I am looking to start cooking more things gluten free for my girlfriend, and have heard that powdered sugar may or may not be considered gluten free. What do I need to look for in the ingredients to keep powdered sugar gluten-free?
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4 Answers
The simple answer to your question is the kind of starch they use. Most use cornstarch or tapioca starch, neither of which contain gluten, so most powdered sugar shouldn't contain gluten. If the type of starch isn't listed, don't buy that product.
For absolutely no gluten, it gets a bit more complicated.
A Google search for "Gluten Free Powdered Sugar" only yielded a few brands that make a "gluten-free" claim. Since most brands of powdered sugar don't contain any ingredients that would normally contain gluten, look for the line "This product is processed in a facility that also processes wheat". Choose a powdered sugar that lists the starch used as cornstarch, tapioca starch or other non-gluten starch and that doesn't have that line on the label. Of course I can only speak to US labeling, other countries may be different.
One brand, Domino Sugar, stood out to really stand by their claim of gluten free. Domino's Gluten Free Claim (C&H is Domino, BTW). I happen to have some C&H powdered sugar, so I looked at the label. There is no "Gluten-Free" claim on the label, but the ingredients listed are only sugar and corntarch, and there is no "this product is processed in a facility..." warning. Walmart brand also pops up on the "Gluten Free Powdered Sugar" search, they say "Naturally gluten-free food". The FDA requires that claim not be misleading, so if they do use equipment to process the sugar that also processes gluten-containing ingredients, the sugar cannot contain more that 20 ppm gluten.
There is one way to know for sure about any ingredient you use, or to even to check your final dish. Elisa Technologies, a very well respected name in medical laboratory testing, has put out home test strips sensitive to 10 ppm, that's half the concentration of gluten the FDA allows for a product to be certified "gluten-free". If a product tested contains less than 20 ppm gluten the US, Canada and the European Union allow that product to use "Gluten Free" on the label. FDA Announcement At over $10 a strip, you'd want to use them judiciously, but if I or someone I loved had serious health issues that did not allow gluten, I'd get these strips. Test Strips
answered Jan 23, 2014 at 16:30
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There are now FDA standards for anything that says "gluten free", prefaced with "naturally" or not. I think it's usually intended more as "I can't believe we have to label these fresh cherries as gluten free". I've seen "Not Made with Gluten-Containing Ingredients" used on things that may have processing cross contamination though.– SourDohCommented Jan 23, 2014 at 16:40
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1@sourd'oh I had to laugh at a label I saw not long ago on a jar of roasted peanuts, "warning, contains peanuts". I vaguely remember a story not long ago about a government forced recall about the same issue. The company didn't have the required warning that the product contained what the product was.– Jolenealaska ♦Commented Jan 23, 2014 at 17:03
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@sourd'oh Thanks for the clarification. I read what you sent and edited my post accordingly.– Jolenealaska ♦Commented Jan 23, 2014 at 19:07
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1The powdered sugar I purchased just had sugar and cornstarch as the ingredients, but didn't mention being gluten-free. The recipe was in a 'gluten-free- collection, but I was wondering what to look for in powdered sugar. Luckily, the gluten-free isn't a medical necessity, but just looking at changing my significant other's (and mine too) diet– unkfrankCommented Jan 29, 2014 at 22:01
I have often used powered sugar, which is sugar and corn starch, here where live, in baked goods for my husband who has celiac. He has had no adverse reactions to items containing powdered sugar. I've never heard of powdered sugar being made with wheat starch. I never thought about cross contamination at the factory, though.
Powdered sugar contains starch. Starch is sometimes made from wheat. As gluten intolerance is triggered by trace levels of glutens, this might be enough for a bad reaction in a sensitive person.
You cannot know if powdered sugar has gluten traces when you buy it. The starch is not listed as an ingredient, much less the source of the starch. You cannot buy starch-free powdered sugar, as it would clump to a block of sugar within a day of production.
If you need powdered sugar in a recipe for a gluten intolerant person, it is best to use a food processor to cut your own sugar freshly for each use.
answered Jan 21, 2014 at 17:05
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7The starch ingredient in powdered sugar absolutely IS listed, at least everywhere I've ever been (US and Europe, basically). It's almost always cornstarch, by the way. That said, if the sugar is processed in a facility that also processes wheat, then it may still not be gluten-free, because of cross-contamination issues.– MartiCommented Jan 21, 2014 at 18:57
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1@Marti I searched for "gluten free powdered sugar" on Amazon. The starch listed on this product was tapioca starch, but even this page (for an $18/lb sugar) didn't say gluten free anywhere on the page. You'd think someone would step up to the plate on this one.– Jolenealaska ♦Commented Jan 21, 2014 at 19:04
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Grr I was in the supermarket and forgot to check if the starch is listed on the package. But sure, I agree that if the starch, including source, is listed, then you probably can trust it to be gluten free unless it says "wheat starch"– rumtscho ♦Commented Jan 23, 2014 at 18:27
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@Marti I checked it yesterday. The largest supermarket in my part of the city (a Rewe - I live in Germany) had three brands of powdered sugar. None of them had an ingredients list.– rumtscho ♦Commented Jan 28, 2014 at 12:59
I just called C&H Sugar (1 800 773 1803) to see if their confection/powdered sugar is gluten free and they said it has less than 0.01% of corn gluten in it.
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1I don't know exactly how to take that, since corn (by definition) does not contain gluten. I just called them (C&H), and crazily talked to the same lady you talked to (she remembers you). I befuddled her with my questions, so someone higher on the food chain should call me back, but it could take a few days.– Jolenealaska ♦Commented Jan 24, 2015 at 19:07
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2Here is another bit of weirdness. The link in my answer says exactly the same thing that you got when you called. That link did not say that when I first linked to it. Curiouser and Curiouser.– Jolenealaska ♦Commented Jan 24, 2015 at 19:20
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0.01% (parts per hundred) is the same as 100 ppm (parts per million). Their testing method probably won't go below 0.01%. Obviously they're not testing to the FDA "gluten-free" level. Commented Nov 6, 2018 at 2:15