Travelling gluten free in Finland

Are you going on a holiday to Finland and looking for the best gluten-free spots? Look no further! We have gathered all necessary information for gluten free in Finland in one easy overview.

Finnish coeliac dietary explanation

Finnish:

Sairastan keliakiaa ja sen vuoksi minun tarvitsee noudattaa tarkkaa gluteenitonta ruokavaliota. En voi syödä pieniäkään määriä vehnää, ruista, ohraa tai kauraa tai niitä sisältäviä ruokia. Voitteko kertoa minulle mitkä ruoka-annokset ovat tällaisia ruokalistallanne tai mitkä voidaan valmistaa ilman vehnää, ohraa, ruista tai kauraa?

Kiitos avustanne.

English:

I have coeliac disease and have to follow a strict gluten-free diet. I cannot eat the smallest amount of wheat, rye, barley or oats or food containing them. Could you point out suitable dishes on your menu or those that can be made without wheat, rye, barley and oats?

Thank you for your help.

Where to buy gluten-free food in Finland

In Finland the gluten-free products can be bought at supermarkets (nearly all have gluten-free products). Best supermarket chains for price and variety are nationwide S-Market, Prisma, K-Market and Citymarket. Products are available everywhere in Finland and prices are about the same, only local small bakery products can be more expensive. The availability varies somewhat according to the supermarket chain and individual shopkeeper. The products are usually placed where the normal counterpart products are, eg. gluten-free pastas are with the normal wheat pastas, gluten-free biscuits are with the normal biscuits, etc. There are also supermarkets which have placed gluten-free food to special section, mostly there is a sign above it GLUTEENITTOMAT (=gluten-free). A good example of this and a supermarket offering a wide range of gluten-free products is K-Supermarket Kamppi in Helsinki city centre. In Finland you’ll find gluten-free bread from the freezer and also some stores are selling fresh bread, buns and cakes.

The international brands sold in Finland are f.e. Semper, Fria Bröd, Schär, Moilas, Glutafin, Glutano, DS, Orgran, Finax and the local brands are f.e. Brander and Suloiset gluteenittomat, Vuohelan herkkupuoti, Pirjon Pakari etc. On the products is written “gluten-free” or “gluteeniton” (Finnish), also some products has the crossed-grain symbol. Gluten-free is not also wheat-free in Finland, gluten-free products can also contain wheat-starch, also oats are accepted for coeliacs in Finland. Naturally gluten-free products are marked “luontaisesti gluteeniton”. These categories are of course valid only until 1.1.2012 when the new EU-regulations fully come into effect also in Finland. This means that there will be to new categories for gluten –free products: gluten-free “gluteeniton”, and very low gluten products “erittäin vähägluteeninen” (Finnish). It is worth remembering that the new gluten-free products are allowed to contain both wheat-starch and oats. So it’s always good to read the ingredients if you don’t use wheat-starch (“vehnätärkkelys” in Finnish) or oats (“kaura” in Finnish).

Gluten-free restaurants in Finland

Almost all restaurants serve something gluten-free, many restaurants have put crossed-grain or G (as gluten-free) to their menus for marking gluten-free meals. It’s still always good to ask: “Can I get this meal gluten-free?” or “Is this meal gluten-free?”

You can also get gluten-free meals in Finland – burgers at McDonald’s, Hesburger, Burger King and Rolls, pizza and pasta at nationwide pizza chain Rosso (ask for gluten-free) as well as at Koti Pizza chain. Also a smaller pizza chain Dennis (Helsinki, Turku, Tampere) and some independent pizzerias are selling gluten-free pizzas.

Gluten-free hotels in Finland

You can also find gluten-free bread from hotel breakfast – if you can’t see any, ask from the staff. It’s also good mention about your gluten-free diet when you book your accommodation. It’s exceptional if they don’t arrange gluten-free bread for you.

Finnish Coeliac Society

Gluten-free Finland – Tips for travellers
http://keliakialiitto.fi/liitto/in_english/gluten_free_finland/

Finnish Coeliac Society: Keliakialiitto ry
Hammareninkatu 7 3310 Tampere Finland
Phone: +35832541 300
https://www.keliakialiitto.fi/language/english/
Email: info@keliakialiitto.fi

Finnish Youth Coeliacs, Keliakianuoret
https://www.keliakialiitto.fi/nuoret/
Email: keliakianuoret@keliakialiitto.fi
Facebook: Keliakianuoret – Finnish Youth Coeliacs
Instagram: @keliakianuoret

Last update of this Travel Net information: April 2021