Decoding Gluten-Free Labels

Text Carrie!

You know that moment—you pick up a product that looks safe, it says "gluten-free" in bold letters… but something still makes you hesitate.

Can you trust the label? What about that "processed in a facility with wheat" note? What the heck is "malt extract" anyway?

If you’ve ever stood in a grocery aisle Googling ingredients, this episode is for you. Today I’m breaking down how to read gluten-free labels with confidence—so you can spend less time stressing and more time actually enjoying your food!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Quick reminder before we get started on this episode
this podcast is based on mypersonal experiences and isn't
medical advice.
You know that moment you pickup a product that looks safe, it
says gluten-free in boldletters, but something still
makes you hesitate.
Can you trust the label?
What about that process in afacility with wheat?
Note, what the heck is maltextract?

(00:21):
Anyway, if you've ever stood ina grocery aisle Googling
ingredients, this episode is foryou.
Today, I'm breaking down how toread gluten-free labels with
confidence, so you can spendless time stressing and more
time actually enjoying your food.
Welcome to the Gluten-FreeEngineer Podcast.
I'm your host, keri Saunders.
In 2011, I was diagnosed withceliac disease, a moment that

(00:44):
changed everything, but I wasdetermined not to let it hold me
back.
With my two engineering degrees, I set out to reverse engineer
the gluten-free lifestyle,breaking down recipes, safety
tips, travel hacks andeverything in between to rebuild
a life I love.
Whether you have celiac disease, gluten intolerance or simply
choose to live gluten-free, thispodcast is for you.

(01:05):
Join me each week as wesimplify the gluten-free
lifestyle, make it fun and provethat you don't have to miss out
on anything.
Welcome back to the episode.
So today we're talking aboutreading gluten-free labels and
reading labels in general.
And first off we want to talkabout what actually gluten-free
means and what it doesn't.

(01:25):
So in the United Statesgluten-free means that it
contains less than 20 parts permillion of gluten and it cannot
contain wheat, barley, rye orcrossbred hybrids of those
grains.
But it doesn't requirecertification or dedicated
facilities.
So that means just a simplegluten-free label could mean it

(01:47):
could contain more than 20 partsper million of gluten,
potentially, but it's notguaranteed to be above or below.
It's supposed to be at the 20or less.
But if it doesn't say, you know, certified gluten-free, it
doesn't mean that it'scompletely for sure safe.
It doesn't mean that it'scompletely for sure safe.

(02:10):
So certified gluten-free meanstruly gluten free.
It means it's certified bythird-party testing and it's
stricter than FDA standards herein the United States.
So some logos to look for isGFCO and CSA.
Many times you'll see thistraditional gluten-free
certified logo.
It kind of looks like a swirlyG with kind of like an oval
around it, because then it saysgluten-free to the side.

(02:31):
So that's the logo you want tolook for if you're celiac or
highly sensitive tocross-contact of gluten, if
you're gluten intolerant oravoiding gluten, then simply
it's stating gluten-free shouldbe good enough for you again,
unless you are, like supersensitive to cross contact.
So if you're celiac, I highlyrecommend you always look for

(02:53):
the certified gluten-free labelson processed foods.
It's just safer.
You're going to feel better ifyou're making sure that it is
guaranteed less than 20 partsper million of gluten.
Some people are actually evensensitive to smaller amounts
than 20 parts per million.
So you need to know your bodyand work with your doctor there
as well, and so you might wantto avoid processed foods if you

(03:17):
are one that's highly sensitiveand sensitive to like 10 or 5
parts per million, which isgenerally pretty rare, but it's
you know work with your doctoron that to see if that's what
you want.
So the bottom line here isgluten-free does not guarantee
it's safe for everybody,especially those with
cross-contact sensitivities likeceliac disease people and those

(03:38):
super sensitive.
So if you're super sensitive orhave celiac disease, look for
that certified gluten-free labelif it's not an item that's
normally gluten-free, like justapples or fruits or vegetables.
So there's some phrases and redflags we want to watch out for.
So anytime you see made in afacility with wheat that has a

