If coeliac disease is your top priority, start by choosing a biscuit for your New Year’s Eve platter whose current packaging states ‘gluten-free’. Then compare the type of biscuit and any other dietary requirements: Verkade Oaties is an oat biscuit with milk chocolate, Jumbo Lekker Vrij offers a digestive with milk chocolate, and Cereal has a chocolate biscuit that is also marketed as lactose-free. Before serving, check the ingredients and allergens on each pack; gluten-free does not mean a biscuit is also free from milk, soya or nuts.
You want to be able to rely on the ‘gluten-free’ label on the finished product, rather than just an ingredients list that doesn’t mention wheat. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre describes a gluten-free diet as important for people with coeliac disease.
As well as checking for a gluten-free label, you may also need to consider lactose or declarations of milk, soya and nuts. Check each pack separately before putting biscuits for different guests on the same platter.
Once you’ve checked the essential dietary requirements, you can choose between an oat biscuit with chocolate, a digestive with milk chocolate or a chocolate biscuit that is also marketed as lactose-free.
Start by checking for a gluten-free label on the pack. Then consider other allergens and your preferred type of biscuit before deciding what to put on the platter.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free label | Check for ‘gluten-free’ on the current packaging, including for oat biscuits. Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014 sets out requirements for this label and for oats in products labelled this way. | If I’m offering a biscuit to a guest with coeliac disease, I don’t want to have to rely on there being no visible wheat flour. For around 50% of consumers, this label check is the deciding factor. |
| Other allergens and lactose | Read the allergen information and any warnings on each pack; assess lactose-free claims separately from information about milk allergens. | When catering for several dietary requirements, I want to know whether a gluten-free biscuit also meets my guests’ other needs. For around 30% of consumers, these additional checks come first. |
| Type of biscuit | Compare an oat biscuit with milk chocolate, a digestive with milk chocolate and a chocolate biscuit marketed as lactose-free. | Once the essential dietary requirements have been covered, I want to choose a biscuit that suits my New Year’s Eve platter. For around 20% of consumers, the type of biscuit is then the most important factor. |
An ingredients list with no visible wheat flour is not the same as a ‘gluten-free’ label on the finished product. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, oats in a product presented as gluten-free must also meet requirements designed to prevent contamination with wheat, rye and barley.
If coeliac disease is a priority, choose a pack labelled ‘gluten-free’ and check the label again when you serve it.
Gluten-free chocolate biscuits may contain other allergens. For Verkade Oaties Milk Chocolate, Joybuy lists milk, oats and soya, and notes that nuts may be present.
If a guest has additional dietary requirements, check the ingredients and allergen information on the specific pack.
A name or description can help you find a biscuit, but it may not provide all the information that could matter to every guest.
When you buy the biscuits and just before serving, check the gluten-free label, ingredients and allergens on the packaging of the product you’re actually using.
Verkade offers Oaties Milk Chocolate as a gluten-free oat biscuit coated with milk chocolate.
Jumbo lists Lekker Vrij Gluten-Free Digestives Milk Chocolate 165 g in this range.
Jumbo lists Cereal Gluten-Free & Lactose-Free Chocolate Biscuits 150 g.
Jumbo lists Schär Choco Chip Cookies Gluten-Free 100 g as an alternative in a different biscuit style.
This product selection is for anyone looking for an oat biscuit with milk chocolate that is marketed as gluten-free for New Year’s Eve. Check the label and allergen information on the current pack before buying and serving.
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For anyone who wants to add an oat biscuit with milk chocolate, marketed as gluten-free, to their New Year’s Eve platter.
For this product, Joybuy lists milk, oats and soya as allergens; nuts may also be present. Check the current packaging if you need to cater for additional dietary requirements.
No. The absence of wheat does not confirm that the finished product is gluten-free. Check for a ‘gluten-free’ label on the packaging; under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, its use is subject to certain requirements.
No. Don’t assume they are gluten-free just because they contain oats. Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, oats in a product presented as gluten-free must meet requirements designed to prevent contamination with wheat, rye and barley, so check the specific pack.
No. ‘Lactose-free’ does not automatically mean a biscuit is suitable for someone with a milk allergy. Check the ingredients and allergen information on the current packaging.
Keep gluten-free biscuits separate from regular biscuits and use a separate serving utensil to avoid crumbs getting onto the same platter. Keep the packaging to hand so guests can check the gluten-free label and other allergen information for themselves.
