Guide

Allergens in spelt

Spelt is a species of wheat. On a UK label you emphasise wheat. Describing a loaf as spelt does not make it wheat-free or gluten-free. Kamut (Khorasan wheat) is treated the same way.

Reviewed 23 September 2026 against official guidance.SourcesNot legal advice.

The usual pattern

Spelt flour is sold as a heritage flour. It contains gluten. Breads, biscuits and pasta made from spelt are wheat products. The allergen name customers must see is wheat, not only the word spelt.

What to check in spelt

What you see	What it means on a PPDS label
Spelt flour	Wheat — cereals containing gluten
Khorasan / Kamut	Also wheat
Rye	Rye, not wheat — name rye
A mixed grain loaf	Name each gluten cereal

How to write it on the label

PPDS food needs the name of the food and a full ingredients list, with the 14 allergens emphasised every time they appear. The Food Standards Agency’s PPDS guidance is the practical reference. A typical ingredients fragment looks like this — yours must follow the specification of the product you actually use.

Example fragment

Spelt wheat flour, water, salt, yeast.

Where it shows up

Bread, crackers, pasta, biscuits and packed sandwiches made with spelt loaves.

A wheat-free claim on spelt

Spelt is wheat. The claim is wrong, and the ingredients list must emphasise wheat.

Someone avoiding modern wheat varieties still needs to see wheat emphasised. Do not rely on the romance of the name.

Specification first

Brands differ. Treat this page as the usual pattern, then match the label to the tub, bag or recipe in front of you.

Questions

Is spelt gluten-free?

No. Spelt contains gluten and is wheat.

Do I write spelt or wheat?

You can write spelt, but emphasise wheat so the allergen name is clear, for example spelt (wheat).

Official sources

Everything on this page traces back to these. Where they and we disagree, they are right — tell us and we'll fix it.

Introduction to allergen labelling for PPDS foodFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
Labelling guidance for prepacked for direct sale (PPDS) food productsFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK
Food allergen labelling and information requirements technical guidanceFood Standards Agency / GOV.UK