Is Chocolate Gluten-Free?

One of the questions we get all the time is: Is chocolate gluten free? Here is our answer:

Pure, unsweetened chocolate is gluten-free. But who wants to eat that? Chocolate becomes contaminated with gluten three different ways, read how and which brands are safe here.

1. Making Chocolate Taste Delicious:

Cacao beans are roasted and liquified and then added to other ingredients (like milk and sugar) to make the chocolate taste delicious. It’s when the chocolate is combined with these “other ingredients” that may contaminate it with gluten. If you have an extreme gluten-intolerance, be sure to always read the label of the chocolate carefully.

2. Processing Chocolate with Gluten:

Some companies process chocolate in the same plant that processes products that contain gluten. If this is the case, then the chocolate has become cross-contaminated. So there is a chance that it now contains gluten.

3. Chocolate Covered Gluten:

Chocolate becomes non-gluten-free when it is added to something with gluten. Most candy bars contain gluten, so if the candy bar is coated in chocolate, then the chocolate is not gluten-free.

Here’s a list of chocolate companies that we carry and their stand on gluten-free products:

Ghirardelli: According to Ghirardelli, the company only makes 1 chocolate bar (of which we do not carry) that contains gluten. Everything else is processed in the same plant, but they clean the equipment after processing the gluten product. You can read more about allergen information on their website.

Guittard: On Guittard’s FAQ page on their website states: “Our products and our processing are gluten free.”

Hershey’s: All of the Hershey’s products that we carry are gluten-free. You can read more about what else is gluten-free from Hershey’s on their website.

Merckens: There is nothing specified Merckens is gluten free. It comes down to reading the individual label. As far as processing goes, Merckens does provide processing information on their website. They also have information on health and nutrition.