Gluten-Free Hot Dog Round-up

The first time I read the word wheat on a pack of hot dogs, I was shocked. I was sure that people on celiac online forums were mistaken about American summertime food containing gluten. But they, in fact, were right on the money. After reading wheat on about three brands of hot dogs at the store, I left without any at all.

So much has changed since that happened, including many hot dog brands removing gluten (in the form of wheat) and adding gluten-free to their labels. One of the most famous of all the brands to make the conversion is Nathan’s franks. Most of their options went gluten-free in the Fall of 2009 and had hit stores across the nation by the spring of 2010.

Since it will soon be time to brush off our patio grills (at least in the South), I’m excited to have several options to choose from at my corner grocery store. Before late 2009, if I wanted to buy hotdogs that were labeled gluten-free, I had to drive 14 miles to Whole Foods to do so. In addition to Nathan’s brand, there are many other gluten-free hot dogs out there. The below list is not comprehensive, but the companies listed below label their gluten-free items as such. At least, they did so at the last check. Always check the labels every time you purchase a processed food item to make sure the ingredients are all gluten-free.

• Applegate Farms
• Wellshire Farms
• Trader Joe’s Brand
• Shelton’s
• Jennie-O

Always check the label carefully when buying anything – especially something like hot dogs. Not all gluten-free hot dogs are labeled as such which is why I like supporting the companies that label their safe options as such. I can do a quick check of all the ingredients and if they meet my other criteria, I’m good to go.

So many things that used to contain gluten (in the form of wheat) as a filler do not anymore. It’s a wonderful thing for all of us that companies started paying attention to what consumers want. Sometimes I’ll notice when browsing at the grocery store that wheat is not listed in a product that is previously in, and the next thing I know, the item is labeled gluten-free. I just love it when that happens – even if it‘s not a product I’m interested in buying.

The reality is that wheat was used as a filler in tons of things where a nonstop allergen ingredient could do the trick instead. The list of people avoiding wheat and/or gluten is growing each year it seems and let’s face it, we are all benefiting from that trend.

*Sure Foods Living has a great list of gluten and dairy-free hot dogs and sausages.