If you have coeliac disease, choose white bread labelled gluten-free and check how it’s prepared and topped at lunchtime. Packaging tells you what’s in the bread and which allergens it contains, but it won’t prevent crumbs getting onto it from shared knives, chopping boards or fillings. So, if you’re ordering a sandwich from the canteen, ask how it’s prepared.
You need gluten-free bread and want to avoid it coming into contact with crumbs from ordinary bread in the canteen. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre warns that even a bread crumb can cause symptoms if you have coeliac disease.
As well as checking that the bread is labelled gluten-free, you check the allergens in your chosen variety and its toppings. Albert Heijn and Jumbo also list other allergens that are present or may be present in the gluten-free white breads they have reviewed.
You want to know whether you can take the bread with you or freeze it, and how many portions are in a pack. If you often replace ordinary bread, you can also compare the nutritional information and ingredients of different products.
Choose this when: you want to check the gluten-free label, ingredients and allergens on the packaging before lunch.
Bear in mind: the packaging tells you nothing about crumbs that may get onto the bread while it’s being prepared or served in the canteen.
Choose this when: the canteen can tell you which bread it uses and how it prepares the sandwich separately.
Bear in mind: allergen information alone doesn’t confirm that knives, boards and fillings are kept free from crumbs from ordinary bread.
| What to consider | What to check before buying | Who is this most important for? |
|---|---|---|
| Gluten and crumbs | Check that it’s labelled gluten-free. If you’re buying an open sandwich, ask whether it’s stored separately and prepared with clean equipment. | If I’m having lunch in the canteen with coeliac disease, I don’t want crumbs from ordinary bread getting onto my food. Around 33% of consumers prioritise gluten-free bread that hasn’t been cross-contaminated. |
| Availability on working days | Check what your shop or canteen currently has available and whether you can store your chosen bread in advance. | When I have a short lunch break, I want to know in advance whether I can bring suitable bread with me or get it from the canteen. For around 27% of consumers, this predictability is their main concern. |
| Other allergens | Read the current allergen information for the exact variety you’ve chosen. If you’re buying an unpackaged sandwich, ask about allergens before you buy. | I need to avoid another allergen as well as gluten, so I can’t rely on the name of the bread alone. Other allergens are the main thing to check for around 20% of consumers. |
| Nutritional information and use | Compare fibre per 100 g, ingredients such as iodised salt, and the preparation or storage instructions. | If I regularly take bread to work, I want to compare the nutritional information and know how to prepare the product. Around 20% of consumers prioritise this combination. |
Ordinary white wheat bread isn’t gluten-free. If you have coeliac disease, the label on the specific product matters more than its colour or type.
Check the gluten-free label on the packaging, or ask which bread has been used if you’re ordering a sandwich from the canteen.
The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says that even a stray bread crumb can cause symptoms if you have coeliac disease. A gluten-free sandwich may come into contact with ordinary bread while it’s being prepared or toasted.
Ask whether the canteen uses clean, separate equipment and how it stores the bread and fillings. Don’t choose an open sandwich if the preparation methods aren’t clear.
Jumbo lists soya as an ingredient in the white variety it reviewed, and says it may contain egg, milk and nuts. Albert Heijn also lists other allergens that may be present in the variety it reviewed.
Always read the current allergen information on the pack you’ve chosen. If you’re buying unpackaged products, ask about all the allergens that are relevant to you.
Albert Heijn lists 10 g of fibre per 100 g for the white bread it reviewed; Jumbo lists 6.2 g per 100 g for its white variety. Both list iodised salt as an ingredient.
Compare the nutritional information per 100 g and the ingredients of the products you’re actually considering, without using one figure to judge all bread.
Albert Heijn sells AH Gluten-free White Bread, sliced, as a 480 g pack of white bread.
Jumbo’s gluten-free bread range includes a 500 g white variety.
Schär is a brand to compare if you’re considering other types of gluten-free bread alongside supermarket own-brand white loaves.
Lidl is a shop worth checking for its current gluten-free range when you’re doing the shopping for your work lunch.
These mini baguettes are suited to a planned bread lunch and need to be baked before serving. If you have coeliac disease, check the gluten-free label on the packaging before buying, and prepare and top the bread separately from ordinary bread.
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A pack of seven mini baguettes for anyone who likes to plan their bread lunch in advance.
The baguettes need to be baked before serving; check the preparation instructions on the packaging. If you need to avoid gluten or other allergens, also check the gluten-free label and the latest allergen information.
Choose bread clearly labelled gluten-free and check the packaging of the variety you’ve selected. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre says that even a bread crumb can cause symptoms if you have coeliac disease, so if your bread is prepared in the canteen, also ask how they prevent it coming into contact with ordinary bread.
Before you buy, ask which allergens are present in the bread and fillings. According to the Netherlands Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority, businesses selling unpackaged food must provide customers with allergen information. Also ask separately how the sandwich is prepared, as that information doesn’t confirm that it’s made without cross-contamination.
That also depends on how it’s prepared: the packaging describes the bread, not the knives, chopping boards, toasters or fillings used in the canteen. So ask whether these are kept clean and used separately, away from crumbs from ordinary bread.
The amount and source of iodine in your diet may change when you replace ordinary bread. The Netherlands Nutrition Centre notes that baker’s salt is one way iodine gets into bread. So check the ingredients of each gluten-free product rather than assuming that all bread contains the same type of salt.
