Is yeast gluten-free? Baker’s yeast is, brewer’s yeast and yeast extract need a look

Baker’s yeast is gluten-free, fresh or dried. Yeast is a single-celled fungus, not a grain, and it contains no gluten.

What to check

• Brewer’s yeast: a by-product of beer brewing, so it can carry gluten from barley. Choose one labelled gluten-free.
• Yeast extract: most is suitable, but some is made with barley-based growth media and can carry barley residues. In the EU and UK it then has to say so, for example “yeast extract (barley)”. Without a barley mention, it’s generally considered suitable.
• Nutritional yeast flakes: read the label; gluten-free ones say so.

Yeast extract turns up in stock cubes, gravy, crisps, soups and savoury spreads, so it’s worth knowing the barley rule.

Keep reading

• The Hidden-Gluten Watchlist: the 15 forbidden names and the ones to check
• Yeast extract (Coeliac Alphabet)
• Is barley gluten-free?
• Is malt extract gluten-free?
• Label Lab: check an ingredient list

Sources: Coeliac UK, NHS, Codex Alimentarius (gluten-free = 20 mg/kg or less), EU Regulation 1169/2011 and 828/2014. We inform, we don’t diagnose: for medical questions, your doctor or dietitian has the last word.