Is glucose syrup gluten-free? Yes, and so is dextrose

Yes. Glucose syrup is gluten-free, and so is dextrose (a form of glucose). Both are made by breaking starch down into sugars, and the starch can come from corn (maize), potato, wheat or barley.

Even from wheat or barley?

Yes. The process breaks the starch down so thoroughly that no significant gluten remains; Coeliac UK lists glucose syrup as gluten-free for that reason. EU law names “wheat based glucose syrups including dextrose” and “glucose syrups based on barley” as exceptions to the gluten allergen rules. So “glucose syrup (wheat)” on an EU label doesn’t make a product unsuitable.

What to check

• Barley malt syrup and malt extract are not glucose syrup. They are made from malted barley and contain gluten.
• Glucose-fructose syrup and dextrose follow the same rule as glucose syrup.
• The syrup being fine doesn’t make the whole product fine: read the rest of the ingredient list.

Keep reading

• The Hidden-Gluten Watchlist: the 15 forbidden names and the ones to check
• Is maltodextrin gluten-free?
• Is malt extract gluten-free?
• Is caramel colour gluten-free?
• Label Lab: check an ingredient list

Sources: EU Regulation 1169/2011 (Annex II), EU Regulation 828/2014, Coeliac UK, US FDA gluten-free labelling rule and FALCPA, Codex Alimentarius (gluten-free = 20 mg/kg or less). Checked 28 September 2026. We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.