Ever wanted to shop at supermarkets without being in doubt as to whether or not this or that store carries gluten-free products? When on a strict gluten-free diet, you can’t afford so much a “may contain gluten” ingredient in your food, let along buying a product that is not explicitly labeled “gluten free”. In Australia, about 1 in 70 people is affected by the celiac disease, which is the disease that manifests as an abnormal reaction of the immune system to gluten.
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Gluten is found in barley, oats, rye, and wheat, which means people diagnosed with celiac condition are sensitive to many conventional foods and need gluten-free sources of foods to keep the condition under control.
Luckily, it’s becoming increasingly easier to adopt a gluten free diet due to the widespread recognition of the disease and supermarkets now providing alternatives to foods containing grain.
Note: Supermarkets also carry many ‘may contain gluten’ products, which you should avoid entirely if you have medically diagnosed celiac disease because even the smallest amount of gluten can provoke unwanted symptoms and cause damage.
You can find gluten free products at many grocery retailers in Australia, from big box stores to your neighborhood store. You just have to understand product labels and be careful about the ingredients in a product. Food labeling laws in Australia now ask retailers to put everything on a product label, whether gluten is added to a product as ingredient, additive or processing aid, so reading a label carefully will make it much easier for you to go gluten-free.
Supermarkets carrying gluten-free products
Coles
Coles is one of the main supermarkets in Australia and is also one of the retailers to carry a good selection of gluten-free products. The company sponsors various gluten free food expos, so it’s known to strive to provide customers with products they can buy safely.
Gluten free food categories widely available at Coles are vegetables, breads & bread flour, breakfast cereals, pasta, rice & noodles, dairies, meat & poultry, dried legumes, pre-prepared meals, oils, spices, dressings, snacks, and beverages. It’s a pretty good range.
Coles also carries their store-branded gluten-free products, so if $6 to $7 dollars for bread is a bit on the higher side in the national brands aisle, you may find cheaper options in their range that is often on special too. They carry gluten-free foods, snacks, frozen pizzas, veggie burgers and the best part is that they keep adding products to the selection.
Woolworths
Woolworths is a grocery giant in Australia, one where you can find gluten free cereals, crackers, breads, wraps, refrigerated foods, frozen meals, cakes and pastries. What they carry unique to them is Rowie’s Cakes, a brand of gluten-free bakery goods that offers cakes in various shapes and sizes.
Like Coles, Woolworths too carries its own range of gluten-free products called ‘Free From,’ which boosts biscuits, flours, breadcrumbs, pastas, cake and pancake mixes. It’s not as big a selection as Coles’ but hopefully they’ll continue to expand the offering.
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Both Coles and Woolworths operate online shops, so if you’re unable to source gluten-free products at your neighborhood store, shopping online at either of them is a good alternative. Delivery fees aren’t all that pricey and you get free delivery if you spend a minimum amount. Maybe stock up every once in a while for best pricing.