If your baby has coeliac disease or has been advised to follow another gluten-free diet, choose only rusks clearly labelled gluten-free and take steps to prevent cross-contamination. If there’s no medical need, gluten-free eating isn’t necessary, according to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre. A gluten-free label also doesn’t tell you whether a crunchy rusk is suitable for a baby learning to eat solid foods. Consider your baby’s eating skills, stay with them while they eat, and check the salt and allergens on the packaging.
For these parents, rusks need to be gluten-free and stay that way during storage and preparation. The Dutch Coeliac Society stresses the importance of keeping products and utensils separate, including at nursery or school.
They want to know whether a crunchy product is right for what their baby can already manage. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises offering bread without the crust once a baby is used to practising with food and eating lumpier textures. This isn’t specific advice about rusks.
They compare the nutritional information per 100 g, the amount being offered and the allergen declaration before adding rusks to the menu more often. Gluten-free doesn’t automatically mean free from other allergens.
First, decide whether a gluten-free diet is necessary. Then, separately consider whether rusks are suitable for your baby’s eating skills and fit with the rest of their diet.
| What to consider | What to check when buying | Who it matters to |
|---|---|---|
| Keeping it gluten-free | If your baby has coeliac disease, check the gluten-free label on the packaging and prevent contact with crumbs or shared spreading utensils. | If my baby has coeliac disease, the rusks must stay gluten-free after opening too; for around 50% of consumers, gluten-free safety is the top priority. |
| Eating skills and supervision | Consider whether your baby can manage lumpier textures yet, and stay with them while they eat. Advice about bread isn’t a safety assessment of crunchy rusks. | I only want to consider a crunchy product once my baby can manage lumpier foods; for around 30% of consumers, eating skills come first. |
| Salt and allergens | Read the latest allergen declaration and compare the salt content per 100 g with the amount you plan to offer. | If rusks are on the menu more often, I want to know how much salt they contain and which allergens are present; for around 20% of consumers, nutritional considerations take priority. |
A gluten-free label tells you about gluten, not the texture of rusks or a baby’s eating skills. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends offering bread without the crust once a baby has experience with practising with food and eating lumpier textures.
Consider your baby’s development separately, always stay with them while they eat, and ask your child health clinic or a paediatrician for advice if you’re unsure.
Ingredients, nutritional values and allergen information can change. So a product page you looked at previously isn’t a substitute for checking the packaging of the product you’re actually using.
Just before use, check the gluten-free label, ingredients, allergens and nutritional information on the packaging.
If your baby has coeliac disease, a gluten-free product needs to stay gluten-free during preparation too. The Dutch Coeliac Society highlights the importance of keeping food separate, including when you’re away from home.
Use clean, separate utensils, and agree with the nursery or school on how the food will be stored and prepared.
A gluten-free alternative isn’t automatically suitable for everyday use. As a precaution, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises against giving children rice or rice products every day because they can contain arsenic.
Vary rice products with other foods that suit your child’s eating skills and diet.
Albert Heijn lists Schär Zwieback gluten-free rusks in a 175 g pack.
Jumbo has a product page for its 120 g Jumbo Lekker Vrij van Gluten Beschuit.
Albert Heijn and Jumbo have listings for Damhert gluten-free rusks or biscotti.
No. According to the Netherlands Nutrition Centre, there’s no need to eat gluten-free without such a condition. If you suspect symptoms, get them assessed before removing gluten from your baby’s diet long term.
You can’t tell from the gluten-free label. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre recommends offering bread without the crust once a baby is used to practising with food and eating lumpier textures, and advises staying with a baby while they eat. This advice about bread doesn’t confirm that crunchy rusks are suitable. If you’re concerned about eating or swallowing, speak to your child health clinic or a paediatrician.
Agree in advance on which product to use and how it will be stored and prepared. The Dutch Coeliac Society says that food for a child with coeliac disease must be gluten-free and stay that way. Clean, separate utensils help prevent contact with crumbs from standard products.
You can’t assume they do just because iodised baker’s salt is used in Dutch bread. Check the ingredients of the rusks. If bread is replaced for a long time as part of a gluten-free diet, you can discuss your child’s overall diet with a paediatric dietitian.
Not as a regular everyday choice. As a precaution, the Netherlands Nutrition Centre advises against giving children rice or rice products every day because they can contain arsenic. Whether another product is suitable also depends on your child’s diet and eating skills.
