Wheat in Canada: label rules and introduction guidance

Is wheat on Canada's priority food allergen list?

Canada lists 'wheat and triticale' as a single priority allergen; triticale is a hybrid of wheat and rye. Separately, five gluten sources, barley, oats, rye, triticale and wheat, must be declared in the same way as priority allergens. Health Canada's wheat page lists spelt (also called dinkel or farro), kamut, durum, einkorn, emmer and bulgur among the names that mean wheat. If wheat is in a product, it must be declared in the ingredient list or in a 'Contains' statement right after it.

Canada's priority food allergens are eggs, milk, mustard, peanuts, crustaceans and molluscs, fish, sesame seeds, soy, sulphites, tree nuts, and wheat and triticale. Under the enhanced labelling rules published in 2011, a prepackaged food must name each one by its common name in the list of ingredients or in a statement beginning with 'Contains'. Gluten sources (barley, oats, rye, triticale and wheat) are declared the same way. 'May contain' statements are voluntary, cannot be used when an allergen is added on purpose, and must follow the ingredients or 'Contains' statement.

• Canadian Food Inspection Agency: Food allergies and allergen labelling
• Health Canada: Common food allergens
• Health Canada: Wheat and triticale, priority food allergens

What CPS guidance says about introducing wheat

The CPS lists wheat among the most common allergens in children. Its practice point describes an evidence gap for allergenic foods other than egg and peanut, but notes that some observational studies have supported the early introduction of wheat. It also describes the EAT study, in which wheat was one of six allergenic foods introduced early to infants from the general population. Its practical advice is to introduce allergenic foods one at a time without unnecessary delay. Wheat allergy is different from coeliac disease; your paediatrician can advise if either is in the family.

In Canada, allergen introduction guidance comes from the Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS). Its practice point for infants at high risk (2019, updated 2020) defines high risk as a personal history of eczema or other atopy, or a parent or sibling with an allergic condition. For those babies it recommends considering common allergenic solids at around 6 months but not before 4 months, guided by developmental readiness; for babies at low or no risk, it recommends complementary foods at about 6 months.

• Canadian Paediatric Society: Timing of introduction of allergenic solids for infants at high risk

Logging wheat in the app

The app's region picker has no Canada option yet. The US schedule covers all nine allergens in these guides, and Canadian priority allergens outside it, such as mustard, can be added as foods in the diary. In the schedule, wheat appears as Wheat. Each allergen entry moves from not started to introduced, cleared or reaction, and the 14-day window keeps new foods spaced out so a delayed reaction is easier to match to a food. Wheat often arrives in several foods in one week; logging each one keeps the first exposure clear. If you see a symptom, log it with its severity; the paediatrician report gathers the dates into one PDF for your next appointment. It is a record for you and your doctor, not a diagnosis.