For a guest with coeliac disease, choose a Dutch breakfast cake or breakfast cake bar whose current packaging clearly states ‘gluten-free’. Set it aside with its own clean serving utensils, and check for other allergens too. Whether you choose an unsliced cake or bars then comes down to how you want to serve the portions.
You want to offer a Dutch breakfast cake at your garden party that is clearly labelled gluten-free. So check the pack you’re actually going to serve, rather than relying on the product name or an image you saw earlier.
Several guests will be serving themselves from the same table. You want to keep the gluten-free option separate and provide its own clean serving utensils, so it doesn’t come into contact with regular Dutch breakfast cake.
As well as gluten, you need to check ingredients such as milk and lupin. A gluten-free label doesn’t tell you whether the Dutch breakfast cake is suitable for your guests’ other allergies.
Start by checking the gluten-free label and other allergens on the current pack. Then decide how to keep the cake separate when serving it, and whether slicing it or handing out individual bars would work better for your garden party.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters most to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free label | Check that the exact product is labelled gluten-free on the current packaging; check any certification marks for each variety. | If a guest with coeliac disease is eating with us, I don’t want to rely on regular Dutch breakfast cake or an old product image. For around 36% of consumers, this label is the top priority. |
| Keeping food separate at the buffet | Plan a separate spot and use a clean plate and knife of its own, or separate tongs. | At a shared table, I want to stop guests using the same serving utensils for regular and gluten-free cake. Avoiding this cross-contact is the top priority for around 29% of consumers. |
| Other allergens | Read the ingredients and allergen information on the pack you buy; for the unsliced varieties mentioned, also check for milk and lupin. | If a guest has another allergy as well as coeliac disease, I want to know whether the same cake is suitable for them. Other allergens are the main concern when buying for around 21% of consumers. |
| Portions and serving style | Compare a cake you slice yourself with individually wrapped bars, and choose an amount that suits the number of guests. | If I want to hand out portions quickly, I’ll choose differently than if I’m slicing a cake for a group. For around 14% of consumers, this practical difference is what makes the decision. |
Regular Dutch breakfast cake may contain rye. For example, G'woon Ontbijtkoek Rozijnen, as described by Joybuy, lists rye flour as an ingredient. It isn’t a suitable substitute for a gluten-free option for a guest with coeliac disease.
Choose a product with a current gluten-free label for that guest, and keep regular Dutch breakfast cake separate.
Product information from Jumbo Supermarkten and PLUS lists milk and lupin in the Jumbo Lekker Vrij and Peijnenburg varieties respectively.
Ask in advance about any other allergies that need to be considered, and read the ingredients and allergen information on every pack you buy.
Even a gluten-free product can come into contact with crumbs from regular Dutch breakfast cake when it’s being served.
Set the gluten-free cake aside and use a clean plate and knife of its own, or separate tongs.
Albert Heijn warns that the ingredients, nutritional values and allergen information for its Dutch breakfast cake bars may change.
Before serving, check the gluten-free label, allergen information, best-before date and storage instructions on the pack you bought.
Jumbo Supermarkten describes a 300 g gluten-free, unsliced Dutch breakfast cake.
PLUS describes a 285 g gluten-free, unsliced Peijnenburg Dutch breakfast cake.
Albert Heijn describes a gluten-free Dutch breakfast cake bar and a high-fibre gluten-free Dutch breakfast cake bar in a 2-pack.
Don’t offer regular Dutch breakfast cake as a substitute for a gluten-free product to that guest. Regular varieties may contain gluten, such as the rye flour in G'woon Ontbijtkoek Rozijnen, as described by Joybuy. Check that your alternative has a current gluten-free label.
Under EU Implementing Regulation 828/2014, the term ‘gluten-free’ may be used when the food as sold contains no more than 20 mg of gluten per kg. Check the label on the pack you’re serving and read the other allergen information too.
Set the gluten-free cake apart from regular cake and give it a clean plate and knife of its own, or separate tongs. Leave the packaging next to it so guests can check the product information.
No, the ‘gluten-free’ label doesn’t mean that. Product information from Jumbo Supermarkten and PLUS lists milk and lupin in the Jumbo Lekker Vrij and Peijnenburg cakes mentioned here. Check the current label for every variety you choose.
Ask for allergen information for that exact cake, and find out how it is prepared and served separately. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says that allergen information for unpackaged food must be provided to consumers in a different way, so don’t rely on the cake’s name alone.
