Is Jello Gluten Free? | Build a Stash

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Key Takeaways

  • There are no gluten-containing ingredients in jello
  • Jello is considered gluten-free
  • Jello should be safe for people on a gluten-free diet
  • It’s always important to read product labels

Jello is a popular gelatin dessert enjoyed by both children and adults. But is jello gluten-free? This guide will answer this question.

Jello is considered gluten-free. It’s made with water, gelatin, food color, artificial flavors and sweeteners. And, all these ingredients are naturally gluten-free. So, jello should be safe for people on a gluten-free diet. However, ensure you always check the ingredients list before buying.

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What Is Jello?

Jello is a childhood favorite for most people. If you ever attended a kid’s party during your childhood, you were almost certain to find it there. Today, it remains a favorite delicacy for most children. And unsurprisingly, some adults also enjoy it as they were brought up with it.

So, what is jello? Jello is simply a sweet, jiggly dessert, which has been part of children’s parties for decades and the children find much fun with it. The main ingredient is gelatin, which gives it a jiggly texture. Other ingredients include sugar, water, food coloring and artificial flavors.

To make this delicacy, you simply need to add the contents from the packet into boiling water and then stir until everything has dissolved. You can then pour it into molds of certain shapes if you like and then allow it to sit in a refrigerator so that it can set.

The gelatin used to make jello is sourced from the hides and bones of animals like pigs and cattle.

It’s then treated using various chemicals, which convert it into a gel. Afterward, the gel undergoes additional processes to convert it into brittle, colorless, odorless and fine solid gelatin.

About Gluten

Gluten is a storage and structural protein which naturally occurs in certain grains such as tye, barley, and wheat. They offer many culinary advantages to the users of the grain. For example, when gluten makes dough elastic.

In addition to that, its physical characteristics such as moisture retention make it useful in the preparation of different foods.

However, gluten, with all its benefits, can cause an immune reaction. These can lead to a number of medical conditions and reactions including celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, irritable bowel syndrome, and wheat allergy.

The symptoms of these conditions are not very much different. They include digestive problems, neurological problems, and skin problems. Others will find that their stomach is constantly bloated more so after taking meals.

Just a small portion of Americans have celiac disease. It is estimated that only 1 % of Americans have known celiac disease. This notwithstanding, consumers without celiac symptoms are choosing gluten free diets in order to avoid future stomach problems.

Due to the prevalence of gluten free disorders, an increasing number of people are opting to be taking gluten free meals. The impact is that the gluten-free sector of the industry has been growing exponentially. There is all the likelihood that this sector will continue growing as individuals seek healthy food options.

As of now, scientists have not agreed on how much gluten is harmful to  health. However, scientists lean on more than 10 mg of gluten as harmful to a person with celiac disease.

People with celiac disease can only hope for more research studies and more findings on the management of celiac disease. Presently, one of the few known things about celiac disease is that it can be managed if one avoids consuming gluten.

Does Jello Have Gluten?

Consumers do ask, is jello gluten free? If you experience gluten-related allergies after eating foods containing gluten or you have celiac disease, then you need to be extremely cautious with the foods that you eat.

Consuming foods with gluten or gluten-containing ingredients will leave you with undesirable side effects like stomach inflammation, abdominal cramps, nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea and fatigue.

Also, if you are on a gluten-free diet or you have gluten sensitivities, you may experience headaches and migraine, anxiety and depression, brain fog, skin rash, nasal congestion, and difficulty breathing, just to name a few.

With this in mind, you may be probably wondering, is Jello gluten-free? Is jello safe for those with gluten intolerance? Can you take jello if you are on a gluten-free diet? Does jello have gluten?

To answer these questions, we first need to know what gluten is. Gluten is simply a naturally-occurring protein present in wheat, barley, oats and rye, among other grains. This protein is responsible for the stretchy texture that you see in the dough.

And, as we mentioned above, jello is usually made of gelatin, water, artificial colors, food color, and sweeteners. The jello desserts are one of the gelatin desserts and one of the kraft foods. Based on these ingredients, we can clearly see that there are no gluten-containing ingredients in jello.

So, we can conclude that jello is gluten-free. Therefore, jello will be a great option for people following a gluten-free diet.

Is Jello Safe For People With Celiac Disease?

People with celiac disease ought to make an effort to be consuming products which are certified gluten free, and not merely those making a gluten free claim without evidence. They should also be careful about the gluten free label.

We’ve mentioned that jello is considered gluten-free since it doesn’t feature any gluten-containing ingredients. So, does this mean that jello is safe for people with celiac disease?

Well, there’s no straightforward answer to this question. As we pointed out above, jello doesn’t contain any gluten-based ingredients, and thus, this product is jello gluten free. On the other hand, jello isn’t certified gluten-free.

And, this means that jello may have been made in the same facilities used to process other gluten-containing products.

So, if you have high sensitivity to gluten or you have celiac disease, you may end up with issues if the jello was cross-contaminated with gluten during the production process.

Therefore, in most cases, jello will be safe to eat for those with celiac disease or anyone following a gluten-free diet.

In light of this, you should use your discretion to decide whether to eat jello or not. You can sample a small piece and wait for a couple of minutes to see how your body responds. If you don’t experience any serious issues, you can then proceed to bigger pieces.

Having stated that, fans of jello will be able to enjoy this product including the jello pudding gluten free product, jell o gelatin desserts, jell o instant pudding, and blue raspberry gelatin snacks. In addition to that, jello comes with both natural and artificial flavor and both children and adults will enjoy it.

Tips For Buying Gluten-Free Jello

Jello is largely considered gluten-free. But, to be on the safe side, you should ensure you only buy one from Kraft while staying away from all the knockoffs on the market. All jello products from this brand are gluten-free since they don’t feature any gluten-containing ingredients.

It will also be advisable to read product labels. Manufacturers add and remove ingredients occasionally. And, if Kraft was to add a gluten-containing ingredient to any of their jello flavors, there’s a high chance they will update that information on the label.

So, by going through the ingredients list on the label, you should be able to identify any gluten-based ingredients that may have been added and avoid that flavor.