide, and what traces warnings are really worth.
The case of oats
Oats deserve a section of their own, because they fit in neither column.
They don’t contain wheat gluten: their protein is called avenin. But regular oats are grown in rotation with wheat and barley, and harvested, stored and milled with the same machinery. The result: regular oats are very often contaminated, and are not suitable for a coeliac diet.
There are oats from certified “gluten-free” supply chains, controlled from field to packet. They solve the contamination problem. They don’t solve the avenin problem: some people with coeliac disease react to oats, even certified ones. Introducing them is therefore something to discuss with your doctor, rather than to decide from a list. An establishment can be sincerely 100% gluten-free and cook with oat flour: the question is worth asking.
Naturally gluten-free doesn’t mean gluten-free on the plate
A steak, rice, a potato contain no gluten. A breaded steak, rice cooked in stock, chips cooked in the same fryer as the doughnuts — they do.
Cross-contamination carries gluten from one food to another: airborne flour in a kitchen, a shared board and knife, reused pasta water, a shared toaster, frying oil. It sometimes starts before the kitchen, at the mill or in the silo. And you can’t see it: an invisible amount is enough to trigger a reaction in someone with coeliac disease.
That’s why the real question is never just “does this food contain gluten?”, but also “where has it been?”.
What the labels on the packaging say
In the European Union, two claims are governed by Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014:
- “gluten-free”: no more than 20 mg of gluten per kilo;
- “very low gluten”: no more than 100 mg/kg.
A product labelled “gluten-free” meets a threshold that can be checked. A product made from naturally gluten-free ingredients, but without this label, guarantees nothing about contamination: it is probably safe for someone who avoids gluten for comfort, but not necessarily for someone with coeliac disease.
In short
- Contain gluten: wheat under all its names (spelt, kamut, einkorn, emmer, durum wheat, semolina, couscous, bulgur, seitan…), barley and malt, rye, triticale.
- Naturally gluten-free: rice, corn, buckwheat, quinoa, millet, sorghum, amaranth, teff, potatoes, pulses, meat, fish, eggs, fruit, vegetables, plain dairy products.
- To check: oats, sauces, stocks, processed meats, ready meals, spice blends, beer, brewer’s yeast, breadcrumbs.
- Oats: contaminated outside certified supply chains, and poorly tolerated by some coeliacs even when certified.
- Naturally gluten-free ≠ gluten-free on the plate: the supply chain and the kitchen matter as much as the food itself.
This information does not replace medical advice. How strict you need to be depends on your situation: if you have coeliac disease, talk to your doctor or to a patients' association such as Coeliac UK.