(03:59):
high cross-contact risk and isnot advised for celiac disease
or those who are sensitive tocross-contact risk and is not
advised for celiac disease orthose who are sensitive to cross
contact.
We also want to avoid a made ona shared equipment with wheat.
If you're celiac or highlysensitive to cross contact,
that's a bit more risk than inthe facility type, because that
means that wheat is actually onthose lines at some point in

(04:23):
time and it's made on a sharedequipment and the may contain
traces of wheat can be addedvoluntarily, but it's important
to consider.
So that means that it could beone of the above.
It could be that they don'tthoroughly clean their lines in
between.
So maybe they don't share thesame, maybe share the same
equipment but they do a thoroughjob of cleaning it, but they're

(04:44):
still are, you know.
But they do a thorough job ofcleaning it but they're still
are, you know, kind of likecovering their butt and saying
it might contain traces of wheat.
So that's also not advised ifyou're celiac or highly
sensitive.
And then, obviously, if it sayscontains wheat, barley or rye,
it's definitely a hard no.
So when you're in doubt, it's agreat idea to contact the
company if it's something thatyou really want to try or check

(05:07):
for trusted gluten-freecommunities online around you to
see what others haveexperienced with the product.
So another tricky thing, and Iget a lot of questions about
this from people who are celiacgluten-free or those who are
trying to buy products for thosepeople who need a gluten-free
because they're so confused onwhat actually contains gluten,

(05:28):
because labels don't necessarilysay gluten and you need to
watch out for words like malt,which is usually made from
barley, malt vinegar, too maltextract, malt flavor, barley
Malt.
Vinegar, too Malt extract, maltflavoring.
Anytime it says anything maltrelated, that's almost 99% a
hard no and it comes from barley.

(05:48):
We also want to look out formodified food starch.
Now in the United States thatis safe unless wheat is actually
listed on that product.
So modified food starch ingeneral in the United States
should be safe.
I'm not sure of the regulationsin other countries, but I'd
love to hear your feedback ifyou have information on that.
And then also wheat starch.

(06:09):
This can be specially processedto be gluten-free, but only if
it's labeled as such, so theycan remove all the gluten and
wheat starch potentially, ifthat's what they're trying to do
and that's what they test for.
But that's.
It's just a really big cautionnot to eat anything that says
wheat starch, also hydrolyzedwheat protein.
That is definitely a no tamari.

(06:39):
Then that is definitely a lotsafer and many times there are
some really good tamari brandsout there that are soy sauce
that have no wheat in it, thatare very tasty and a great
substitute if you're notsensitive to soy.
And then we also want to lookfor flavored chips, soups and
gravies and broths.
Those are very common to haveeither malt in it, so a barley
type that might have flour in itto thicken it, especially the

(06:59):
soups and the gravies.
Broth can also have gluten init.
Sometimes I know that I findthat I cannot eat conventional
chicken that has broth injectedinto it because sometimes that
has gluten in it, so I avoid anychicken that has broth added to
it.
So it's something to look outfor.
And actually interesting sidenote is sometimes you'll find a

(07:23):
turkey that has a gravy packetinside the turkey and that is a
definite no.
I can tell you that fromexperience as a celiac.
We thought it was going to beokay.
It was in a sealed packet, butour whole family got sick
Whenever we had that turkey thathad, even though my husband
took out the packet of gravy andtried to thoroughly rinse

(07:45):
everything.
Nope, it was not good enough.
So make sure you're reallycareful when it comes to gravy,
obviously, and even if it's in asealed packet, like it wasn't
that turkey.
And then I personally readlabels by doing the following
First I check for a certifiedgluten-free logo.
If it's got that on there, thenI feel comfortable and I feel

(08:05):
safe.
I have yet to beencross-contaminated or gotten
sick from something that sayscertified gluten-free because
they test routinely, test theirlines and they also routinely
check the ingredients and thingslike that.
I also scan for an allergenwarning.
So if it says contains wheat,then I know it's a definite no.

