Can you read food labels to check for gluten and other allergens?

I am always genuinely surprised at the number of people who follow a gluten free diet that don't know how to read food packaging labels to check for gluten. There are many food in the that are gluten free that aren't labelled gluten free. It's easy to find them once you know how to correctly check labels for yourself.

We have excellent food labelling laws in Australia, that make it really easy to look for allergens in packaged foods. In Australia FSANZ(http://www.foodstandards.gov.au) is responsible for food labelling.

It's always best to check the label. Have a look at the ingredients list to check for any wheat, rye, barley or oats and their derivatives, also check for a "may contain" statement eg "May contain traces of wheat". If there is no gluten containing ingredients listed and no "may contain" statement for any gluten products then the products is what we call gluten free by ingredient.

http://www.foodstandards.gov.au

#GlutenFree #coeliac #food #labels