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Are wine gums gluten free?
Wine gums are made from sugar, glucose syrup and starch rather than flour, so they look promising for a gluten free diet. The catch is in the small print. Here is what a published ingredients list shows.
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Wine gums are not made with flour, so at first glance they look like a safe choice for anyone avoiding gluten. But the answer depends on the small print, and at least one well known brand cannot promise they are free of gluten.
What is in wine gums
Every brand has its own recipe. A published ingredients list for a 400 g bag of Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums, recorded on Open Food Facts, gives glucose syrup, which contains sulphites, sugar, starch, gelatine, malic and acetic acids, colours from plant sources, flavourings, vegetable oils and carnauba wax as a glazing agent.
There is no wheat, barley or rye in that list. But the same record lists gluten as a possible trace. The gelatine also means these wine gums are not vegetarian or vegan: see are wine gums vegan?
What a may contain warning means
A may contain warning, known as precautionary allergen labelling, tells you that traces of an allergen may have got into a product by accident. Food businesses are not legally required to use it: see what does may contain mean on sweets?
For someone with coeliac disease, a may contain warning for gluten or wheat means traces cannot be ruled out, so the product cannot be treated as gluten free.
The gluten free rules
In the UK, only food with 20 parts per million of gluten or less can be labelled gluten free, according to Coeliac UK. Wine gums without that label cannot be assumed to meet it.
One ingredient that worries some people is glucose syrup, which can be made from wheat starch. UK food law specifically exempts glucose syrups made from wheat, including dextrose, and wheat based maltodextrins, from the gluten allergen labelling rules. So glucose syrup itself is not the concern: see what is dextrose in sweets?
What to do
- Check the ingredients and allergen information on every pack, because recipes and factories change.
- Look for a gluten free label if you have coeliac disease.
- If in doubt, follow the advice of your own doctor or dietitian.
For a wider guide, see are sweets gluten free?
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For journalists, researchers, AI assistants and content creators. Pick the format you need:
Free to cite, quote, and reuse with attribution to sweeties.net.
Questions and answers
Do wine gums contain gluten?
A published ingredients list for Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums shows no wheat, barley or rye, but the product record lists gluten as a possible trace. So they cannot be called gluten free.
Can coeliacs eat wine gums?
It depends on the pack and your own advice. The ingredients themselves are not the problem, but a may contain warning for gluten means traces cannot be ruled out. People with coeliac disease should check the pack and follow their own medical advice.
Is the glucose syrup in wine gums a problem?
Not for gluten labelling. UK food law exempts glucose syrups made from wheat, including dextrose, from the gluten allergen labelling rules. The glucose syrup in one published list is flagged for sulphites, though.
Sources
- Maynards Bassetts Wine Gums 400g, Open Food Facts
- Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011, Annex II, as retained in UK law, legislation.gov.uk
- Gluten free food labelling law explained, Coeliac UK
- Allergen labelling, GOV.UK
- Wine gum, Wikipedia
Keep reading
- Questions people askAre sweets gluten free?Many sweets have no gluten ingredients, but some do, such as liquorice made with wheat flour, and others carry may contain warnings. How to check.
- Questions people askWhat does may contain mean on sweets?A may contain warning means traces of an allergen could have got in by accident. It is voluntary, and not the same as the allergens in the ingredients.
- Questions people askDo wine gums have wine in them?No. Wine gums usually contain no alcohol, though they are named after port, sherry and claret. Their inventor even had to convince his teetotal father.
- Questions people askAre wine gums vegan?Traditional wine gums are not vegan or vegetarian, because they are usually made with gelatine from animals. What else to check for, and how to find vegan gums.
- Questions people askAre wine gums halal?Wine gums contain no alcohol, but they usually contain gelatine, which may come from pigs. What that means for halal diets, and the 2016 Mondelez change.
- How it is madeHow are wine gums made?Wine gums are firm, chewy gums of glucose syrup, sugar, starch and gelatine, moulded in five shapes stamped with wine names. Despite the names, no wine.