Hidden names for wheat and gluten on a food label
Wheat hides under a long list of aliases, and gluten reaches beyond wheat into barley and rye. Here are the names to scan for so nothing slips past you.
Wheat is one of the trickier allergens to track, for two reasons. It appears under a string of other names, and it sits inside the wider question of gluten, which reaches into barley and rye too. Knowing which you are avoiding, and the aliases for each, is what stops something slipping through.
First, decide: wheat or gluten?
These are not the same job.
- Avoiding wheat (a wheat allergy) means avoiding the wheat grain and its derivatives. Barley and rye are fine.
- Avoiding gluten (coeliac disease or gluten sensitivity) means avoiding the gluten protein, which is in wheat, barley, rye and triticale, and often oats through cross-contamination.
Get this straight first, because it changes which names matter to you.
Wheat under other names
Wheat is often written as a variety or a processed form rather than the plain word:
- Spelt, durum, semolina, farro, einkorn, emmer, khorasan (sometimes sold as Kamut)
- Bulgur, couscous, freekeh, atta, farina
- Seitan and vital wheat gluten (these are concentrated wheat protein)
- Rusk (common in sausages and processed meats)
- Hydrolysed wheat protein
- Wheat starch and, sometimes, “modified starch” when it is made from wheat
On a UK label, when any of these come from wheat, wheat must be emphasised, normally in bold. So your fastest check is to scan for the bold word “wheat” anywhere in the list, including in brackets after another ingredient.
Gluten beyond wheat
If you are avoiding gluten, add the barley and rye family:
- Barley, and its derivatives: malt, malt extract, malt syrup, malt vinegar, malted barley flour
- Rye
- Triticale (a wheat and rye cross)
- Oats, unless they are labelled gluten-free, because standard oats are usually cross-contaminated with gluten grains during milling
Barley in particular hides as “malt” on a lot of cereals, snacks and drinks, so malt is the alias worth memorising.
The fastest way to check
Scan the ingredients list for the emphasised allergen first: in the UK, wheat and other gluten cereals are highlighted, usually in bold, every time they appear, so the names tend to stand out if you are looking for them. Then, if you are strictly gluten-free, do a second pass specifically for malt, barley, rye and oats, since those are the ones people forget after they have cleared the obvious wheat. When a starch or flavouring is vague and unbolded, and it matters to you, the ingredients list will not always settle it, so check with the manufacturer rather than guess.
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Common questions
Is avoiding wheat the same as avoiding gluten?
No. Wheat is one grain; gluten is a protein also found in barley, rye and triticale. If you are avoiding wheat only, you can still eat barley and rye. If you are avoiding gluten, you need to watch for all of them, plus oats unless they are certified gluten-free.
Does 'modified starch' contain wheat?
It can. If the starch is made from wheat, UK labelling requires wheat to be emphasised, usually in bold, so check whether the word wheat appears next to or near 'starch'. If it just says 'modified starch' with no allergen emphasis, the law treats it as not a declarable allergen source, but if in doubt, contact the manufacturer.
Is malt vinegar a problem for coeliacs?
Malt comes from barley, so malt and malt vinegar are gluten sources. Many coeliacs tolerate small amounts of malt vinegar in practice, but it is a gluten ingredient, so treat it according to your own advice and how strict your avoidance needs to be.