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Don't trust allergen labels for gluten!

I've just seen a heartbreaking Facebook post from a coeliac who ate "the viral Dubai chocolate" and is now suffering. She read the ingredients but there was no mention of wheat or gluten.


On the packaging, there's a dodgy ingredient list. Can you spot the problem?

The ingredients and allergens on Kunafa chocolate are incorrect and should state WHEAT.
The price tag's not the only thing that should put you off.

If you look online, the ingredients and allergens are listed as follows:


INGREDIENTS:: Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cocoa butter, Cow’s MILK, PISTACHIO, Non-hydrogenated palm oil, WHEAT (GLUTEN) flour, Vanilla, Emulsifier (vegetable SOY lecithin), Food colour (E140), Flavour (Rose Water).

Milk Chocolate contains 34% minimum cocoa solids.

ALLERGENS: For allergens, see ingredients in bold CAPITAL letters. May contain traces of nuts, seeds, sesame, soya, milk, gluten, eggs, mustard, sulphites.


Here, it's extremely clear that the product isn't suitable for anyone who can't have wheat or gluten. (Admittedly, we could get picky about the may contain being at odds with the ingredients but at least the product has specified wheat and gluten.)

It's not the first time I've seen the UK allergen laws broken.

I've lost count of the number of times I've seen badly labelled food. Take a look at the laughable allergen label on these pretzels.

False information on allergens for a packet of pretzels - they should state wheat and (preferably) gluten

A dodgy product ingredient list is usually on something made outside the UK but that doesn't mean it isn't being sold here.


Let's take a look at some of the confusing labels I've seen in the last couple of years. Here we have a 'naturally gluten-free' snack from Oh Lily. But don't get excited...

Oh Lily tomato & black olive snack - not suitable for coeliacs

When you look at the reverse you'll see this conflicting information:

Made in a factory that handles wheat

Now it may be that there's been product testing to prove it's a gluten-free product. So why not state that "this doesn't affect the gluten-free status of this product"? When I wrote to them to complain, they gave this rather poor answer.


Poor understanding of gluten-free labelling.

No, Oh Lily, your packaging is CONFUSING. If you are going to use a gluten-free label, you MUST know that your product has fewer than 20ppm of gluten. If you truly wanted coeliacs not to take risks, you'd be CLEAR about it.


(N.B. I had to give my pack to a neighbour who didn't have to avoid gluten.)


But it's not all bad. After discovering this faux-pas on a Coconut Collaborative packet, I wrote to complain, and something unexpected happened.


Badly labelled gluten-free food

A few months after my complaint, I was delighted to find they'd changed their labelling. So it's clearly possible to get progress. We just have to be patient.


In the meantime, please be vigilant. I found the Kunafa chocolate in a shop in Bath on Saturday. Don't rely on the UK allergen laws - always check.


Have you ever found anything dodgy? Let me know below!

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Hi! Great to have you here...

My name's Ali and I help people on gluten-free diets have a better, easier and healthier lifestyle. 

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