Scan a barcode or enter an ingredient list. NoJunk reads every ingredient and returns a clear gluten verdict — including sources like malt extract, wheat starch, and modified food starch that the allergen statement often omits.
Why checking for gluten is harder than it looks
A "gluten-free" label on the front of the box is a marketing claim, not a complete ingredient audit. The allergen statement ("Contains: Wheat") only catches the most direct sources. Products with barley malt, spelt flour, wheat glucose syrup, or hydrolyzed wheat protein can contain gluten without triggering a "Contains: Wheat" declaration.
For people managing celiac disease, non-celiac gluten sensitivity, or a wheat allergy, the ingredient list is the only reliable document — and it requires knowing more than 30 different ingredient terms that can signal gluten.
NoJunk does that parsing for you. Point the camera at a barcode, and within two seconds you have a verdict on every ingredient, not just the ones the manufacturer chose to call out.
Free on iPhone. Scan your first product in under a minute.
How NoJunk checks for gluten
Scan the barcode or enter the ingredient list
Point the camera at any packaged food. If there's no barcode, type or paste the ingredient list directly — the parser handles both.
NoJunk reads every ingredient — not just the allergen box
The full ingredient list is analyzed against a database of gluten-containing terms, including derivatives and processing aids that don't always appear in the allergen statement.
Get a gluten verdict with the specific flagged ingredients highlighted
Each flagged ingredient is named and explained — so you know whether it's wheat flour, barley malt, or an unspecified modified starch that may contain gluten.
What NoJunk flags for gluten
The app recognizes the full spectrum of gluten-containing ingredients, including the less obvious ones that cause problems when they're missed:
Most of these appear legitimately in "clean label" or "natural" products. The app flags them regardless of how the front of the package is positioned.
Built for people who need to know, not just prefer
Gluten avoidance sits on a spectrum. Someone with a wheat preference is in a different position than someone who has been managing celiac disease for a decade. NoJunk is designed to serve the full range — from a first scan at a grocery store to a thorough audit of every product in a weekly shop.
Celiac disease affects roughly 1% of the population, but most cases go undiagnosed. For people with confirmed celiac, even small amounts of gluten trigger an immune response that damages the small intestine. The margin for error is zero, which is why reading the full ingredient list — not just the allergen box — matters.
Non-celiac gluten sensitivity is less well-defined clinically, but many people report reproducible symptoms when consuming gluten and symptomatic relief when avoiding it. Ingredient-level transparency serves this group too.
Wheat allergy is distinct from celiac disease and requires avoiding wheat specifically, not all gluten-containing grains. NoJunk flags wheat and wheat derivatives as a separate category so wheat allergy users can distinguish wheat sources from barley or rye.
The app is a label transparency tool, not a medical device. It reports what's declared on the ingredient list. It cannot detect undeclared cross-contamination. For high-risk environments, use it alongside — not instead of — third-party certified products.
Download the Gluten-Free Checker
NoJunk is free to download on iPhone. Core scanning, including gluten detection, requires no account and no subscription.
Scan any product and get a gluten verdict in under two seconds.
Frequently asked questions
Common questions about using NoJunk as a gluten-free ingredient checker.
Is NoJunk a certified gluten-free checker?
NoJunk is a label transparency tool, not a certification body. It reads the full ingredient list and flags known gluten sources — wheat and all its derivatives, barley, rye, triticale, malt, and high-risk additives like unspecified modified food starch. It does not replace third-party certification for products that must meet a specific parts-per-million threshold, but it gives you a complete picture of what's actually in the ingredient list.
Does the app work for celiac disease?
NoJunk flags every ingredient-list source of gluten, including less obvious ones like malt extract, wheat starch, and modified food starch from unspecified sources. People managing celiac disease use it to check products before buying. The app is a label reader, not a medical device — it flags what's declared on the label and cannot detect cross-contamination that isn't disclosed.
Can NoJunk detect hidden gluten sources like malt extract?
Yes. NoJunk flags malt extract, malt vinegar, wheat starch, wheat glucose syrup, modified food starch when the source is unspecified, and hydrolyzed wheat protein — all of which can contain gluten but are easy to miss if you are only scanning for the word "wheat." The full flagged list covers more than 30 gluten-containing ingredient terms.
Does the app check the full ingredient list or just the allergen statement?
The full ingredient list. The "Contains: Wheat" allergen statement is a useful shortcut but it misses ingredients like malt extract (from barley), glucose syrup derived from wheat, and modified food starch from undeclared grain sources. NoJunk parses every ingredient, not just the allergen box, which is how it catches sources that a quick allergen scan misses.
Is the gluten checker free?
Yes. Core scanning — including gluten detection — is free. You can scan any product and see the gluten verdict without creating an account or starting a subscription.
Does it work on packaged foods without barcodes?
Yes. If a product has no barcode or isn't in the database, you can enter the ingredient list manually and the parser will identify gluten sources the same way it would from a barcode scan. This is useful for bulk items, bakery products, and restaurant ingredient disclosures.