Glucose syrup is gluten free. It can be derived from wheat, however the production methods involve a high level of hydrolysation, meaning there is no significant gluten content in the sugars.

The final ingredient is gluten free and foods with glucose syrups can be eaten by people with coeliac disease.

There are two Sections because of new legislation which came into effect in January 2012.  Read more about the law here.

Section 1 lists foods that comply with this legislation and Section 2 lists foods that are made without gluten containing ingredients. For more information on how the Sections work, see the introduction pages at the front of each Section of the Directory on pages 10 and 161.

Even when cereal that contains gluten is used as an ingredient, all spirits are distilled during the manufacturing process and this process removes any trace of gluten. Therefore, all spirit drinks ( including malt whisky which is made from barely) are safe for people with coeliac disease.

Some foods are naturally gluten free. Foods like meat, fish, eggs, fruit and vegetables are all naturally gluten free and so listing these in the Guide would mean the Guide would be unnecessarily large. We list foods on page 6 of the Guide which are naturally gluten free and produce a gluten free checklist which you may find useful. You can download this from the Gluten free diet and lifestyle section of the website. www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-checklist.

It is important to make sure the Food and Drink Guide is kept up to date. Products do change and many new products are added throughout the year. Our Food and Drink Information and mobile app are updated in real time however monthly updates to the Food and Drink Guide hard copy can also be found:

• on our website www.coeliac.org.uk, ‘Food & drink Updates’
• by following the link on our monthly electronic newsletter

Section 2 listed foods made without gluten-containing ingredients and the manufacturers have controls in place to minimise the risk of cross contamination with gluten-containing ingredients.

You will find the following types of foods in Section 2:

• Everyday foods you find on the supermarket shelves such as soups, sauces and ready meals made without gluten containing ingredients
• Supermarket own brand foods.

Section 1 lists foods that are gluten free. They contain gluten at a level of no more than 20 parts per million (ppm). Products listed here comply with the law on gluten free (European Regulation EU No.828/2014). Foods in this section are tested to make sure they are gluten free.

You will find the following types of foods in Section 1:

• specialist, substitute foods available on prescription
• food carrying the Coeliac UK Crossed Grain symbol

We have thousands of more products labelled gluten free listed on our website and in our Live Well Gluten Free app where you can also view a products ingredients and nutritional information to help you chose suitable products for your diet. 

In England, health policy is localised and in the last 12 months we have taken legal action where a CCG policy presented a blanket ban on gluten free prescribing. Once the results of the consultation are known we will consider next steps. The grounds for making a legal challenge may be very restricted if the implementation of change follows the law on the required consultation approach and appropriate changes in the regulations.