If a child has coeliac disease, choose chocolate biscuits explicitly labelled ‘gluten-free’ and check the current packaging before taking them in. Keep the ingredients and allergen information available when handing them out: gluten-free biscuits may still contain oats, milk, soya, egg or nuts, and the school’s guidelines will also affect how you can offer them.
You’re looking for biscuits with a clear gluten-free label and want to prevent them coming into contact with ordinary biscuit crumbs while packing or handing them out. The Voedingscentrum recommends reading the label on gluten-free products carefully.
Gluten-free doesn’t automatically mean suitable for every child. Depending on the product, you’ll also need to check for ingredients such as oats, milk, soya, egg or nuts.
You want to have enough biscuits to hand out without losing the product information. Before packing them, ask the school about its guidelines on treats, allergens and how food should be handed out.
First check the gluten-free label and any other relevant allergens. Then work out how many biscuits you need and how to offer them in line with the school’s guidelines.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free suitability | Look for the explicit ‘gluten-free’ label on the current packaging. Avoid contact with ordinary biscuits and crumbs when packing them. | If I’m taking biscuits in for a child with coeliac disease, I want to be able to rely on the label and keep them separate from ordinary biscuits; around 36% of consumers prioritise gluten-free suitability. |
| Other allergens | Read the ingredients and allergen information for each product, and discuss any known restrictions with the school in advance. | If there are other food allergies in the class, I don’t want to assume that gluten-free is enough. For around 29% of consumers, other allergens are their main concern. |
| Quantity and packaging | Compare the number of biscuits in each pack with the number of people receiving them, and keep the product information available when handing them out. | If I’m handing biscuits out to a whole class, I want to know in advance how many I can bring without losing the information that goes with them; around 21% of consumers prioritise this practical consideration. |
| Availability in time | Check that the pack you’ve chosen will be available in time and that you can get enough for the planned event. | If the school fair is coming up soon, I want to be able to get a suitable option in time. Around 14% of consumers prioritise timely availability. |
A pack with no wheat ingredient visible on the front doesn’t mean the biscuits are gluten-free. Contact with crumbs from ordinary biscuits when handing them out also matters to someone with coeliac disease.
Choose biscuits explicitly labelled ‘gluten-free’, read the current label and keep them separate from ordinary biscuits.
According to Albert Heijn’s product information, AH Glutenvrij Chocolate Chip Cookies contain egg, milk and hazelnut. The gluten-free oat biscuits listed by Verkade and Nairn's contain, among other things, oats, milk and soya.
Ask which other allergens are relevant to the people receiving the biscuits, then check the ingredients and allergen information on each pack.
Without the original packaging, it’s harder for parents and school staff to check which ingredients and allergens are in the biscuits.
Keep the packaging at the stall or make sure the correct ingredients and allergen information is clearly displayed next to the product. Keep gluten-free biscuits separate from ordinary biscuits.
The Voedingscentrum points out that a school’s policy may determine what can and can’t be given out as a treat. So even a suitable product may not be right for the planned event.
Before packing the biscuits, ask the school or parents’ committee about its guidelines on food, allergens, packaging and handing items out.
The details below apply to the biscuits listed, not to every product from these brands. Check the current packaging against the allergens relevant to your school fair.
AH Glutenvrij Chocolate Chip Cookies are chocolate biscuits in a 160 g pack.
Gluten-Free Oaties Milk Chocolate are oat biscuits coated with milk chocolate, in a 150 g pack.
Nairn's Oaties choc chip are gluten-free oat biscuits; Jumbo lists 16 biscuits in a 160 g pack.
Schär Choco Chip Cookies are gluten-free chocolate biscuits in a 100 g pack.
The explicit ‘gluten-free’ label is the relevant product claim: under Implementing Regulation (EU) No 828/2014, it can be used if the finished product contains no more than 20 mg/kg of gluten. Check the current packaging, then avoid contact with ordinary biscuits or crumbs while packing and handing them out.
No. Check for other allergens separately. According to Albert Heijn, Verkade Gluten-Free Oaties Milk Chocolate contain oats, milk and soya, and may contain traces of nuts; oats, milk and soya are listed for Nairn's Oaties choc chip.
Make sure the correct ingredients and allergen information is clearly available next to the biscuits you’re offering. For example, keep the original packaging at the school fair stall and make sure any biscuits you’ve packed yourself can be clearly matched to that information.
Compare the number of people receiving biscuits with the number of biscuits in each pack, not just the pack weight. Jumbo lists 16 biscuits per pack for Nairn's Oaties choc chip; check the number on the pack you choose and keep the product information available when handing them out.
