CUSTOMER SERVICE

A protein found in wheat, rye and barley. All foods that contain these types of grains contain gluten, including bulgur, semolina, durum, spelt, triticale, graham flour, couscous, beer, ale, lager and malt. 

Celiac disease is a sensitivity to gluten, resulting in an autoimmune response in which the small intestine villi are damage thereby preventing nutrients from being absorbed. People with Celiac disease must follow a gluten-free diet to avoid nutrient deficiencies and other health consequences. 

Starting a gluten-free diet can interfere with making an accurate diagnosis for Celiac disease, so be sure to check with your healthcare provider before starting a gluten-free diet. 

All fresh fruits and vegetables; meat, poultry & fish; beans and lentils; nuts and seeds; most dairy products (check label for any gluten-containing fillers); and starches such as corn, rice, potato, parsnip, turnip, yucca and all other tubers are naturally gluten-free. Be aware of gluten-containing ingredients that may be used when cooking these foods, such as batter or breading. *Oats are naturally gluten-free but some are processed in the same facility as wheat so there is potential for cross-contamination from shared production or harvesting equipment. 

Some products contain gluten, but may not be obvious to the customer without careful scrutiny of the label. These products may indicate the presence of gluten:

• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP) or Hydrolyzed Plant Protein (HPP) - unless made from soy or corn; Flour or Cereal Products - unless made with pure rice flour, corn flour, potato flour or soy flour;
• Vegetable Protein - unless made from soy or corn;
• Malt or Malt Flavoring - unless derived from corn, rice or sorghum malt;
• Modified Starch or Modified Food Starch - unless arrowroot, corn, potato or tapioca is used;
• Vegetable Gum - unless vegetable gums are carob bean gum (or locust bean gum), cellulose gum, guar gum, gum arabic (or acacia gum), gum tragacanth, xanthan gum or vegetable starch;
• Soy Sauce or Soy Sauce Solids - the label will state if made from wheat. 

FDA has defined the term "gluten-free" for food labeling as a gluten limit of less than 20 parts per million (ppm). 

Food Lion offers a variety of gluten-free products, and makes them easy to find by using a gluten-free symbol on our shelf tags for gluten-free products. Be sure to ask a store associate if you need assistance finding gluten-free items.