Before a walk, choose a chocolate biscuit whose current packaging explicitly says ‘gluten-free’, then check its ingredients and allergen information too. Next, compare the portions for your trip and check whether milk, soya, egg, nuts or oats are relevant to you: a gluten-free biscuit isn’t automatically free from these ingredients.
If you need gluten-free biscuits for the trail, the information on the packaging you take with you matters more than a familiar brand name or chocolate flavour. Always check the current ingredients and allergen information too.
As well as gluten, you may need to avoid lactose, milk, soya, egg or nuts. Gluten-free chocolate biscuits vary in their ingredients and allergen information; lactose-free, for example, doesn’t automatically mean soya-free.
If you don’t want to put the whole pack in your rucksack, the number of biscuits, the stated serving size and any individual wrappers can help you choose an amount that’s right for your walk.
First, check the gluten-free claim on the packaging. Then you can consider other allergens, how much you want to take with you and whether that exact variety is available.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free claim | Look for ‘gluten-free’ on the current packaging and check the ingredients for the correct variety. | If I can’t eat gluten, I don’t want to pack an ordinary wheat biscuit just because it tastes of chocolate. Around 36% of consumers put this check first. |
| Other allergens | Read both the ‘contains’ and ‘may contain’ information, taking account of the ingredients you need to avoid. | If I have another dietary restriction, a gluten-free biscuit must also suit what else I can eat. For around 29% of consumers, this additional allergen check is their main concern. |
| Portion for the trail | Compare the number of biscuits, the serving size and any individual wrappers. | I want to take an amount that suits my walk without having to open a large pack. That’s the most important consideration for around 21% of consumers. |
| Availability | Before setting off, check that your preferred gluten-free variety is available and compare the label on the product you buy. | If I’m counting on a particular snack for my walk, I want to know whether that exact variety is available. This matters most to around 14% of consumers. |
A chocolate coating tells you nothing about the grains in the biscuit. Lotus Biscoff lists wheat flour in its Speculoos with Chocolate; according to Verkade, its regular Maria biscuits also contain wheat flour.
If you need a gluten-free option, choose based on the current gluten-free claim and ingredients list, not the brand or flavour.
The gluten-free products described by Albert Heijn, Jumbo and the brands differ in their information about milk, soya, egg and nuts. A lactose-free claim doesn’t rule out other allergens.
Compare your own list of ingredients to avoid with both the ‘contains’ and ‘may contain’ information on the packaging.
Albert Heijn points out that product ingredients and allergen information can change. That’s why the packaging of the product you buy is what you should check.
Read the label again before packing the biscuits, even if you’ve seen the same product name before.
A gluten-free promotion or a product you’ve seen before doesn’t guarantee that the same variety will be available when you go for a walk.
Check availability and the label before your walk, so you don’t have to switch to a different variety just before setting off.
These product ranges show why you should compare ingredients and allergens for each variety as well as checking the gluten-free claim.
Verkade describes Oaties Milk Chocolate as a gluten-free oat biscuit with milk chocolate.
Albert Heijn describes its Chocolate chip cookies as being made in a completely gluten-free environment.
Schär Choco Chip Cookies are described as gluten-free and lactose-free.
Jumbo describes Céréal Gluten-free & Lactose-free Chocolate Biscuits as a variety made with, among other ingredients, maize, teff and rice flour.
Lotus Speculoos with Chocolate is a regular chocolate biscuit, not a gluten-free option for this purpose.
No. Check that the packaging you’re buying explicitly says ‘gluten-free’, and read the ingredients and allergen information. The Dutch Coeliac Association points out that oats can be contaminated with gluten if they aren’t produced specifically as gluten-free.
Yes, check the packaging of the product you’re actually taking with you. Albert Heijn says that ingredients and allergen information can change, so the online description is no substitute for checking the current label.
Not necessarily. According to the product information, Schär Choco Chip Cookies contain soya, while the Céréal biscuits list possible traces of other allergens as well as soya. Compare the full allergen information on the packaging with the ingredients you need to avoid.
Not always. Lidl Netherlands says it doesn’t publish an online list of ingredients, allergens and nutritional values for its food products. Check the packaging in store or ask Lidl for the information for the specific product instead.
