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Ingredient dictionary

Pearl barley on a food label: it contains gluten

Pearl barley is one of the barley groats. It contains gluten, so the allergen labelling rules apply. It is vegan. Open Food Facts finds it in 316 products, most often in ready meals.

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Pearl barley=gluten

Does pearl barley contain an allergen?

Yes. Pearl barley is made from a cereal containing gluten: labels in the UK, Europe and the Gulf must declare it. In the US it is not a listed allergen, because US labels name wheat only.

AllergenUSUK and EuropeGulf
Cereals containing glutenPartlyWheat onlyRequiredWheat, rye, barley, oats, spelt, khorasanRequiredWheat, barley, oats, rye, spelt

Read the gluten guide

Is pearl barley vegan?

Yes. Pearl barley is vegan and vegetarian: Open Food Facts records nothing from an animal in it.

VeganFits youNothing from an animal, by the Open Food Facts record.
VegetarianFits youNothing from an animal, by the Open Food Facts record.
Coeliac or gluten-freeNot for youIt is made from a cereal containing gluten.

A pack can differ from the usual recipe: the app reads the label in your hand.

What other names does pearl barley have on a label?

In English pearl barley can also read “pearled barley”. On European labels it is “orge perlé” in French, “Perlgerste” in German and “cebada perlada” in Spanish. The other 9 languages are listed below.

In Englishpearled barley
French
orge perlé
German
Perlgerste, Graupen
Spanish
cebada perlada
Italian
orzo perlato
Dutch
parelgort
Polish
kasza perłowa, kaszy perłowej
Swedish
pärlgryn
Danish
perlebyg
Finnish
ohraryyni
Hungarian
árpagyöngy
Romanian
orz perlat
Croatian
prekrupa od ječma

Which foods contain pearl barley?

Open Food Facts lists pearl barley in the ingredients of 316 products, most often ready meals, pasta, rice and flour and soups. Most of them are sold in the United Kingdom, France and Italy.

  • Ready meals91
  • Pasta, rice and flour45
  • Soups28
  • Bread15
  • Beans and pulses14
  • Offal9

Products with it, by country of sale: United Kingdom 106 · France 66 · Italy 66 · United States 38.

Counted on 13 October 2026 from the Open Food Facts product database, which volunteers fill from real packs: it shows where pearl barley turns up, not how much of the market it is.

What kind of ingredient is pearl barley?

Pearl barley is one of the barley groats.

Bravoora reads this ingredient for everyone you shop for: an allergy or intolerance, a vegan or vegetarian diet, a calorie or protein goal, and the labels on supplements and skincare too. Build a profile · For dietitians, doctors and trainers

Sources

An allergen is stated only when two of three checks agree: the Open Food Facts record, Bravoora’s label checker, and the ingredient’s own name or family (oat flour is oats, a cheese is milk). Every name where they disagree waits for a person to review it.

  1. Open Food Facts: Pearl barley
  2. Open Food Facts: ingredients taxonomy (names, family tree, allergen and vegan flags), ODbL
  3. Open Food Facts: product database, 4,535,553 products, read 13 October 2026, ODbL
  4. European Union: Regulation 1169/2011 on food information to consumers, Annex II
  5. UK Food Standards Agency: Allergen guidance for food businesses (the 14 allergens)
  6. US FDA: Questions and Answers Regarding Food Allergen Labeling, Edition 5 (January 2025)

Contains information from Open Food Facts, which is made available here under the Open Database License (ODbL). Read the licence · Download this dictionary’s data · How we check

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