Hidden Gluten: Summer Edition of Unexpected Places to Find Gluten

29th June 2021

This blog post is all about unexpected placed to find gluten, with a focus on seasonal foods we tend to eat more of over the summer

Not all brands will contain gluten, but some will so double check before you eat!

Unexpected Places to Find Gluten

Own brand cokes – e.g. Coop. Also be careful of pre-mixed cans of vodka/coke etc
Alcoholic drinks – my complete guide is here!
Squash – a nice cold glass of squash is perfect on a summers day but avoid the “fruit and barley” ones!!

Morrisons generally!! So many many contains, from prawn skewers to chicken kebabs
Croutons on salads
Chips down the seafront – can contain gluten or could be cooked in a fryer with things that contain gluten
BBQ Food – some sausages, veggie burgers, marinated meats
Cous Cous – you can get “gluten free cous cous” but its usually made of maize and is very different to cous cous!
Bulgar Wheat – sometimes comes in side salads
Precooked satay style chicken skewers – a picnic fave
Falafal – not all falafals are gluten free
Sushi – great summer grab and go lunch option but check! Usually contains gluten-containing soy

Mustard – some mustards have wheat in them so be careful e.g. Colemans jar of English Mustard
Crispy Onions – shop bought crispy onions often have a wheat coating
Dips – e.g Ocado Taramosalata
Crisps – some brands contain gluten, e.g. Most (Sensations either contain wheat/may contain

Ice creams/Lollies – some of the surprising ones that I found contain gluten include Rowntrees Fruit Pastille Push Up Lollies (may contain), Nobbly Bobbly, R Whites Lemonade Lolly (may contain)
Sprinkles – some sprinkles contain wheat so be careful before sprinkling on your ice cream!
Ice Cream Sauces – e.g Lotus Biscoff Topping Sauce
Wafers/Cones – sounds obvious but easy to get carried away when the Ice Cream man comings calling!
Sweets e.g. strawberry laces

Here’s a few summery things that could present a cross contamination risk:

Butchers – if you’re getting your bbq meat from the butcher, ask them about cc. Lots of their sausages and marinated meats often contain gluten and can be prepared/stored together in the same fridges.
BBQs that havent been cleaned down after gluten has been cooked on there. Read my Coeliac Safe BBQ guide here
Shared food/buffets – if your family is anything like mine, we put all the BBQ food in the middle and share. This presents a cc risk if not all of the food is gf. If someone touches a gluten bun and then picks up a non-gluten burger, they might get crumbs on the burger plate and it could cause you a problem!
Non-GF Oat milk – careful with your frappes etc. Starbucks, Pret and lots of others use Oatly which is not gluten free