So today’s post was supposed to be about the Mexican restaurant Wahaca. I officially *heart* Wahaca and had been looking forward all morning (or in all honesty the whole 2 weeks since I made the plans) to lunch there with a friend. When we arrived eagerly anticipating a Mexican feast, we were shocked to discover a problem with the water in East London had forced closure of the restaurant. What a nightmare!! We’ll be meeting up again in a couple of weeks so my post about their fab food and very helpful mails on their Coeliac friendly food will have to wait.
Instead, today’s post is about items of of food which surprise me when I see their labelling as gluten free.
Branston Pickle.
I was rifling through the fridge earlier and noticed the back label on Branston Pickle stated “suitable for a gluten free diet”. Not sure why I find this surprising, and clearly it’s great, but it got me thinking. For items like GF bread, pasta or biscuits which are made as specific alternatives to food products, labelling them as gluten free is clearly a requirement. It’s the point of the product.
But who decides for products like Branston pickle which I wouldn’t necessarily associate with gluten? How and why do producers decide to change their labelling? Are food producers listening to the growing gluten free market and updating their labelling as a result?
Comments very welcome!
Gluten Free Mrs D
Anyone who knows anything about gluten and pickles, will know that malt vinegar is often used in pickling, and this is not permitted on a gluten_free diet. So it is a help to have it clearly labelled on pickles.
Which brand is gluten free? The kind I have cross and blackwell is not. Thanks
Hello there, the Branston pickle in this post is safe according to the Coeliac UK Food & Drink Directory. Whereabouts in the world are you?
I’d check that one, its made with barley products.
Hi Melanie,
See my previous answer to Laura on this. In the UK Branston pickle contains malt vinegar from barley in its recipe.
Coeliac UK (the UK charity supporting Coeliacs here) includes Branston Pickle in its directory for foods suitable for a gluten free diet. In addition, Coeliac UK provide the following guidance on the use of malt vinegar:
http://www.coeliac.org.uk/gluten-free-diet-lifestyle/gluten-free-diet-faqs
So Branston Pickle is gluten free? Interesante. Do you know if this is still the case? I need to find some here in SF. I used to love a cheese and pickle sandwich
According to Coeliac UK it’s suitable for a gluten free diet. It appears in Section 2 of their food directory. Products which appear in this section are made without gluten containing ingredients and have controls in place to minimise cross contamination risk. (For info section 1 of the directory contains foods which are on prescription, free from foods labelled ‘gluten free’ and those with the crossed grain symbol).