When buying crisps for the week, don’t rely on the brand, flavour or potato base alone. First decide which allergen needs to be avoided, then check the ingredients, allergen information and warnings about possible allergen contact on the current packaging. If you follow a strict gluten-free diet, an explicit gluten-free label or suitable certification is a clearer starting point. For milk, soya and sulphites, check each flavour separately too.
You’re buying crisps for someone with coeliac disease or who follows a strict gluten-free diet. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends looking for a gluten-free label or suitable symbol. Check the warnings on the bag you choose too.
You need to avoid milk, soya or sulphites, for example. Product information from Jumbo and Albert Heijn shows why you need to check the exact flavour and product format, rather than relying on the brand alone.
You want to plan your choices in advance and repeat the same checks when you buy again. Online product information can help you prepare, but Albert Heijn warns that ingredients and allergy information can change, so check the packaging of the product you buy as well.
Start with the substance that someone in your household needs to avoid. A gluten-free label, a short ingredients list and a familiar flavour don’t necessarily answer the same question.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten and possible contact | If you eat strictly gluten-free, look for a gluten-free label or suitable certification. Check the ingredients and any warnings about possible contact with gluten too. | If gluten must be strictly avoided, I want to know not just what’s in the product, but also what the packaging says about possible contact. For around 46% of consumers, choosing gluten-free comes first. |
| A specific allergen | Check the allergen information and any ‘may contain’ warning for this exact flavour and product format. | I’m looking for crisps for someone who needs to avoid milk, soya or sulphites, for example, so I can’t assume another flavour from the same brand is suitable. Around 36% of consumers give avoiding a specific allergen top priority. |
| Checking your weekly shop | Compare your online choice or previous purchase with the packaging of the bag you’re buying now. | When doing a big weekly shop, I want to check my chosen crisps again before stocking up on several bags. For around 18% of consumers, being able to check products again when buying them is the top priority. |
According to Jumbo, Pringles Original contains wheat and may contain milk and soya. Smiths Sticks Paprika contains milk and sulphites, according to Jumbo. So the brand name alone won’t tell you which allergens are in another flavour.
Check the allergen information for the exact flavour and product format you’re buying.
Albert Heijn labels Tyrrells Simply Sea Salted as gluten-free, but also says it may contain milk. These statements answer different questions.
After checking the gluten-free label, check the packaging for every other substance on your own exclusion list too.
Albert Heijn warns that ingredients and allergy information can change. Lidl Netherlands says it doesn’t provide an online list of this information for food products.
Use online information to plan your shop, then check the packaging of the bag you choose each time you buy.
If you follow a strict gluten-free diet, the ingredients list isn’t the only thing that matters. The Dutch Coeliac Society also highlights warnings about possible contact with gluten.
Check for such warnings on the exact packaging alongside the gluten-free label. Don’t rely on the crisps’ main ingredient alone.
Lay's has a range of potato crisps, including Oven Baked Naturel. Check the details for the variant you’ve chosen if you want to compare nutritional information as well as allergens.
Pringles comes in several flavours. Treat each tube as a separate product if someone in your household needs to avoid an allergen.
Jumbo lists Barbecue and Paprika as separate flavours in the Smiths Sticks range.
Albert Heijn labels Tyrrells Simply Sea Salted as gluten-free and lists potatoes, sunflower oil and sea salt as its ingredients.
You can check these vegetable, sweet potato and cassava crisps against your household’s exclusion list, one bag at a time. The main ingredient or flavour alone won’t tell you whether a product is suitable for a strict gluten-free diet or a specific allergy.
No image available
A small bag for anyone wanting to add broccoli crisps to their weekly shop. If you follow a gluten-free diet or have a specific allergy, check the labels and any warnings on the current packaging.
No image available
A small bag to add to your weekly shop if you’re looking for okra crisps. Before buying, check the current packaging if gluten or another allergen needs to be avoided.
No image available
A sweet potato option if you’re considering something other than potato crisps for your weekly shop. Before choosing these to meet a dietary need, check the ingredients, allergen information and any gluten-free label on the current bag.
No image available
A larger bag of chilli-flavoured cassava crisps to consider for your weekly shop. If you have an allergy or follow a strict gluten-free diet, read all the information on the packaging first; the cassava base doesn’t tell you whether it’s suitable.
No. The potato base alone doesn’t tell you enough about the whole product. For example, Jumbo lists wheat in Pringles Original. If you follow a strict gluten-free diet, choose a product explicitly labelled gluten-free where possible, and check the warnings on the packaging too.
According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, the 14 designated allergens must be listed on the label. Check the ingredients and allergen information for the exact product against your exclusion list, as well as any warnings about possible contact.
Use online information to help you make a choice, but check the bag before you buy it. Albert Heijn warns that ingredients and allergy information can change; Lidl Netherlands says it doesn’t provide an online list of ingredients and allergens for food products.
Keep the bag you’ve checked sealed until you’re ready to use it. When serving, don’t use a bowl or scoop that has also held snacks containing the allergen you need to avoid. Keep checking the packaging too: careful serving doesn’t change the product’s ingredients or warnings.
