In the UK and EU you can identify gluten removed gluten free beers that have been made from barley as the label must state ‘contains barley’ as barley is a cereal containing gluten which is one of the 14 allergens in EU legislation and means it must be declared on the label.

In the USA, the FDA does not approve of the R5 Competitive ELISA test method for the quantitation of gluten in beer that is produced from a gluten containing grain, so they highlight that the beer has been ‘processed/crafted to remove gluten.’ This gives the USA consumer the information that a beer is made with a gluten containing grain where the gluten has been removed. Also in the USA, barley is not one of the 8 allergens that must be highlighted on the label according to US legislation.

We are also asking producers to provide additional information to help you make an informed choice. On beers advertised with Coeliac UK or listed in our Food and Drink Information you will see one of the following statements:

1.    Our gluten free beers are made from gluten containing grains where the gluten has been removed.

OR

2.    Our gluten free beers are made from ingredients that do not contain gluten.