Gluten-free preserved fruit: a key to set up appart from competitors

Does gluten-free preserved fruit exist? So, does raw fruit have gluten…? There are usual doubts about gluten you may have had… Maybe some of your clients have asked you these questions… If so, you will have a thorough explanation to bring to your most demanding clients from now on… But let’s start with the basics…

Celiac disease, intolerance to gluten and gluten-free life: health or personal choice …?

A careful selection of the products they consume is a vital need for people suffering from celiac disease. For those who need to follow a gluten-free diet, it is not an option based on an appetite for wellness or new lifestyles: on the contrary, it is a matter of highest priority for them.

On the other hand, a healthy bowel function is the main reason why a growing number of people intolerant to gluten demand gluten-free food (taking into account that an intolerance is different from suffering celiac condition). In this case, it is not a vital issue, but a way of eating that increases these people’s own comfort and well-being.

In this respect, we can claim that gluten-free preserved fruit is an option that provides your business with a lot of opportunities, whatever your sector (horeca, bakery, ice-creams…). And it is indeed the unique option that we have chosen for all our range of products in Lazaya.

Where does gluten come from regarding preserved fruit…?

Fruit does not naturally contain gluten. However, the processing of natural fruit to transform it into preserved fruit requires additives to sweeten it. In this sense, gluten-free preserved fruit is the result of a very simple selection: not to use wheat-based glucose to sweeten fruit. Lazaya’s gluten-free preserved fruit contains corn glucose in some cases and sugar in other cases.

Corn is known for being a lighter cereal easier to digest  than wheat. In addition, it contains vitamin B, which promotes the metabolism of carbohydrates. And, of course, it does not contain gluten, the controversial ingredient that seems to intrude into many labels of food products where it should not be …

The corn glucose we use to make gluten-free preserved fruit has many advantages over sugar during fruit processing. Its non-granulated texture prevents crystallisations when glazing the fruit. Its ability to sweeten is very good, takes little time to dissolve completely and does not require high temperatures. For consumers, it is more digestible and provides a soft texture to the products that incorporate it.

However, we consider sugar the optimum ingredient to make our delicious fruits in syrup (obviously with the exception of the sugar-free preserved fruit) to such extent that in Lazaya we make all our traditional fruits in syrup with sugar.

How can you know that you buy gluten-free products

Labelling should be clair. Let us see… Laws about labelling in the European Union are governed by regulation (EU) No 828/2014 on the requirements for the provision of information to consumers on the absence or reduced presence of gluten in food.

According to this, products may take one of these statements: ‘Gluten-free’ (not exceeding 20 mg/kg) or ‘Very Low Gluten’ (not exceeding 100 mg/kg).

Furthermore, labels may also include statements such as  ‘suitable for people intolerant to gluten’ or ‘suitable for coeliacs’; ‘specifically formulated for people intolerant to gluten’ or ‘specifically formulated for coeliacs’ (if the food is specially produced, prepared and/or processed to reduce the gluten content of one or more gluten-containing ingredients or substitute the gluten-containing ingredients with other ingredients naturally free of gluten).

Lazaya’s gluten-free preserved fruit

We take our customers’ needs very seriously in Lazaya. For this reason, apart from achieving the best quality, all our production of  preserved fruit is gluten-free. Futhermore, there is no risk of cross-contamination, because we only process fruit in our facilities (none wheat derivates are handled). No matter if you are in the horeca sector, bakery, ice-creams or cocktails business… You can make delicious preparations with absolute certainty using our gluten-free preserved fruit.

We are proud of our impeccable level of hygiene and food security (the highest in the preserved fruit business). We have the most important international certifications endorsing our strict control of quality and food safety according to the tightest worldwide food quality and safety guidelines. But, even so, if you have any doubt on the ingredients of Lazaya’s preserved fruit, you may contact us. We are looking forward to hearing from you. 🙂