If you’re serving someone with coeliac disease, choose a chocolate biscuit whose current packaging explicitly states that it is gluten-free. Then compare the type of biscuit and the other allergens: gluten-free does not automatically mean lactose-free, dairy-free or nut-free. If the oliebollen stall cannot keep storage and serving separate from gluten-containing products, offer the biscuit in its sealed packaging rather than serving it loose.
They need a chocolate biscuit with an explicit gluten-free statement. An ingredients list alone does not give them the same certainty about the finished product. How the stall stores and serves the biscuit matters too. The Dutch Coeliac Society advises preventing cross-contamination when serving gluten-free food.
They need to be able to explain which allergens a biscuit contains and prevent it from coming into contact with gluten-containing oliebollen, crumbs or shared utensils during storage or serving. Customers must be given allergen information when products are sold unpackaged, according to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority.
As well as the gluten-free statement, they need all the other information on the exact product label. Product information from Albert Heijn and Jumbo shows that chocolate biscuits can contain different ingredients and allergens; a gluten-free statement does not replace these checks.
Start with the gluten-free statement on the packaging, then decide how the stall will serve the biscuit. Only after that should you compare biscuit types and other allergens.
| What to look for | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Explicitly labelled gluten-free | Check the gluten-free statement on the current packaging of the exact biscuit. Don’t rely on the brand name or ingredients list alone. | If I have coeliac disease, I want to know that this particular biscuit is being sold as gluten-free. This confirmation is the top priority for around 36% of consumers. |
| Serving at the stall | Ask whether the biscuit will remain sealed in its packaging; if it will be served loose, check how storage, utensils and allergen information are managed. | I don’t want my biscuit to come into contact with crumbs from regular oliebollen when it’s served. Safe serving and clear information are the top priorities for around 29% of consumers. |
| Biscuit type and chocolate | Compare whether you’re buying a chocolate chip cookie, oat biscuit or digestive, and read the chocolate information for the exact product. | I want the alternative to be recognisably a chocolate biscuit, not just any gluten-free snack. This is the most important preference for around 21% of consumers. |
| Other allergens | Read the allergen information and any precautionary allergen statement on the current packaging; check separately whether it is labelled lactose-free. | As well as gluten, I may need to avoid another ingredient, so I want to be able to read the full label. This additional restriction is the most important consideration for around 14% of consumers. |
A brand can make different types of biscuit. Lotus Bakeries lists wheat flour in Lotus Speculoos with Chocolate, so this product is not a substitute for a gluten-free chocolate biscuit.
Check the gluten-free statement on the packaging of the exact product, not just the brand name or picture.
Other allergens vary from one biscuit to another. Albert Heijn lists hazelnut, milk and egg, among other ingredients, in AH Gluten-Free Chocolate chip cookies.
Keep the current packaging available so visitors can check the other ingredients, allergens and any precautionary allergen statements too.
When biscuits are stored and served next to regular oliebollen, they may come into contact with gluten-containing crumbs. The Dutch Coeliac Society’s catering guidelines therefore recommend using separate procedures when serving gluten-free food.
Leave the biscuit sealed in its packaging if the stall cannot keep it separate. If it is served unpackaged, make sure storage and serving are kept separate, and that allergen information is available before purchase.
Verkade Oaties Milk Chocolate contains gluten-free oats. According to the Dutch Coeliac Society, most people with coeliac disease tolerate pure gluten-free oats, but this is not the case for everyone.
Visitors who avoid oats should check the ingredients themselves. If possible, offer a gluten-free chocolate biscuit that does not contain oats as well.
Verkade Oaties Milk Chocolate is an oat biscuit with milk chocolate that the manufacturer describes as gluten-free.
Lotus Speculoos with Chocolate is a regular chocolate biscuit, not a gluten-free option.
AH Gluten-Free Chocolate chip cookies is an own-brand option with milk chocolate pieces.
Jumbo lists Lekker Vrij van Gluten Digestives Milk Chocolate, 165 g, as a gluten-free milk chocolate digestive.
At Lidl, choosing a product for this specific offering means checking which biscuits are in store at the time.
Aldi lists a gluten-free Heerlijck Banket biscuit product, but it’s coconut macaroons, not chocolate biscuits.
This oat biscuit with milk chocolate is a suitable choice if you want to offer a packaged chocolate biscuit alongside oliebollen. Check the current packaging and keep the product sealed if it isn’t possible to serve loose biscuits separately.
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An option if you want to offer a packaged gluten-free oat biscuit with chocolate.
Verkade describes Oaties Milk Chocolate as gluten-free and lists 25% milk chocolate. Check the gluten-free statement and allergen information on the current packaging.
This is not suitable for anyone who needs to avoid oats, milk or soya. When serving alongside regular oliebollen, keep the packaging sealed if separate serving isn’t possible.
No. If you’re serving someone with coeliac disease, choose a biscuit whose current packaging explicitly states that it is gluten-free. An ingredients list alone does not show whether the finished product meets the requirements for that claim, as the Dutch Coeliac Society explains.
Customers must be able to get information about the allergens present before buying biscuits sold unpackaged. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says that businesses must provide this information for unpackaged products in a way other than on a packaging label.
A sealed pack limits how much the biscuit is handled at the stall, but it is only useful if it stays sealed and storage and serving prevent contact with gluten-containing products. If you take biscuits out of their packaging, you need separate procedures, as advised in the Dutch Coeliac Society’s catering guidelines.
No. The gluten-free statement tells you nothing about these other characteristics. Albert Heijn lists hazelnut, milk and egg, among other ingredients, in AH Gluten-Free Chocolate chip cookies. So check the current packaging for the ingredients and allergens that are relevant to each visitor.
Not everyone. The Dutch Coeliac Society says that most people with coeliac disease tolerate pure gluten-free oats, but individual sensitivities can vary. For Verkade Oaties Milk Chocolate, check both the gluten-free statement and the oats in the ingredients.
