A protein found in wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt that must be declared under the Food Standards Code and must be strictly avoided by people with coeliac…
Gluten is found in wheat, rye, barley, oats and spelt, and their hybrid strains. Cereals containing gluten are declared allergens, so their presence must be declared on food regulated by the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code.
In Australia a gluten free claim means the food contains no detectable gluten. This is a strict standard, so businesses must control cross-contact carefully, not just omit gluten-containing ingredients, before labelling or describing a food as gluten free.
No. Coeliac disease is an immune condition where gluten damages the small intestine and must be avoided completely. Some people report non-coeliac gluten sensitivity with different symptoms. Either way, food businesses should treat gluten free requests seriously and accurately.
Gluten from battered or crumbed foods transfers into shared fryer oil, so anything cooked in that oil can pick up detectable gluten. This cross-contact can make a gluten free claim untrue and cause harm to coeliac customers, so a dedicated fryer is needed.
When a gluten-containing cereal is a deliberate ingredient it must be declared regardless of amount. For unintended trace gluten from cross-contact, that is addressed through control measures and, where relevant, voluntary precautionary labelling rather than a Contains declaration.