If you’re looking for chocolate sprinkles for someone with coeliac disease, choose a pack labelled ‘gluten-free’ or bearing the Crossed Grain symbol. If you mean oat flakes, look specifically for the Crossed Grain symbol that the Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends for oat products. Only then compare pack sizes and check which other allergens are relevant to you.
You’re looking for flakes with a gluten-free status that you can identify on the current packaging. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends looking for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain symbol. An ingredients list that does not mention wheat is not a substitute for either of these labels.
You want to compare pack sizes and portion quantities, but only between flakes of the same product type that first meet your gluten-free requirements.
You’re looking for breakfast flakes rather than chocolate sprinkles for bread. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre points out that oat products can be contaminated with gluten and says that people with coeliac disease should only choose products bearing the official Crossed Grain symbol on the packaging.
First decide whether you’re looking for chocolate sprinkles to put on bread or oat flakes for breakfast. Then check the gluten-free label on each pack before comparing other features.
| What to look for | What should you check? | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free label | Check the current packaging for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain symbol. For oats, look specifically for the symbol. | When I’m buying flakes for someone with coeliac disease, I want to be able to identify a gluten-free label on the packaging. For around 63% of consumers, this check would be their first priority when buying. |
| Pack size | Once you’ve checked that the product is gluten-free, compare pack sizes and portion quantities for the same product type. | I want to know how many portions a suitable pack will provide for my needs. For around 25% of consumers, this would be the main consideration once their gluten-free requirement has been met. |
| Product type and other allergens | Distinguish chocolate sprinkles from oat flakes, and read the allergen information if milk, lactose or soya is relevant to you. | I’m looking for something different for breakfast than I would use as a bread topping, or I need to consider ingredients other than gluten. For around 12% of consumers, this would be the most important additional consideration. |
The type of product does not tell you whether a particular version is suitable for someone with coeliac disease. For example, the allergen information for Choca Vlokken at PLUS lists wheat and cereals containing gluten.
Check the gluten-free label on the current packaging of the specific version you want to buy.
Chocolate sprinkles are a bread topping; oat flakes are eaten for breakfast. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, oat products can be contaminated with gluten.
Choose the right product type first. If you’re buying oat flakes for someone with coeliac disease, look for the official Crossed Grain symbol on the packaging.
Albert Heijn lists milk, lactose and soya in De Ruijter Witte vlokken. This information matters if you need to take an allergy or intolerance into account as well as gluten.
After checking the gluten-free label, read the full ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging too.
Albert Heijn lists De Ruijter Witte vlokken, a 200 g chocolate bread topping.
Jumbo lists dark and milk chocolate sprinkles in 300 g packs in its range of bread toppings.
PLUS lists Choca Vlokken in a 200 g pack as a chocolate bread topping.
In a post from April 2024, PLUS mentioned 500 g packs of organic gluten-free wholegrain oat flakes. These are oat flakes for breakfast, not chocolate sprinkles for bread.
Don’t take the absence of wheat from an ingredients list as confirmation that chocolate sprinkles are gluten-free. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, you should look for ‘gluten-free’ or the Crossed Grain symbol on the current packaging of the specific version.
Regular oat flakes aren’t automatically suitable: oat products can be contaminated with gluten. For people with coeliac disease, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre says oat products must bear the official Crossed Grain symbol on the packaging.
No, not the version for which PLUS lists the ingredients and allergen information. It contains wheat starch, and PLUS also lists wheat and cereals containing gluten as allergens.
