Gluten free wheat starch is a specially produced ingredient where the gluten has been removed to a trace level. It is used by some manufacturers to improve the quality and texture of gluten free products. It must always appear in the ingredients list if it has been used. 

Foods containing wheat starch that are labelled gluten free are suitable for all people with coeliac disease. In the past, the Codex standard for labelling for gluten free foods was 200 parts per million, a level that people with coeliac disease could not always tolerate. The law on gluten free must contain no more than 20 ppm. This means that gluten free foods that contain wheat starch should no longer cause a problem for people with coeliac disease. 

Foods that contain wheat starch are highlighted with a blue triangle in the Food and Drink Guide.

If you should have any concern about including products with wheat starch in your diet please speak with your health professional. 

Dextrose is gluten free. It can be made from wheat but the production methods involve a high level of hydrolysation, which means that no gluten is left in the sugars. The final ingredient is gluten free and dextrose can be eaten by people with coeliac disease.

Beer, lagers, stouts and ales contain varying amounts of gluten and are not suitable if you have coeliac disease. Specially manufactured gluten free beers are available, and you can find a list of gluten free beers, lagers and ales in the Drinks section of your Food and Drink Guide, or if you are a Member, on our online Food and Drink Information and our Live Well Gluten Free app.

Find out more about how gluten free beer and how it's made by clicking here.

Please remember that alcohol can have side effects whether or not you have coeliac disease. Check out Drink Aware for more information.

This advice has been discussed and continues to be approved by Coeliac UK’s Food Standards Committee, April 2020. 

There are currently no proposals to amend services in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. The consultation only covers England.

Maltodextrin is gluten-free. It can be made from a variety of cereal starches including wheat, corn (maize), tapioca and rice. Despite the name, maltodextrins are not produced from, nor do they contain barley malt. Even when maltodextrin has been made from wheat, the grain is processed to remove the gluten.

We understand having coeliac disease is not a choice, and that under its constitution, the NHS should be providing a comprehensive services available to all and that access is based on clinical need and not an ability to pay. This is what we are arguing for.

However, the government is insisting that savings must be made within the NHS. As the government has made a decision that gluten free food is an area where efficiencies can be found, we need to present strong arguments that show patient need and how prescribing can be more efficient. We have done this by presenting options for improved NHS procurement and management.

If we fail to convince the government of the validity of our arguments, we must be prepared to say that there are some very vulnerable patients whose health will be at risk if clinical discretion is not allowed.  

We no longer list fast food restaurants in the Food and Drink Guide. We have a separate resource, the Venue Guide, which lists restaurants that are able to cater for people with coeliac disease. Visit www.coeliac.org.uk/venueguide

Allergen information for McDonalds and Burger King can be found on their websites.

Yes there is. There are Two Sections because of legislation which came into effect in January 2012. Read more about the law here.

Section 1 lists food that comply with this legislation and Section 2 lists foods that are made without gluten containing ingridients. We have included more information on what's included in each section within the introductory pages of the Food and Drink Guide on pages 4, 12 and 89. 

We have also improved index so you know straight away what section the product you are searching for is listed in. Section 1 products are identified with black page numbers and section 2 products are in orange.

We don’t have information on own brand products from Booths, Budgens, Iceland or Lidl.  If you would like information on the gluten free products sold in these supermarkets, please contact their customer services team directly. If you are unsure whether you can eat a particular product you can check the label. For more information on reading labels please visit www.coeliac.org.uk/labels.

Booths
0800 221 8707
www.booths.co.uk

Budgens
0800 298 0758
www.budgens.co.uk

Iceland
0800 328 0800
www.iceland.co.uk

Lidl
0800 977 7766
www.lidl.co.uk