Manufacturers & retailers FAQs

We publish an annual Food and Drink DirectoryOur annual Directory of gluten-free food and drink which manufacturers voluntarily submit to. which lists thousands of foods you can eat, and a gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. checklist which are free to Members. You can order publications from our online shop.

If your products meet our criteria, they can be listed in our Food and Drink DirectoryOur annual Directory of gluten-free food and drink which manufacturers voluntarily submit to. . The Directory lists around 10,000 food and drink products.

Inclusion in the Directory is free of charge. The Directory is printed annually and updates are provided to Members on a monthly basis. These not only include deleted items which are no longer gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. , but also additional products which are new on the market. Please contact fdd@coeliac.org.uk for the correspondence detailing how to submit your products. You can also buy a copy of this years Food and Drink Directory from our shop.

Most people with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. can eat oats but the main problem is that many of them are contaminated with wheat, rye or barley during processing. A very small number of people are still sensitive to pure oats. There are however, a very small number of people with coeliac disease who may still be sensitive to pure, uncontaminated oat products. Oats and oat products that are not contaminated are listed in the Oats chapter of our current Food & Drink Directory.Visit our labelling legislation page for information on the labelling of oats.

Coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. is not the same as an allergy to wheat. Coeliac disease is an autoimmuneA reaction to a trigger which causes the body to attack itself. disease, which means that the body produces antibodiesExist in the blood and are used by the immune system to attack viruses or bacteria. that attack its own tissues. For people with coeliac disease this attack is triggered by glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. , a protein found in wheat, rye and barley. Some people with coeliac disease are also sensitive to oats. Our sections on coeliac disease and the gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. diet and lifestyle include a lot of information which you may find useful.

With a growing MembershipIf you have been diagnosed with coeliac disease then you can become a Member of Coeliac UK. of around 55,000 people, we will give you access to a large proportion of the diagnosed coeliac community.  We can help you promote your products through our print and electronic services and face to face through our highly popular Food Fairs around the country. For more information see our Media pack or contact our commercial team. 

Not yet.  The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICENational Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence - an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health and preventing and treating ill health. NICE had produced a clinical guideline on the recognition and assessment of coeliac disease.) published the new guideline on the recognition of coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. in children and adults in England and Wales on 27 May 2009. However in Scotland, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) who develop guidelines for the National Health Service (NHSNational Health Service) in Scotland, have not yet produced guidelines on coeliac disease.

Spelt is an ancient strain of wheat and is not suitable for people with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. .

There are some ingredients which are made from a cereal containing glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. but the grain does not have to be listed on the ingredients list. This is because the level of processing has removed the gluten. The European Commission has worked with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSAEuropean Food Safety Authority - conducts risk assessments regarding food safety for the EU, and provides independent scientific advice.) to develop a list of these ingredients which are exempt from the allergenSomething which causes an allergic reaction. labelling legislation.The following ingredients are safe for people with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. ;

• glucose syrups made from wheat or barley, including dextrose
• wheat-based maltodextrins
• distilled ingredients made from cereals which contain gluten, for example, alcoholic spirits

This is a specially processed wheat starch which has a level of glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. within the Codex standardThe standard by which gluten-free foods are measured. All gluten-free products need to get to below a certain limit to be considered either gluten-free or very low gluten. . The Codex wheat starchA specially manufactured kind of wheat starch that has been washed to reduce the level of gluten to a trace level within the Codex standard. ingredient was first introduced as a basis for the staple gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. substitute products like flour and bread to improve the quality and texture of the products. It must always appear in an ingredients list if it has been used.

Everyone with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. is different in terms of their level of sensitivity to glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. . Most people with coeliac disease can tolerate a low level of gluten without ill effects. However, some people are more sensitive and can only safely eat foods with less than 20ppm of gluten.

The new dual standard will provide safer limits overall and also help people with coeliac disease to make clearer choices on products they buy. The term gluten-freeWhen a food has less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten so it is safe for people with coeliac disease to eat. will only be used on products with less than 20ppm which will be safe for people with greater sensitivity to gluten.

Coeliac UK’s offices are at 3^rd Floor, The Apollo Centre, Desborough Road, High Wycombe, Bucks, HP11 2QW.

Our Edinburgh office is at Citibase Edinburgh,1  St Colme Street, Edinburgh, EH3 6AA. Tel. 0131 220 8342