Gluten Free Candy

If you’ve found this website via Google: this list was made as a repository for my personal research on gluten free candy that I did for my family’s use. It is not expressly developed for general use. It is important to do your own research and choose foods based on your own risk assessments.

Developed October 2023.

Gluten Free Designation of some kind

No statements about being Gluten Free, ambiguous ingredients

No clear Gluten Free markings. Ingredient list doesn't call out wheat as an allergen and no ingredients with gluten, but it does list natural and/or artificial flavors (which usually but not always means no gluten).
https://www.goodforyouglutenfree.com/are-natural-and-artificial-flavors-gluten-free/

No statements about being Gluten Free, ambiguous ingredients

No clear Gluten Free markings. Ingredient list does have Dextrin**, which can be made from wheat, but doesn't list wheat as an allergen. No other ingredients with gluten.

No statements about being Gluten Free, ambiguous ingredients

Ingredient list doesn't call out wheat as an allergens and no ingredients with gluten, but it does call out both the above (Dextrin** and flavors)

Clearly states no gluten in ingredientS but has not been assessed as Gluten Free

Clearly contains gluten

Weird ones

  • Baby Ruth (Ferrara)
    • Website clearly says no to the question of is it gluten free, but there is nothing in it’s ingredients list that would contain gluten
    • https://www.babyruth.com/faqs
  • Nerds (Ferrara)
    • https://www.nerdscandy.com/nerds
    • Ingredients list include artificial flavors, and third parties on google say their ingredients are gluten free, but many also say their manufacturing process presents a high risk of contamination. I can’t find evidence of this on the Nerds or Ferrara website, so I don’t know if it’s true or not, or used to be true and isn’t anymore. 

*Mars candy never takes a stance on whether it is gluten free, and it’s websites are terrible. Based on some gluten free websites, it sounds like they used to say some candies were gluten free, but no longer do; I’m guessing, based on other websites I’ve read that it’s because they move their manufacturing around a lot to deal with supply issues, and don’t want to guarantee no contamination when they switch facilities. There likely is a higher risk of contamination with Mars candy than others. How high? I don’t know.

**Dextrose, Dextrin, and MaltoDextrin

Dextrose is made from wheat but is considered gluten free due to how it is processed: https://celiac.org/about-the-foundation/featured-news/2016/01/gluten-free-101-need-know/

More on Dextrin and Maltodextrin from https://nationalceliac.org/celiac-disease-questions/is-dextrin-gluten-free/

Dextrin is a carbohydrate that is hydrolyzed from starches. It may or may not be gluten free depending on the starting material. However, most dextrin is derived from corn in the United States. If the dextrin is derived from wheat, it has to be disclosed and labeled per the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) for foods regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

For products that do not fall under FALCPA such as foods regulated under the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) or medications, you should check with the manufacturer where the starting material of the dextrin is from.

Dextrin from wheat should be avoided UNLESS the product is labeled gluten free. If a product is labeled gluten free and contains wheat dextrin, the product has to contain less than 20 parts per million of gluten and should be safe for those with celiac disease. However, if you have an allergy to wheat, it might still be a problem.

Note that dextrin is not to be confused with maltodextrin. Maltodextrin is considered gluten-free regardless of starting material.