Celiac in Canada

The names gluten hides behind are the same in every country, so we keep them in one place: our hidden gluten ingredients list. This page covers what changes in Canada: the law behind “gluten-free”, what a “may contain” line means there, oats, labels, symbols, help with costs and the national celiac association.

Canada at a glance

What does “gluten-free” mean on a Canadian label?

Canada’s rule is section B.24.018 of the Food and Drug Regulations: no food may be labelled, sold or advertised in a way that suggests it is gluten-free if it contains any gluten protein. Gluten here means protein from barley, oats, rye, triticale or wheat, or their hybrids.

The Regulations themselves name no number. Health Canada’s published position, from June 2012, is that gluten-free food made under good manufacturing practice with no more than 20 ppm of gluten from cross-contamination meets the rule. Any gluten source added on purpose, even a little in a seasoning, makes a gluten-free label false, unless extra processing is shown to remove the gluten.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) enforces the rule. Above 20 ppm, whatever the source, a gluten-free food may be in violation and can face action up to a recall. Below 20 ppm from cross-contamination, the CFIA follows up with the maker but does not recall the product or ask for the gluten-free label to be removed.

No dedicated facility is required to make gluten-free food in Canada, “low gluten” and “reduced gluten” are not accepted, and “gluten-free” and “wheat-free” are not the same thing.

Beer brewed from barley, oats, rye, triticale or wheat may not say gluten-free, even if treated; for treated beer only a statement that the gluten content cannot be verified and the product may contain gluten is accepted. Vodka distilled from gluten grains may be labelled gluten-free if the finished product is under 20 ppm, but flavoured vodka may not qualify, because ingredients added after distillation may come from gluten grains.

Can I eat food that says “may contain” in Canada?

In Canada we follow Celiac Canada: avoid any product whose “May contain” statement names wheat, barley, rye, regular oats or triticale, unless the package also carries a “gluten-free” label.

Precautionary labelling is voluntary in Canada: the law neither requires nor forbids it. If a “may contain” line is used, the Regulations fix where it appears, straight after the “Contains” statement or the ingredient list, in English and French where that list is bilingual, and Health Canada and the CFIA recommend the wording “May contain: [X]”. It may never stand in for an ingredient: a gluten source added on purpose must be declared.

Health Canada’s own advice to people with celiac disease is not to eat a product whose label says it “contains” or “may contain” wheat, triticale, rye, barley or oats. Celiac Canada’s labelling page recommends avoiding products with a “May contain” statement for barley, rye, regular oats, wheat or triticale, and its Labelling Guide (August 2023) makes one exception: a product that also carries a gluten-free label.

A gluten-free label next to “may contain wheat” is allowed, but the CFIA says it should be used with caution, the product must still be under 20 ppm on a consistent basis, and makers are encouraged to write “may contain less than 20 ppm of wheat” instead. Celiac Canada reminds readers that these statements are optional, so a label without one has simply not used one.

Are oats gluten-free in Canada?

Regular oats count as a gluten source in Canada and must always be declared, and regular oats and foods containing them may not be labelled gluten-free.

Since a Health Canada Marketing Authorization of 19 May 2015, specially produced “gluten-free oats”, with no more than 20 ppm of gluten from wheat, rye, barley or their hybrids, and foods made with them may be labelled gluten-free. The oats must then be called “gluten-free oats” wherever oats are mentioned, including the ingredient list, so plain “oats” means regular oats.

Health Canada’s 2014 science review, revised in 2015, found no need to limit how much gluten-free oats a person eats each day. Celiac Canada advises choosing oats and oat products made with gluten-free oats.

Celiac Canada’s Professional Advisory Council adds its own guidance for adding pure oats: be stable on the gluten-free diet with normalised celiac antibodies first, which may take 6 to 18 months with wide variation between people, and start with a small amount each day.

How do Canadian labels show wheat, barley and rye?

Any gluten source in a prepackaged food must be shown on the label, in the ingredient list or in a “Contains” statement, and the gluten sources are barley, oats, rye, triticale and wheat. Unlike the US, barley and rye are covered. Wheat and triticale are also priority allergens.

The source is shown by the cereal’s name, so a barley ingredient such as malt has to name barley, and Celiac Canada notes that gluten sources cannot hide behind words like “seasoning” or “natural flavour”. Gluten present only through cross-contamination does not have to be declared; that is what the voluntary “may contain” line is for.

Which gluten-free symbols will I see in Canada?

Celiac Canada’s trademark appears on products from facilities certified to the Global Standard Gluten-Free, which Celiac Canada and the Allergen Control Group created in 2011 and BRCGS now owns. Celiac Canada says the standard requires final product testing under 20 ppm and allows no intentionally added gluten-containing ingredient, even one processed to remove gluten.

GFCO, the certification program of the Gluten Intolerance Group, certifies products against the gluten-free limit of the country where they are sold; it says ingredients and finished products must test below that limit or 10 ppm, whichever is lower. Makers may also state a measured level, such as “contains less than 5 ppm gluten”, if it is true.

Is there help with the cost of gluten-free food in Canada?

People with celiac disease can count the extra cost of gluten-free food products as a medical expense on their tax return: the gluten-free price minus the price of the similar regular product. Keep a letter from a medical practitioner confirming celiac disease and the need for a gluten-free diet, the receipts, and a 12-month summary per product.

Who is Canada’s celiac association?

Celiac Canada / Coeliaque Canada (celiac.ca), formerly the Canadian Celiac Association, took its current name in 2023. It offers a Gluten-Free Labelling Guide in English and French and a product finder, and promotes the Gluten Free 24/7 app for checking ingredients on the go. For Quebec, Health Canada also lists the Fondation québécoise de la maladie cœliaque (fqmc.org).

Where can I eat gluten-free in Canada?

For places to eat, the HTGF Atlas has hand-picked gluten-free places in Canada, each with dated evidence. Heading south? Celiac in the United States explains the US rules, where barley and rye are not major allergens. All countries: coeliac rules for every country we cover.