If you have coeliac disease and fancy Dutch rusks with chocolate sprinkles alongside your coffee in your hotel room, choose rusks and chocolate sprinkles whose current packaging explicitly states that they are ‘gluten-free’. Albert Heijn lists Schär Zwieback as gluten-free, while Gluten-Free Webshop lists De Rit Chocoladehagelslag Puur as gluten-free. Check both packs before using them. If you’re thinking of having something from the hotel breakfast, first ask for allergen information about the products on offer and how they are served.
You want to have breakfast in your room or are considering the buffet. Check the gluten-free label on the rusks and chocolate sprinkles separately. At the buffet, also ask what is actually on offer and how it is served.
You don’t want to depend on what the hotel serves with your coffee. You can choose your rusks and a separate pack of chocolate sprinkles in advance, then take them with you and store them according to the instructions on the packaging.
You regularly replace bread or ordinary rusks and want to know whether your alternative contains baker’s salt. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bakers aren’t required to use this salt, so don’t rely on the product category alone.
Start by checking the gluten-free label on both products. Then decide whether to bring them yourself or ask the hotel what is currently on offer.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten-free suitability | Check that the current packaging for each product separately states ‘gluten-free’, and read the allergen information. | With coeliac disease, I don’t want to rely on a familiar brand name or just the impression given by the ingredients. For around 42% of consumers, confirmed gluten-free suitability comes first. |
| Breakfast in your hotel room | Check the storage instructions and whether you can take both products with you unopened. If you’re using the buffet, ask what is on offer that day. | If I have breakfast in my room, I want to choose my own rusks and topping without relying on the buffet. Around 33% of consumers prioritise this convenience. |
| Taste and nutritional considerations | Check chocolate sprinkles for any other relevant allergens too. If you regularly replace bread, check whether your chosen rusks contain baker’s salt. | I want the familiar combination with chocolate sprinkles, but I also take other allergens and my usual diet into account. For around 25% of consumers, this combination of preferences matters most. |
A brand name or a range that includes rusks and chocolate sprinkles tells you nothing about whether the particular variety you’re buying is labelled gluten-free. For someone with coeliac disease, the information on each product matters.
Before using them, check the current packaging for both the rusks and the chocolate sprinkles.
At a hotel breakfast, the allergen information needs to relate to what is actually being served. Also ask how the rusks and toppings are presented.
Ask the hotel for this information before eating, and bring your own sealed combination if you prefer.
Iodine is added to baker’s salt, but according to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bakers aren’t required to use it. So ‘gluten-free’ doesn’t tell you whether the rusks are made with baker’s salt.
Check the product information if baker’s salt matters to you, especially if you regularly replace bread.
Gluten-Free Webshop lists De Rit Chocoladehagelslag Puur as gluten-free, but also states that this variety may contain milk.
Check for all allergens that are relevant to you, not just gluten. If you have a milk allergy, don’t choose a product based only on its gluten-free label.
Albert Heijn lists Schär Zwieback as gluten-free and wheat-free. It could be a suitable base for your hotel-room combination.
Gluten-Free Webshop lists De Rit Chocoladehagelslag Puur as gluten-free dark chocolate sprinkles.
Albert Heijn has a gluten-free products category and lists the Schär Zwieback mentioned here in its range.
Don’t rely on that alone: check that the current packaging explicitly says ‘gluten-free’. Check the chocolate sprinkles separately too. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority sets out the conditions for using ‘gluten-free’ on a label.
Before eating them, ask for the allergen information for the rusks and chocolate sprinkles being served at that time, and ask how they are presented. The Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority says consumers must also be given allergen information for unpackaged foods.
No, you can’t tell that from the words ‘gluten-free’. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, bakers aren’t required to use baker’s salt, which has iodine added to it. Check the information for the product you choose if you regularly replace bread with rusks.
Take both products in sealed packaging and follow the storage instructions on each label. Before breakfast, you can also check the gluten-free label and any other allergens again.
