Cornflakes can do many things: they make a reliable breakfast cereal, you can snack on them in the middle of the day, and you can use them in countless dessert recipes. But if you have coeliac disease, you might wonder: are cornflakes gluten-free? Don’t worry, we have you covered. We’ll give you lots of answers, explanations, buying recommendations, and useful advice in this article.
Few foods out there can claim to dominate their market the way that cornflakes do. The cereal is the preferred option of millions of breakfast eaters, with these crunchy golden flakes getting the seal of approval in countries throughout the world.
Most people will be instantly familiar with Kellogg’s Cornflakes and their trademark rooster and notable red, green, and white branding, while others will have noticed plenty of alternative cornflake substitutes popping up on their supermarket shelves or when doing an online shop.
You don’t need to look hard to see why cornflakes have made such an impact in the 100-odd years since they first hit the market – they’re as simple, tasty, and reliable a breakfast meal as you could ask for.
But are they the right meal for those with gluten intolerance?
Let’s take a look:
What to know about gluten intolerance
Having a gluten intolerance is a common condition. This is where a person’s immune system attacks their body’s tissue when they consume gluten – which is primarily found in the likes of grain, wheat, and barley. The medical name for this is coeliac disease.
The disease primarily affects the lower intestine and can have a range of effects on the body, including abdominal pain, bloating, and indigestion, as well as leading to more extreme problems such as vomiting and diarrhoea.
Gluten intolerance affects millions of people across the world. In the UK alone, it affects as many as six hundred thousand people.
One of the main difficulties faced by those with coeliac disease is that they have to massively rethink their diet, due to the fact that a surprising number of food products have gluten in them.
Thankfully, however, the last few decades have seen an increase in the range of available gluten-free foods in shops, meaning it’s slightly easier for coeliacs to lead a healthy diet.
Getting breakfast right
Those with gluten intolerance know that figuring out the right food for themselves is all important. Along with just about everyone else in the world, they’ll know that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.
So for coeliacs, the right breakfast really can be the difference between waking your gut up to good, nutritious food – or waking it up to something that’s going to cause it massive discomfort, or even worse problems.
Let’s get the facts right and take a look at how cornflakes are made.
How are cornflakes made and – most importantly – are they gluten-free?
Cornflakes originated in the 1890s and were an invention of the Kellogg’s food company. Will Kellogg (the name behind the brand) created the breakfast cereal and many other popular morning foods, like Rice Krispies and Frosted Flakes. He also made some party snacks, such as Pringles.
Cornflakes come from corn that farmers grow and harvest. Then they take the corn to a mill where it gets cleaned, sifted, and rolled. Next, the corn goes to a factory where machines roll it into flakes. The flakes get cooked, dried, and toasted before they are ready to eat.
So – no gluten so far in the ingredients, but there’s a step to go before we reach the finished product.
Milled corn is the main ingredient in the cereal, but it also has malt flavor. This ingredient contains gluten and can harm people with coeliac disease or a gluten
In fact, most popular cornflake cereal brands use malt flavouring, meaning that many cereals that you see in supermarket aisles are not gluten-free.
What is “malt flavouring” and why do cereal makers use it?
To put it simply, malting is a process where grains (normally barley grains) gets soaked in water and are then dried out to make a malt flavour. The malt is then used as a flavour enhancer, and you can find it in everything from beer to bakes goods, as well as in the likes of breads, sweet treats and vinegar.
All we need to be aware of right now is that malt flavouring is found in most cereals and it is used in these products to add extra flavour and nutrients to them.
You should know this as a consumer: your cereal might have gluten in it, unless the product says the malt comes from a gluten-free grain and has a gluten-free label on the package.
Are there gluten-free alternatives to Cornflakes?
The good news is that there are plenty of alternatives out there for those who still want to eat tasty cereals for their breakfast.
While you might despair at the lack of gluten-free options on your supermarket shelves, many gluten-free bloggers, chefs, and even supermarkets and suppliers themselves have gone to great lengths to provide lists of cereal alternatives, making sure that you’re not going hungry for your favourite food at breakfast.
Here’s a few gluten-free cereals that might act as a fill-in for cornflakes. All of which are normally available on supermarket shelves in the UK.
– Nestle GoFree Cornflakes Gluten-Free Cereal (The best alternative in my view)
Nestle Gofree’s Gluten-Free Cornflakes come highly recommended because of their great taste, popularity, and brand reliability. The cereal – which features flakes of toasted corn which are fortified with vitamins and iron – has proven massively popular with shoppers who require a gluten-free breakfast cereal.
The cereal is readily available in supermarkets in the UK.
– Nestle Gofree Gluten Free Rice Pops
Gluten-free, vegan friendly, and another one which is part of Nestle’s ‘GoFree’ range of cereal products, the Nestle GoFree gluten-free rice pops are a great alternative to the standard Rice Krispies brands that you’ll find on the shelves.
They have a surprisingly great texture and taste as well.
– Nature’s Path Gorilla Munch Corn Puffs
Both dairy and gluten-free, Nature’s Path Gorilla Munch is another popular corn puff alternative that gluten-intolerant customers are enjoying. Although we’ll note that many customers are divided on just how nice it tastes. With reviewers either hating or loving this product!
– Cheerios
People might not realise it, but as well as being a very popular breakfast cereal, Cheerios are actually gluten-free. In fact, the company make a point of noting this prominently on their company website, writing:
“To make Cheerios gluten-free, we have to separate the oats from grains that contain gluten, which are different sizes and shapes.”
Cheerios add vitamins and minerals to their cereal, like iron, calcium, and vitamin D. They’re also relatively inexpensive, which means they may well be the right option for you.
Anything else to be aware of?
Those who suffer with gluten intolerance will know that getting clear information and advice is of the utmost importance for them.
Many will also be aware that this can, at times, be suprisingly difficult to come by – both from manufacturers and retailers themselves.
Some manufacturers and retailers have improved their verified gluten-free labelling or information on their products and on their websites. This makes things easier for customers. But unfortunately, there’s still a long journey to go before coeliac sufferers get the full clarity that they crave.
The best advice I can give is to constantly use your own judgement and exercise caution where needed. Gluten may lurk in foods, even when they don’t list it as a main ingredient. You should watch out for that. Sometimes, the production process uses gluten products in ways that are not obvious. You should always read the ingredients list of a product carefully – from top to bottom – before buying it. For example, cornflakes don’t have gluten in their basic ingredients, but they still contain gluten in the final product.
Are there any other attempts to get clarity around gluten in cereal?
In the cereal market in particular, Coeliac UK have stated that they’re trying to get as much clarity from retailers as possible. This is to help those who suffer from coeliac disease and to make breakfast that bit simpler.
They wrote this statement on their website:
”Under our new policy, we are asking food manufacturers who produce products made with ingredients from gluten containing grains, such as barley malt extract, to not only confirm to us that their products have been tested and shown to have no more than 20 ppm gluten, but also to label them gluten free. In the absence of a gluten free label they will no longer be included in our Food Information listings. We are continuing to engage with the manufacturers to achieve a commitment to enable these products to be labelled gluten free in the future.”
We can only hope that, in the very near future, those with coeliac get the kind of clarity that will help them.
Happy – and healthy – eating!