If you have coeliac disease, checking that the current packaging says ‘gluten-free’ matters more than choosing something that looks like a Kano. A packaged gluten-free oat biscuit is an easy sweet snack that needs no preparation. Crackers are a base for a lunch you put together yourself, provided you keep the filling and preparation separate from gluten crumbs too. Don’t assume regular Kano’s are gluten-free: check the packaging of the product you’re buying.
You’re looking for a sealed, ready-to-eat alternative for a sweet biscuit break. Check the current packaging for a gluten-free statement, and keep the product separate from gluten crumbs while you’re out. The Dutch Coeliac Society highlights both checking the label and preventing cross-contamination.
You want to take more than just a sweet snack, and you can prepare crackers with separately packed fillings. Portion size, nutritional information and preparing your food on a clean surface can help you decide what to take with you.
You’re mainly after something sweet and crunchy. Don’t let the shape or flavour determine whether a product is suitable for coeliac disease: check the current gluten-free statement, ingredients and allergen information.
Start by checking for a gluten-free statement and considering how you’ll keep your food free from contamination. Then choose between a biscuit you can eat straight away and crackers that need a filling.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free and kept free from contamination | Read the current gluten-free statement and allergen information. When adding fillings, use clean cutlery and a clean surface. | If I have coeliac disease, I want to be able to check what I’m buying and prevent gluten crumbs getting on it while I’m out. For roughly 50% of consumers, this check matters most. |
| Ready to eat | Check the packaging and portion size if you want to eat without a filling, cutlery or somewhere to prepare your food. | If there’s nowhere to prepare food, I’d rather take a packaged biscuit that I can eat straight away. For around 30% of consumers, convenience comes first. |
| A base for lunch | Compare the nutritional information per 100 g with the portion you’ll actually eat, and decide which filling you can pack separately. | For a lunch I put together myself, I want to take crackers with a filling, even if that means preparing them in advance. For around 20% of consumers, this lunch option is the main reason for choosing them. |
A similar shape, flavour or oat base doesn’t tell you whether a product is suitable for coeliac disease.
Check the current packaging for a gluten-free statement or the Crossed Grain symbol, and read the ingredients and allergen information too. The Dutch Coeliac Society advises checking the label.
A gluten-free cracker can come into contact with gluten crumbs when you add a filling, for example from a shared knife, chopping board or butter.
Prepare your lunch separately using clean cutlery, and pack the filling separately. The Dutch Coeliac Society highlights shared kitchen utensils and fillings as things to watch out for when preventing cross-contamination.
A sweet snack and a lunch you put together yourself don’t necessarily serve the same purpose. Nutritional values per 100 g also don’t always reflect the portion you’ll take with you.
Check the portion size and ingredients on the packaging. If you’re taking crackers with a filling, plan how to pack it hygienically and, if necessary, keep it chilled.
Ingredients, allergens and nutritional information can change, so a product page you looked at earlier may not match the packaging in your hand.
Read the label on the packaging before eating. Albert Heijn notes on its product pages that product information may change.
Verkade Oaties is a biscuit option if you’re looking for a sweet snack on the go.
This range includes oat biscuits for a ready-to-eat snack and seeded crackers to use as a base for fillings.
Schär Crackers are an option if you want to eat crackers plain or with a filling you’ve brought along.
Peijnenburg gluten-free ontbijtkoek is a soft, sweet option alongside crunchy biscuits and crackers.
No. The Dutch Coeliac Society defines gluten-free as containing less than 20 mg of gluten per kg of product. If you have coeliac disease, check for a gluten-free statement on the current packaging, even if you’ve bought the product before.
No. The absence of wheat alone doesn’t mean a product is gluten-free. Check the current packaging for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain symbol, and read the ingredients and allergen information too.
Prepare the crackers on a clean surface using clean cutlery, and keep them separate from food containing gluten. The Dutch Coeliac Society mentions shared knives, chopping boards and butter as possible sources of gluten crumbs; check the filling itself too.
Yes. Check the gluten-free statement, ingredients and allergen information on the packaging before eating the product. Albert Heijn says that changes to product information may mean it differs from what was previously shown online.
