If you cook gluten-free, you probably check your flour, bread and pasta without thinking twice. But a spoonful of stock powder in the soup or a pinch of seasoning in the sauce can bring gluten back into a meal you made carefully from scratch. Here is why it happens, and how to spot it.
Why gluten ends up in seasonings
Bouillon and seasoning mixes are mostly salt, dried vegetables and spices – none of which contain gluten. Gluten gets in through the helpers that are added to make the product cheaper, thicker, easier to dose or more savoury:
- Wheat flour or wheat starch – used as a filler or thickener, especially in gravy and sauce granules.
- Hydrolysed wheat protein – adds a savoury, "meaty" taste.
- Barley malt extract – adds colour and a roasted flavour.
- Cross-contamination – a product without gluten ingredients can still pick up traces if it is made on the same lines as wheat-based products.
What EU labels have to tell you
In the European Union, cereals containing gluten – wheat (including spelt and khorasan), rye, barley and oats – are one of the 14 allergens that must be highlighted in the ingredient list, usually in bold. That makes the ingredient list your most reliable tool.
A few things are worth knowing:
- "Gluten-free" may only be used when the food contains no more than 20 mg of gluten per kg. This is the level that people with coeliac disease are generally advised to rely on.
- Some ingredients made from wheat or barley are exempt from allergen labelling because processing removes the gluten – for example wheat-based glucose syrups and maltodextrins. You may see them on gluten-free products, and that is fine.
- "May contain gluten" warnings are voluntary. Their absence does not guarantee a product is gluten-free – only a "gluten-free" claim does.
- Yeast extract is made from yeast, not from a gluten-containing cereal. Some yeast extracts are made from brewer's yeast, though, so if a product with yeast extract isn't labelled gluten-free, check with the manufacturer.
Five checks before you buy
- Look for "gluten-free" on the pack – it is the only claim with a legal limit behind it.
- Scan the ingredients for bold words – wheat, barley, rye, oats, spelt.
- Watch the usual suspects – flour, starch (without a named source), malt, hydrolysed wheat protein.
- Check where it is made – a dedicated gluten-free plant removes most of the cross-contamination risk.
- Re-check old favourites – recipes change. The label on the pack in your hand is always the one that counts.
Why it matters
For people with coeliac disease, even small amounts of gluten can trigger the immune reaction that damages the lining of the small intestine – which is why consistency matters more than the occasional "mostly gluten-free" meal. If you'd like to read more about gluten and the gut barrier, have a look at our article on gluten, your gut barrier and why we are gluten-free.
How we make our Chef-Pack bouillon mixes
Our Cupster Chef-Pack mixes are gluten-free and made in a gluten-free production plant. They're built on Himalayan salt, real dried vegetables, herbs and spices – vegan, with no added MSG and no meat. The Premium mix is also made without added starch.
One more tip: bouillon mixes are, by nature, salty. One tablespoon (10–15 g) seasons a whole litre of soup, so taste before you add any extra salt.
Discover the Chef-Pack range – Premium, Basic and Farm Style.
This article is for general information only and is not medical or dietary advice. If you have coeliac disease or another medical condition, please follow the advice of your doctor or dietitian.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers – Article 21 and Annex II (substances causing allergies or intolerances).
- Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on the requirements for the provision of information to consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food.
- Codex Alimentarius. Standard for foods for special dietary use for persons intolerant to gluten (CXS 118-1979, rev. 2008).
- Lebwohl B, Sanders DS, Green PHR. Coeliac disease. Lancet. 2018;391(10115):70–81.
