Gluten-free bread has up to seven times more fat

Own-label gluten-free options often contain up to seven times more fat, according to research for The Grocer.

The research carried out for The Grocer said gluten-free bread from leading supermarkets contained up to seven times more fat than the ‘normal’ equivalent. It found that the disparity was particularly pronounced in bread.

An Asda Chosen By You free-from white loaf contained 12.7g of fat per 100g, which is seven times the 1.9g of fat per 100g found in the supermarket’s standard white loaf. A comparable gluten-free loaf at Tesco had three times the amount of fat per 100g compared with a standard loaf, while Sainsbury’s was four times higher.

Sarah Sleet, chief executive of Coeliac UK, said: “It’s unfair that so many people have to use alternatives loaded with extra fat.”

As a result of the findings, supermarkets Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Asda all stressed they were committed to making their gluten-free products healthier.

Dr Glenys Jones, a nutritionist and spokeswoman for the Association for Nutrition told The Grocer: “It’s just a myth that gluten-free diets are healthier.”