Are Soft Drinks Like Pepsi, Coke & Dr. Pepper Gluten-Free?

Celiac.com 05/19/2022 - We get a lot of questions from celiac community members wondering if certain products are gluten-free. We especially get a lot of questions about beverages, like soft drinks and other non-alcoholic drinks, and specifically, questions about soft drinks, like Pepsi, Coke, Dr. Pepper, etc. 

Are the major brands of soft drinks gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease? The short answer is YES, nearly all commercially available soft drinks are naturally gluten-free and safe for people with celiac disease.

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We've done articles on brands of gluten-free soft drinks, but still the questions come. 

The answer is that most soft drinks are made with carbonated water, sugar or high fructose corn sugar, flavorings and preservatives. Very few soft drinks contain any gluten ingredients, and, if they contain wheat, those ingredients will be labeled as allergens, by law.

It is possible that small brands may use malt-based sweeteners, we've heard about some root beers that use them, but the major brands of soft drinks usually use corn-based sugar. To be safe, however, always check the ingredients before consuming a soft drink, and always avoid the following ingredients:

• Barley Malt
• Malt
• Malt Extract
• Malt Syrup
• Malt Flavoring

Nearly all major soft drinks are made without gluten ingredients. That means that unless a soft drink lists gluten, or wheat as an allergen or ingredient on the label, it is likely gluten-free. Still, it's not all that common to see a gluten-free label on soft drinks that are, in fact, naturally gluten-free.