Food and Drink Directory 2012 FAQs

No. You do not have to limit yourself to products listed in the Food and Drink DirectoryOur annual Directory of gluten-free food and drink which manufacturers voluntarily submit to. .

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 is made up of naturally glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -free foods such as fruit and vegetables, meat, fish and poultry, eggs, cream, milk, rice, potatoes, pulses and beans. Other foods available include gluten-free substitute products you can get on prescription, supermarket ‘free from’ aisles and health food stores. Also you can eat processed foods which happen to be gluten-free such as ready meals, sauces and yoghurts.

You can tell whether a pre-packed food is gluten-free by reading the ingredients list. All pre-packaged food bought in the UK are covered by the current EU-wide food labelling legislation. This means that any ingredients which contain gluten and is used as a deliberate ingredient in a product must be listed on the ingredients list, no matter how much is used. Manufacturers will name the particular grain for example; wheat, rye, barley, oats, or some will use the word gluten as well, such as, wheat gluten. This information must be declared in the ingredients list, whereas the allergy advice box is only a recommendation and is not compulsory. Therefore it is important to check both the ingredients list and the allergy advice box.

It is very important that you update your Food and Drink DirectoryOur annual Directory of gluten-free food and drink which manufacturers voluntarily submit to. . We provide monthly updates to keep your Food and Drink Directory up-to date. You can update your Food and Drink Directory by the following methods listed on page 9 of the 2012 Directory;

• on our website www.coeliac.org.uk
• by following the links on the electronic newsletter, eXGOur online email newsletter which is sent to our Members each month.
• on Ceefax, BBC2, Page 657, for one week commencing the first Monday of each month
• on digital text service on BBC, by going to News, then Community Pages, then Wellbeing (on some of the pages it's necessary to scroll down to the next page to make the selection), for one week commencing the first Monday of each month
• via 24-hour recorded message on 0845 305 2060, by selecting option 1
• via post – please call 0845 305 2060 to request a copy

Unfortunately, Mars do not provide us with information for listing in the Directory. We would advise you to contact Mars directly if you are concerned about a particular product on 0845 045 0042 or via their website www.mars.co.uk

The breakfast cereals containing barley malt extractIs widely used in a food as a flavour enhancer. It depends on the quantity used as to whether or not people with coeliac disease can eat food that contains it. in Section 1 contain a very small amount of barley malt extract as a flavouring and are tested to make sure that they only contain a level of glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. which can be included in 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. diet (20 parts per million or less).

Manufacturers sometimes change their ingredients without notifying us. If you do find that a product in the Directory is not 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. , please do contact us on 0845 305 2060, so that we can investigate.

Since we de-listed Bisto Best from the Directory in September 2008, we have been in discussions with Premier Foods about their Bisto Best gravy granules. Although all the ingredients in the gravy granules had not changed, Premier Foods were unable to confirm that the product was not contaminated due to changes in packaging sites.

Due to continued pressure from Coeliac UK & our Members, Premier Foods carried out extensive testing and risk assessment to determine the levels of glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. contamination in the product. Premier Foods provided substantial test results that confirm that the gravy granules contain a very low level of gluten within the safe levels for people with coeliac diseaseA condition where a person is unable to eat gluten as it makes their body attack itself. (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. ).

We therefore list Bisto Best gravy granules in the Food and Drink DirectoryOur annual Directory of gluten-free food and drink which manufacturers voluntarily submit to. .

Please be aware that the jars still have a ‘may contain’ statement but we have confirmed the product is suitable.

The way that people use the Food and Drink DirectoryOur annual Directory of gluten-free food and drink which manufacturers voluntarily submit to. varies between individuals. We list the supermarket own-brands separately as many Members only go to one or two supermarkets and so all of their own-brand products are listed in one place.

Yes. Whilst the products listed in Section 2 are not labelled 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. , the products in Section 2 are made without glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -containing ingredients and the manufacturers have taken steps to control cross contaminationWhen food that is gluten-free comes into contact with food that has gluten in it, and so is no longer gluten-free. with gluten.

Section 2 lists foods made without glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -containing ingredients and with controls in place to minimise the risk of cross contaminationWhen food that is gluten-free comes into contact with food that has gluten in it, and so is no longer gluten-free. with gluten-containing ingredients.

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

• Mainstream foods you find on the supermarket shelves such as soups, sauces and ready meals made without gluten-containing ingredients
• Supermarket own-brand foods
• Non-specialist foods that are not labelled 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. .

Unfortunately Wrigley's did not provide us with a list of products for this years Directory. Many of their products may still be suitable and you can check this by reading the label.

All pre-packaged foods bought in the UK are covered by EU-wide allergenSomething which causes an allergic reaction. labelling legislation. This means that a glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -containing ingredient used as a deliberate ingredient in a product must appear on the ingredients list, regardless of the amount used.

Manufacturers must name the particular grain i.e. ‘wheat’, ‘rye’, ‘barley’, ‘oats’; or some will use the word ‘gluten’ as well i.e. ‘wheat gluten’.

This information must be declared in the ingredients list so it is always important to check the ingredients list to assess suitability of a product. Some manufacturers also use an allergy advice box to highlight the presence of gluten in a product. This is not compulsory but also helps in selection of products on 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. diet.

Proctor & Gamble have informed us that due to increased popularity they are now having to import some Pringles products from the US. These imported products are not tested for glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. and therefore are not labelled 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. .

Pringles produced in Europe are tested and currently state in the ingredients list they contain 'wheat starch (gluten-free)'. These products are still suitable to consume but Proctor & Gamble have advised us that this labelling will be phased out over the next year or so.

As there will now be a mixture of products from both US & Europe on the shelves the decision has been made to not list any variety of Pringles in the Directory.

At the moment, Walkers cannot guarantee that any of their crisps are suitable for people following 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. diet.

We have met with Walkers and passed on yours and other Members’ concerns about the changes in labelling on Walkers crisps.

The new law on glutenA protein that is found in the cereals wheat, barley and rye. -free labelling means a strict criteria has to be met if manufacturers want to indicate the suitability of their foods for people with coeliac disease. In order to label ‘gluten-free’ or ‘suitable for coeliacs’ as Walkers was doing, their products would have to test to 20 parts per million or less. As Walkers cannot meet this requirement, they have removed their ‘suitable for coeliacs’ label. In addition, they have added an advisory statement on packs that states that the crisp products have been made in a factory where there are gluten-containing ingredients.

You can contact Walkers directly for more information by calling their careline on 0800 980 8235.