Is vinegar gluten-free? Most is, malt vinegar needs a check

Most vinegar is gluten-free. Wine vinegar, cider vinegar, balsamic, rice vinegar, sherry vinegar and distilled spirit vinegar don’t contain gluten. The one to check is malt vinegar, which is made from barley.

Malt vinegar

Barley malt vinegar is the classic vinegar on chips in the UK and Ireland. Because it’s made from barley, it has to be labelled with barley as an allergen. Coeliac UK’s current guidance: barley malt vinegar is suitable for people with coeliac disease only when the manufacturer has tested it to 20 mg/kg or less and labels it gluten-free. Without that label, treat it as unsuitable.

In a chip shop, ask what’s in the bottle, or carry your own. Pubs and chip shops often have spirit vinegar or “non-brewed condiment”, which is gluten-free.

Other things to check

• Flavoured vinegars and dressings. Usually fine, but dressings can add malt vinegar, soy sauce or thickeners. Read the ingredient list.
• Crisps. “Salt and vinegar” flavours sometimes use barley malt vinegar powder. Check the ingredients.
• Sushi rice. Seasoned with rice vinegar, which is gluten-free, although some commercial blends contain grain vinegars. Our Japanese restaurant card asks about it.

Wine, cider, balsamic, rice and spirit vinegars: yes. Malt vinegar: only if the label says gluten-free.

Keep reading

• The Hidden-Gluten Watchlist: the 15 forbidden names and the ones to check
• Is malt extract gluten-free?
• Are potatoes gluten-free? (and the chips)
• How to read an EU gluten-free label
• Restaurant card tool, 60+ languages

Sources: Codex Alimentarius (gluten-free = 20 mg/kg or less), EU Regulation 828/2014, Coeliac UK, NHS. We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.