If your child has coeliac disease, choose breakfast cake with an explicit gluten-free label and check the current packaging for other allergens every time you buy it. A individually wrapped bar can go straight into their bag; with an unsliced cake, you can choose the portion size at home, but you’ll need to cut and wrap it too. Also check the school or childcare setting’s rules on snacks brought from home.
An explicit gluten-free label matters more than the impression that a breakfast cake contains no wheat. The Dutch Coeliac Association highlights the importance of this label; check the packaging of the product you actually buy too.
Gluten-free doesn’t mean free from milk or lupin. For the breakfast cakes covered here, Albert Heijn and Jumbo list these allergens and, depending on the product, warnings about the possible presence of other allergens.
An individually wrapped bar gives you a ready-to-go portion. An unsliced breakfast cake lets you divide it up at home, but you’ll also need to cut and wrap it.
Start with the gluten-free label and any allergens that matter to your child. Then compare the portion format and nutritional information for an after-school snack.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free label | Look for the explicit ‘gluten-free’ label on the packaging you choose and read the current product information. | If my child has coeliac disease, I don’t want to rely on the product category or simply on the absence of wheat from the ingredients list. For around 33% of consumers, the gluten-free label would be the first thing they consider. |
| Other allergens | Check for milk and lupin, among other things, as well as warnings about the possible presence of other relevant allergens. | If my child also needs to avoid other allergens, I want to know whether the cake I choose fits those restrictions and the school’s rules. For around 27% of consumers, checking for additional allergens would come first. |
| Portion format | Compare an individually wrapped bar with an unsliced cake, and check the stated portion size. | If the snack needs to go straight into their bag, a ready-portioned bar is handy; if I want to cut smaller or larger slices myself, a whole cake is a better fit. Portion convenience would be the main consideration for around 20% of consumers. |
| Nutritional information | Compare sugars and fibre per 100 g, then check how much is in the portion you’ve chosen. | Once the snack has passed the necessary allergen checks, I want to weigh up how much sugar and fibre the portion contains. For around 20% of consumers, this nutritional information would matter most. |
If your child has coeliac disease, the impression that a breakfast cake contains no wheat is no substitute for an explicit gluten-free label. The Dutch Coeliac Association distinguishes between this label and assumptions based on the ingredients.
Check the label and the packaging of the product you choose every time you buy it.
According to Albert Heijn and Jumbo, the gluten-free breakfast cakes covered here also contain milk and lupin. Some packaging also warns of the possible presence of other allergens, including nuts, egg or sesame.
Compare the full allergen information with your child’s needs, and check what rules apply at their school or childcare setting.
The gluten-free label on its own says nothing about sugars or fibre. For the three products covered here, Albert Heijn and Jumbo list 42 to 43.4 g of sugars and 1 to 1.1 g of fibre per 100 g.
Read the nutritional information per 100 g, then compare it with the portion you plan to pack.
These examples show why, when choosing gluten-free breakfast cake, you should compare not just the label but also the portion format and allergen information.
Albert Heijn describes a 285 g unsliced Peijnenburg gluten-free breakfast cake for those who want to cut their own slices at home.
Albert Heijn describes a 65 g individually wrapped gluten-free breakfast cake bar as a single portion to take with you.
Jumbo describes a 300 g unsliced gluten-free breakfast cake that you can portion at home.
Choose breakfast cake with an explicit gluten-free label and check the packaging of the product you buy. Don’t rely just on the name ‘breakfast cake’ or the impression that wheat isn’t listed among the ingredients.
No. A gluten-free label says nothing about other allergens. The Peijnenburg, AH and Jumbo products covered here list milk and lupin; depending on the product, there may also be warnings about the possible presence of other allergens. Always check the label of the exact product you choose.
Yes. Before packing a snack, ask what rules the school or childcare setting has about food brought from home, allergens and sharing food. The label can help you choose a product, but it won’t tell you what rules apply at that particular setting.
