Updated: April 15, 2013
Swedish Fish are the colored gummy candy that are chewy and shaped like an actual fish (without tasting anything like fish). Some of the colors they are made in are red, yellow, blue, green, and black. Swedish Fish are available in many supermarkets, convenience stores, and specialty candy shops here in the United States. They are one of the few gummy candy that do not contain gelatin.
The Answer
No, Swedish Fish are not considered gluten free. According to the swedishfish.com website, the ingredients for the red fish are “SUGAR, INVERT SUGAR, CORN SYRUP, MODIFIED CORN STARCH, CITRIC ACID, NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL FLAVORING, WHITE MINERAL OIL, CARNAUBA WAX, RED 40, YELLOW 6, YELLOW 5 AND BLUE 1.” Since some of these ingredients are controversial, Swedish Fish can not be called gluten free.
Even if a company says their product is gluten-free and there are no gluten-containing ingredients listed on the packaging, I still oftentimes check celiac forums online to see if there are people who have had a reaction to it. Some people DID actually report have issues after eating Swedish Fish. When I originally posted this article back in January 2012, the consensus was that the product was gluten free. This cannot be considered the case anymore when the manufacturer refuses to state that it is gluten free: http://mdlz.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2277
To always be 100% sure a product is gluten-free, check with the manufacturer before consuming!
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Modified Corn Starch is actually a gluten product.
Now this will not bother some people, but those of us how are HIGHLY intolerant will have problems with products with this in it.
Bummer.
Unfortunately your ingredient list is no longer correct. Today’s Swedish fish contain “natural flavoring” which may or may not contain gluten. The manufacturer says on their website FAQ (link below) that they cannot guarantee their flavorings are gluten-free. Therefore, unfortunately, Swedish Fish cannot be considered gluten-free and are not safe for people with celiac disease or gluten intolerance. It would be helpful if you could update your post.
Manufacturer’s statement about gluten:
http://mdlz.custhelp.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/2277
Ingredients list:
http://www.swedishfish.com/en/Product%20Info.aspx
Hi Becky,
Thank you for your comment. I have updated the article to reflect the current ingredients, and changed it to no longer gluten free.
This makes sense, I am having a reaction from eating them last night and totally though they were GF. Apparently, this is not the case. Oh well, one more delicious treat off the list