A quick guide to reading labels

If you’re newly diagnosed, walking down the shopping aisle may seem a little daunting. When you pick up a product and turn it over to read the information on the back you might even have a small panic attack, I definitely did for a while after I started shopping for myself.

Reading and understanding the labels on the back of your food products is the best way to protect yourself from being accidentally glutened. Yikes! We don’t want to go there, never, ever again.

Products that are suitable for a Coeliac can be separated into a few categories; fresh fruit and vegetables which are naturally gluten free. These are a staple in my kitchen. Products that are labelled as gluten free or that have testing shown in the nutrition panel (if you don’t know what that is, we’ll explain in a bit) and those products that don’t contain gluten ingredients but aren’t labelled with the lovely gluten free logo.

I always check the ingredients list on any processed product I buy; it’s become a habit after so long. We’ll focus on the non-gluten free labelled products so that you know what to look for.

The back or sometimes the side of a product will usually contain three or four sections.

  • Ingredient List
  • Allergen Alert
  • Advisory Statements (Or May Contain Statements)
  • Nutrition Panel

The first three are usually close together for ease of consumer use.

The Ingredient List

The ingredient list will notify you of all the ingredients that are included in the product. As a rule they are listed in descending order from the most dominant ingredient in the How to check an ingredients list on a label for gluten free product.

The example provided shows a gluten free by ingredient product but not gluten free labelled product. If you have trouble remembering all the numbers and ingredients that are safe for you to eat then investing in an ingredient app may be helpful. There are several available on the market in both free and paid versions.

My favourite is the Coeliac Society app; although it does cost $9.49AUD it provides me more peace of mind than the free versions. You can get it from both Google Play or Itunes. A similar but free alternative is the gluten free guide by application studies. You can find this on both Google Play or Itunes as well.

The Allergen AlertIngredients Panel Allergens

In addition to the ingredients, you can typically find allergen alerts underneath the ingredient list. Although, these won’t always be there, if they are used any of the major allergies that the product contains will be listed here.

This is a good first port of call to check if a product contains wheat or gluten.

 

Advisory StatementsIngredient Panel May Contain Statement

While not mandatory, this is a very important section. The advisory statements let you know if the product could have possibly come in contact with any ingredients that contain an allergen. This cross-contamination could be due to process lines, harvesting cross contamination, storage or travel conditions that have led to a possible contamination. Unfortunately as stated by the Coeliac Society; any product that has a may contain or may have been contaminated statement of gluten is unsafe for consumption by any person with Coeliac Disease. This sadly rules out Cadbury chocolate blocks as their new redesigned packaging contains a may contain wheat statement.

 

Nutrition PanelFinding the gluten testing section on an nutritional panel

In all honesty, I am not someone who searches for the healthiest foods, if I want mac and cheese, I get myself gluten free mac and cheese. So it is not often that I check the Nutrition Panel. If I do have a read it is usually to compare two products or to check for a gluten detected line. The gluten detected line means that the manufacturer has paid for gluten testing and has provided you with the results.

 

 

In terms of reading labels that is really all there is to it; see not all that scary. Unfortunately, it can be a bit confusing to start with and a bit hard to remember to do. After practice and time, I promise it’ll become second nature. Even Brody does it now.

Ashlee.

 

20 thoughts on “A quick guide to reading labels

  1. 1 star
    Appreciating the commitment you put into your website and detailed information you present.
    It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material.
    Excellent read! I’ve bookmarked your site.

  2. Hi Ashlee – Finding GF sites that are simple to relate are nearly as rare as “all” product that is GF being declared as such. Finding your site was a dream come true. I was first diagnosed Cealiac last year at age 64. Coming from the country where I ate what-ever when ever – I was shattered when diagnosed. Slowly getting a handle on it. Stumbling along sites like yours was super! Where can i get decent bread?????

    1. Hi Phil;
      Bread is always a hard one as everyone has different tastes. If you want really amazing bread then you can’t go past a gluten free bakery.
      I’m not sure what state you are in but for Victoria try – Glazed in Elsternwick, Eat Cannoli in Preston for really amazing bread
      If you are in South Australia – Alby’s Gluten Free Bakery is quite nice.

      If you are in Sydney – Wholegreen Bakery for sure – there bread are stocked in some supermarkets – you can check with them for locations.
      Outside of Sydney I don’t know of much but there is Choices and Imperial bakery I believe.

      Western Australia – Panna Artisan in Palmyra, and there is Strange Grains

      Queensland is a bit harder I haven’t been in ages but will be heading back up this year.

      Tasmania – Again a little tricky but Bizy Bakery in Launceston is good

      ACT – Deeks (they delivery to other states as well)

      Hope this helps. I personally, do the abbott’s rustic white gluten free from Woolies which is nice for everyday use but not my favourite.

      – Ashlee.

  3. Wow, just discovered you 😊 Great.
    My first shopping trip when my daughter was diagnosed 18 years ago, took me over 4 hours !!
    I did have one of the little books from Coeliac Society SA/NT to check all the numbers but I love your explanation and wish you’d been around then.
    Thank hou

  4. Thank you – i work in food safety but more so times, temps etc. my wife was recently diagnosed and am enjoying looking through your site.

  5. Having read this I thought it was rather informative.

    I appreciate you spending some time and energy to put this article together.
    I once again find myself spending a lot of time both reading and leaving comments.

    But so what, it was still worth it!

  6. Everything is very open with a very clear explanation of the challenges of label reading. It was truly informative piece of writing. Your website is very helpful.
    Thanks for sharing!

  7. I am admiring the time and energy you put into your blog and the in depth information you offer.
    It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same out of date rehashed material.

    Great read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my
    Google account.

  8. I’m new to this, I stumbled upon your blog and I have discovered that it is absolutely helpful and has aided
    met loads. I hope that it helps other coeliacs like its helped me. Good job.

  9. Hello there and thank you for your information – I’ve definitely picked up something new from right here. Gluten can really be hidden anywhere, can’t it? It’s almost scary.
    I’m adding this RSS to my e-mail so that I can keep an eye out for more of your work. I Hope you can update us with another post soon.

  10. Hello there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout
    out and tell you I genuinely enjoy reading your blog posts.
    Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal
    with the same topics? Thanks a ton!

  11. Hello there, just became aware of your blog through Google, and I’ve found that it is really informative.
    I’m going to watch out for hidden gluten.
    I hope you continue this in future. A lot of people will be benefited from your writing.

    Cheers!

  12. Good web site you have here. It’s difficult to find quality writing like yours these days.
    I truly appreciate individuals like you! Take care!

  13. Having read this I thought it was extremely enlightening.

    I appreciate you finding the time and effort to put the article together.
    I once again find myself personally spending a lot of time both reading and leaving comments.
    But so what, it was still worth it!

    Geniux, Patricia

  14. Its like you read my thoughts!
    You appear to grasp so much about this.
    I think that you can do with a few percent to pressure the message home a little bit, but other than that, this is an excellent blog.
    A great read. I will certainly be back.

    Feel free to read my blog post Does Pure Colon Detox Work?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.