For a guest with coeliac disease, choose chocolate biscuits whose current packaging says ‘gluten-free’, and keep them separate from regular biscuits during your game night. Chocolate chip biscuits, chocolate digestives and chocolate oat biscuits offer a range of options, but check each variety for milk, soya, hazelnuts and oats too. Lotus lists wheat flour in its regular Biscoff and chocolate Speculoos biscuits, so they are not part of its gluten-free range.
They need a biscuit with a current gluten-free label, which also stays clear of crumbs and hands that have touched regular biscuits when it is served. The Dutch Coeliac Society recommends keeping gluten-free products in their packaging for as long as possible.
You want to share biscuits without mixing the gluten-free options with regular snacks. A separate, clean plate makes it clear which biscuits are for the guest with coeliac disease.
They may also need to avoid milk, lactose, hazelnuts, eggs, soya or oats. The ingredients to look out for vary between chocolate biscuits and specific varieties.
Start by checking the gluten-free label on the current packaging and the ingredients your guests need to avoid. Then think about how to keep the biscuits separate if regular snacks are also on the table.
| What to look for | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free label | Check for ‘gluten-free’ and read the allergen and warning information on the current packaging; don’t rely on an ingredients photo alone. | If someone with coeliac disease is joining the game, I don’t want to guess whether a biscuit is suitable based on the ingredients alone. Around 42% of consumers make clearly stated gluten-free status their primary requirement. |
| Serving separately | Check whether the packaging can stay closed until serving, and use a clean, separate plate or clean serving utensils. | When regular biscuits are being passed around, I want to stop crumbs or hands from touching the gluten-free options. Keeping them separate when serving is the main priority for around 25% of consumers. |
| Other ingredients | Check the allergen information for the specific variety for milk, hazelnuts, eggs, soya and oats, depending on what the guest needs to avoid. | I’m looking for a biscuit that also suits the other ingredients my guest avoids; ‘gluten-free’ on its own doesn’t answer that question. Around 17% of consumers give this additional suitability the highest priority. |
| Quantity for the group | Check the pack size and number of biscuits in each pack before deciding how many you need. | If several guests are having the same biscuits, I want to know there will be enough while keeping the gluten-free portions separate. This is the main requirement for around 16% of consumers. |
Lotus lists wheat flour in Original Speculoos and Speculoos with chocolate. These products are not suitable alternatives for a guest with coeliac disease.
Keep regular biscuits on a separate plate and make it clear which options are gluten-free.
A biscuit that contains no gluten-containing grains in its ingredients may still come into contact with gluten during production. The Dutch Coeliac Society also highlights warnings about possible cross-contamination.
For a guest with coeliac disease, check both the current gluten-free label and any warnings on the packaging.
Crumbs and contact with hands can contaminate the gluten-free options during your game night.
Keep the packaging closed for as long as possible, and use clean hands and a separate plate or clean serving utensils.
The biscuits mentioned vary in whether they contain ingredients such as milk, hazelnuts, eggs, soya and oats. A gluten-free label does not tell you anything about these ingredients.
Ask which ingredients your guests need to avoid and check the allergen information for the specific variety.
Albert Heijn’s own-label range includes products such as Chocolate chip cookies.
Jumbo’s range includes gluten-free digestives with milk chocolate.
Oaties Melkchocolade is Verkade’s chocolate oat biscuit with a gluten-free label.
Choco Chip Cookies are chocolate chip biscuits in Schär’s gluten-free range.
Céréal’s chocolate biscuits are an option when both gluten and lactose need to be avoided.
No. For someone with coeliac disease, check that the current packaging says ‘gluten-free’ and read any warnings about cross-contamination. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, a food may only be described as ‘gluten-free’ to the final consumer if it contains no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten.
Keep the gluten-free biscuits separate and leave their packaging closed for as long as possible. Use clean hands, a clean plate and clean serving utensils; make sure crumbs or hands that have touched regular biscuits don’t come into contact with the gluten-free options.
That depends on the product’s gluten-free label and the person eating the biscuits. The Dutch Coeliac Society notes that some people with coeliac disease also react to pure oats. So ask your guest whether gluten-free oats are suitable for them.
The Schär Choco Chip Cookies and Céréal Chocoladekoekjes varieties described are labelled lactose-free. Check the current packaging for the specific variety for any other ingredients your guest needs to avoid too; both of these products contain soya.
No. Lotus lists wheat flour in both Original Speculoos and Speculoos with chocolate, and identifies gluten as an allergen. Only serve them separately to guests who don’t need a gluten-free diet.
