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Are strawberries gluten-free? I guarantee you this question is asked at least once a month in celiac forums and groups. The short answer: yes, all fresh fruits and vegetables are gluten-free when washed.
Keep reading for the long answer to the question: are strawberries gluten-free?
With celiac disease, it is essential we are getting celiac-safe food. That means not only does our food have to be gluten-free but it has to be free from cross-contact with gluten too. That’s where the question on if strawberries are actually gluten-free comes in.
Because in some cases, strawberries can be grown with hay or straw. This understandably puts celiacs on high alert because cross-contact with celiac disease is important to pay attention to.
Here’s the thing, even if the strawberries are grown in hay or straw, they are still gluten-free. Let’s dive deeper into why.
In most cases, hay and straw are not as high-risk as you might think. Yes, they come from the wheat plant but straw doesn’t even contain gluten. Let’s break this down…
Hay is the entire dried wheat or other grass plants that often is harvested before the gluten grain develops. Though sometimes it can contain the seed. It’s often used to feed animals but if used when farming, could transmit low levels of cross-contact to produce like strawberries in the field (please keep reading though!).
Straw on the other hand is made from the stalks of wheat and other grasses (without the gluten grains) and is preferentially used for mulching and gardening.
Even then, the use of hay or straw in strawberry farming isn’t all that common. But the thing is, it doesn’t matter what’s used to mulch the strawberry beds.
Why? Because strawberries are often rinsed well before even arriving into the stores. And that’s not all, if you’re following best practices for produce, then the strawberries are washed a second time in your home. Thus, ensuring they are free from gluten cross-contact.
That’s because washing things does a good job at removing foreign particles from the surface of the things. That’s the entire point of washing. If washing didn’t do a good job, we’d be sick a lot more.
So strawberries are gluten-free and perfectly safe. Just make sure to wash them well (like you already should be) before use.
And if you need some recipes to inspire you to use these delicious red berries, check out these 20+ Gluten-Free Strawberry Recipes.
So if Strawberries are gluten-free when washed, how do you wash them appropriately? Currently, there are no produce washes approved and considered safe in the USA per the FDA. While soap and water are encouraged for kitchenware, when washing fruits and vegetables, you’ll want to use water only.
If the fruit has a solid surface (like apples and potatoes) you can scrub the outside with a produce brush and rinse with water. For soft foods like Strawberries, you’ll want to rinse them thoroughly.
Make sure that before washing any fruit or vegetable, your hands have been cleaned with soap and water. And if you need to avoid gluten and cross-contact, make sure that you’re drying and storing washed produce on safe towels and containers.
For more help on staying celiac-safe in scenarios like this, I cover all of the basics in the Celiac Crash Course! A self-paced dietitian-led course that teaches you how to make avoiding gluten and cross-contact routine. Learn more here.
