Digestive Health Celiac Disease How to Identify Gluten on Food Labels Hidden gluten places some consumers at risk By Jane Anderson facebook twitter Jane Anderson is a medical journalist and an expert in celiac disease, gluten sensitivity, and the gluten-free diet. Learn about our editorial process Jane Anderson Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Robert Burakoff, MD, MPH on September 22, 2020 linkedin Robert Burakoff, MD, MPH, is board-certified in gastroentrology. He is the vice chair for ambulatory services for the department of medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York, where he is also a professor. He was the founding editor and co-editor in chief of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases. Learn about our Medical Review Board Robert Burakoff, MD, MPH on September 22, 2020 Print Table of Contents View All Table of Contents Alternative Names Gluten Ingredients May Contain Gluten Gluten-Free Certification If you're new to the gluten-free diet—or even if you've been gluten-free for a while—you need to understand what the term "gluten-free" actually means on food and product labels. In the end, "free" doesn't necessarily mean "zero." Instead, it suggests an acceptable level of gluten as determined by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Unlike food allergens, manufacturers are not required to disclose gluten on food labels—only wheat—making it all the more difficult to choose "safe" products if you have extreme gluten sensitivity. To make selection easier, you need to find out where gluten is hidden in foods. Some of these are straightforward (such as products containing wheat, barley or rye), while others are less than obvious. Other products still may only contain gluten some of the time. Secondly, you need to know what the FDA requires from a manufacturer in order for their product to be certified gluten-free. Envision / Getty Images Alternative Names for Gluten The following terms represent the most commonly used Latin terms for wheat, barley, and rye. If you see any of these, the product contains gluten: Triticum vulgare (wheat)Triticale (a cross between wheat and rye)Hordeum vulgare (barley)Secale cereale (rye)Triticum spelta (spelt, a form of wheat) Ingredients That Always Contain Gluten The following terms represent ingredients that always contain gluten: Wheat protein/hydrolyzed wheat proteinWheat starch/hydrolyzed wheat starchWheat flour/bread flour/bleached flourBulgur: A form of wheatMalt: Made from barleyCouscous: Made from wheatFarina: Made from wheatPasta: Made from wheat unless otherwise indicatedSeitan: Made from wheat gluten and commonly used in vegetarian mealsWheat or barley grass: Will be cross-contaminatedWheat germ oil or extract: Will be cross-contaminated Ingredients That May Contain Gluten Depending on the source, all of these ingredients potentially can contain gluten. The FDA does require food manufacturers to declare wheat-containing ingredients on their labels. However, other gluten-containing grains potentially could be used to make some of these ingredients. You'll need to check with the manufacturer to find out for certain whether or not a food that includes one or more of these ingredients are safe on a gluten-free diet: Vegetable protein/hydrolyzed vegetable protein: Can come from wheat, corn or soyModified starch/modified food starch: Can come from several sources, including wheatNatural flavor/natural flavoring: Can come from barleyArtificial flavor/artificial flavoring: Can come from barleyCaramel color: Now considered a safe ingredient, but if you're in doubt, check with the manufacturerModified food starchHydrolyzed plant protein (HPP)Hydrolyzed vegetable protein (HVP)Seasonings: May contain wheat fillersFlavorings: May contain wheat fillersVegetable starch: May contain wheat fillersDextrin and maltodextrin: Both sometimes made from wheat Gluten-Free Certification A food with no gluten-containing ingredients still can be cross-contaminated with gluten during processing. This is why it's extra important to pay attention to labels if you have extreme gluten sensitivity and to only choose foods certified gluten-free. In August 2013, the FDA announced a new rule for gluten-free food labeling. According to the rule, manufacturers must ensure that their products contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten in order to carry the "gluten-free" label. Some gluten-free advocates insist that the FDA standard is inadequate and that symptoms can develop at 10 ppm and lower. Countries like New Zealand and Australia have already embraced a certification standard of less than 5 ppm. The gluten-free food labeling requirements only apply to packaged foods. The rule doesn’t apply to meat, poultry, or unshelled eggs or to distilled spirits and wines made with 7% alcohol by volume or more. There is no standard symbol for gluten-free foods. Manufacturers can simply print "gluten-free" on their label as long as it is truthful. Moreover, there is not one certification criterion in the United States. There are a number of other organizations that offer certification, each with their own tests and standards for acceptable gluten levels. These include: Gluten Intolerance GroupCeliac Support Association (CSA)Allergen Control GroupCertified Naturally GrownNon-GMO ProjectNSF InternationalNational Organic ProgramKosher Certification AgencyUSDA OrganicCrossed Grain Trademark The Gluten Intolerance Group's Gluten-Free Certification Organization (GFCO) is one example of an organization that offers certification to foods with less than 10 ppm of gluten. For people with celiac disease or non-celiac gluten sensitivity, choosing a product with the GFCO label, for example, can make all the difference between good and less-than-good digestive health. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Following a gluten-free diet can be challenging. We're here to help. Sign up and receive our free recipe guide for delicious gluten-free meals! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Gluten-free labeling of foods. Updated July 16, 2018. Biesiekierski JR. What is gluten? J Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2017;32 Suppl 1:78-81. doi:10.1111/jgh.13703