Sneaky Food Products that Contain Gluten/Wheat

Being intolerant to gluten means you always have to keep your guard up. When searching for products, eating out, or just rummaging through the fridge. Always

But you may be surprised by some of the ingredients you see, and don’t see. Have you ever wondered what are some sneaky food products that contain gluten/wheat?

In this guide, we are covering all the most common types of foods/ingredients that contain gluten/wheat that you may miss! We also have some lesser common food products to be wary of, along with some cross-contamination risk warnings.

What sneaky gluten sources did we miss? Leave a comment below to share with the GlutenBee community. This guide was last updated on: September 6, 2023

 

Most Common

These are the most common and most risky products that have a high likelyhood to contain gluten! Stay alert with any of the items listed below:

• Oats and Oatmeal (typically prepared with gluten/contaminated)
• Cereals
• Soy Sauce (almost always contains wheat)
• Licorice (almost always contains wheat)
• Yeast Extract
• Modified Food Starch
• Crab Cakes
• Processed Seafood like Crab Dips, Surimi (crab substitute), etc.
• Syrups (such as drink syrups, caramels, and snow cones)
• Malted Beverages (contain barley)
• Broths and Stocks
• Candy with Malted Barley
• Chocolate (especially European chocolate brands, often use barley)
• Vermicelli Noodles (often made with wheat)
• Energy Bars and Protein Bars
• Marshmallows
• Rice Box Mixes (like Rice Pilaf, don’t worry glutinous rice is safe)
• Mashed Potato Box Mixes
• Stuffing
• Gravy (see more about gravy here)
• Meatloaf
• Beer
• Alcoholic Malted Beverages

 

Major Cross Contamination Risk

Containers and jars always have a MAJOR risk for cross contamination because people tend to dip their utensils into the container after touching bread, gluten, etc.

If you live in a shared kitchen or household, here’s our best advice. Get the squeezable containers! Then you never have to worry about any unknown allergens entering the food item. 🙂

Here are all of the major examples of food ingredients and items that have a high cross contamination risk:

• Butter sticks and/or Butter containers
• Sour Cream containers
• Peanut Butter jars
• Jam/Jelly jars
• Mayo containers
• Dijon Mustard or other mustards in a jar
• Hummus containers
• Guacamole or Salsa containers
• Sub/Sandwich Shops with shared food spaces
• Bodegas and Cafes with shared food spaces

 

 Less Common but Risky

The items listed below are less common, but have been known to contain gluten at times. For example, we covered Wholly Guacamole earlier and their guacamole cups are not gluten free! Even play dough is a risk! While we don’t typically ingest it (hopefully), it does have wheat as a primary ingredient. So for people who are sensitive to touch, it’s dangerous. It’s also risky for kids because they may put their hands in their mouth, causing gluten to enter their system.

While these are less common, we still recommend being vigilant when checking labels to protect yourself and your loved ones:

• Hummus
• Guacamole
• Chips (some flavors of Doritos are not gluten free for example)
• Risotto Dishes are sometimes not gluten free
• Processed Meats
• BBQ Sauce (thicker sauces and homemade sauces are often be thickened with wheat)
• Play Dough (contains wheat)

 

Hopefully, this list can help you feel more empowered to eat gluten free wherever you are, without worrying about sneaky gluten ingredients and contaminants! Don’t forget to leave a comment below to share your tips and advice with the GlutenBee community.