(08:25):
And then next I will read theingredients list.
If I don't see the certifiedgluten-free logo and I don't see
the warning for it containswheat, then I start reading the
ingredients list.
If I don't see the certifiedgluten-free logo and I don't see
the warning for it containswheat, then I start reading the
ingredients list to look forthose hidden sources, like we
talked about above with the maltand the barley and malt extract
and all those things.
And then I look for the riskstatements.
You know, shared in a sharedfacility or equipment with wheat

(08:49):
, I look for those, and if itsays that, as a celiac, I
definitely say no to that, andif I'm unsure, I just skip it.
You can definitely look it upand call the company if you
would like, but most of the timeI don't have time for that, so
I just skip the product,unfortunately.
So I've trained myself to dothis in less than 30 seconds,
and I'm probably even less thanthat, probably more like 10 or

(09:10):
15.
I'm really good at picking outthose words Now, and I'm
probably even less than that,probably more like 10 or 15.
I'm really good at picking outthose words Now.
Once you get the hang of it andonce you get practice at it,
you're going to find those wordspretty quickly, and so what we
want to do is we want to startwith our brands that you trust
and build from there.
So here's some tips that wewant to work on.
As you're, you know if you'renot too far in this gluten-free
journey, or if you are, but youwant to explore some other items

(09:32):
.
We want to start with thebrands you trust and build from
there.
There are many brands out therethat have only gluten-free
products, and so Ciete would bea brand that I can think of.
That is like that and all theirproducts are safe and all their
products are delicious.
I've not had one product fromthem that isn't delicious.
So start with brands that youtrust and go from there and then

(09:54):
have a safe product list inyour phone for grocery runs.
If you need a little cheatsheet, have that safe product
list in your phone.
Ask companies questions.
You can email them or call them.
I know I've done this,especially for supplements that
I wanted to try Say, I wanted,you know so, a protein powder or
a vitamin supplement and Iwanted to, you know, have that

(10:15):
product because I needed thatnutrient item, that, whether
it's protein or a vitamin but Iwant to make sure that it was
gluten free.
So I have definitely called oremailed companies to make sure
that it's gluten free and safefor me.
You can also join gluten freegroups or crowdsource the
information.
We have an excellentgluten-free group, the
Gluten-Free Engineer on Facebook.

(10:37):
You can just search that andfind us, and then you can also
print or save a gluten-freeingredient cheat sheet and this
is something we're actuallygoing to have on our website.
Check our show notes for thisand you can get a gluten-free
cheat sheet that you can usewhen you're out shopping to make
your life a lot easier.
So let's recap a little bithere.
So gluten-free doesn't alwaysmean safe.

(10:59):
Context definitely matters.
We want to make sure it's notprocessed in a facility that's
processed with wheat, if you'resuper sensitive or celiac.
We want to make sure definitelyit's not on a shared facility,
shared lines, if you're celiacor super sensitive.
The more you do this, theeasier it's going to get.
So practice equals peace ofmind, and listen to your body

(11:20):
every time you try a new food.
I would actually go so far as torecommend, you know, don't try
more than one new gluten-freeprocessed food at a time.
That way you know if it'sbothering you or not.
And trust your gut, literallyand figuratively.
There have been times that I,you know, had a gut check.

(11:41):
Ooh, do I really want to eatthis item?
Mentally gut, a mental to gutcheck there, and I was right to
reread the label.
So, seriously, use your gut,whether it's a literal or a
figurative one, and that's goingto help you keep safe.
So hopefully these tips willhelp you read labels much easier
, much faster.
Make sure you grab thatgluten-free guide that we have

(12:03):
the downloadable PDF.
That's on our website as wellas in the show notes.
We're going to link to it inthe show notes and if this
episode helped you feel moreconfident in the grocery store,
be sure to subscribe to ourpodcast or share it with someone
that you know is also living agluten-free lifestyle.
Thank you for listening to thisepisode of the Gluten-Free
Engineer.
If you found value in thisstory, please share it with

(12:23):
someone who might needencouragement on their own
gluten-free journey.
For more tips, recipes,resources and even links to my
YouTube channel, head on over totheglutenfreeengineercom.
It's your one-stop hub to makegluten-free living simple, fun
and full of flavor.
And don't forget to subscribeso you never miss out on an

(12:44):
episode, and we will see younext week.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
The Gluten-Free Engineerpodcast is for informational and
entertainment purposes only.
I share my personal experiencesand stories about living with
celiac disease and navigating agluten-free lifestyle.
This podcast does not providemedical advice.
Always consult with a qualifiedhealthcare professional for
medical questions, concerns oradvice specific to your health.