ASCIA Dietary Guide - Wheat Allergy

This document has been developed by ASCIA, the peak professional body of clinical immunology/allergy specialists in Australia and New Zealand. ASCIA information is based on published literature and expert review, is not influenced by commercial organisations and is not intended to replace medical advice. For patient or carer support contact Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia or Allergy New Zealand.

ASCIA Dietary Avoidance for Food Allergy FAQ should be used with the ASCIA dietary guide for wheat allergy.

ASCIA PC Dietary Avoidance Food Allergy FAQ 2023273.67 KB

ASCIA PC Dietary Guide for Wheat Allergy 202384.38 KB

Wheat is found in many foods, and often in foods we do not suspect. Avoiding wheat is essential for people with confirmed wheat allergy. It is important to read and understand food labels to be able to choose the right foods.

The following foods and ingredients CONTAIN wheat and should be avoided:

Atta flour	Graham flour	Wheat
Bulgar	Kamut	Wheat bran
Burghul	Matzoh	Wheat flour
Couscous	Seitan	Wheat germ
Cracker meal	Semolina	Wheat meal
Durum	Spelt	Wheat starch
Farina	Tabouleh	Wheat berries
Gluten	Triticale

Check labels on the following foods to see if they contain wheat and if they do, avoid them:

Baked goods	Flavouring (natural/artificial)	Pastry/tarts
Battered foods	Hydrolysed vegetable protein (HVP)	Playdough
Beer	Ice cream cones	Processed meats
Biscuits	Icing sugar	Rusks
Bread (other than gluten free)	Instant drink mixes	Sauces/gravy mixes
Breadcrumbs	Liquorice	Soy sauce
Breakfast cereal	Lollies (sweets, confectionery)	Soups
Cakes/muffins	Malt, malted milk	Snack foods
Canned soups/stocks	Meat/seafood substitutes	Starch
Cereal extract	Multigrain or wholemeal foods	Stock cubes
Coffee substitutes	Mustard	Surimi
Cornflour (from wheat)	Pancakes/waffles	Vegetable gum/starch
Donuts	Pasta/noodles

The following ingredients are all made from wheat (caramel colour, dextrose, glucose powder, and glucose syrup), but may be tolerated by some people with wheat allergy.

Gluten free foods

Gluten is one of many proteins in wheat, barley, oats and rye. Most people with wheat allergy can tolerate oats, but the decision to include certain foods should be discussed with a clinical immunology/allergy specialist.

Approximately 20% of people with wheat allergy may be allergic to other gluten containing cereals such as barley, rye or oats.

Ask a clinical immunology/allergy specialist if all gluten containing foods should be avoided.

People with wheat allergy should carefully check the labels of all products, including those that are gluten free.

Wheat alternatives

The biggest challenge when avoiding wheat is finding alternative breads, cereals and pasta.

The following table outlines some substitutes:

Instead of:	Use:
Breads, cereals, pastas made from wheat flours and grains.	Breads, flours, cereals, pastas made from:
	Amaranth Arrowroot Barley Buckwheat Chickpea (besan) Coconut Corn Gluten-free flours	Lentil Lupin Millet Oat Pea Polenta Potato Psyllium	Quinoa Rice Rye Sago Soy Sorghum Tapioca
Snacks such as muesli bars and muffins	Rice and corn crackers/cakes, gluten free savoury biscuits and crackers
Treats such as biscuits and chocolate	Plain salted potato chips, corn chips, rice chips, and gluten free sweet biscuits
Beer	Brands made from hops or barley