Do Crayola products contain Gluten?

[Editor’s Note: Updated January 5, 2022]

According to Crayola’s safety specialists, “Crayola Dough*, Glitter Dots, and Easy Peel Crayon Pencils are manufactured with wheat (flour) as an ingredient and therefore are not considered gluten free. All other Crayola products, including Silly Putty, do not contain wheat or other grains known to be a source of gluten.

Multiple Crayola products are produced in the same manufacturing facilities and on the same machinery. While there is a slight chance of cross-contamination, the machinery used to manufacture Crayola products is cleaned between production runs in a manner that meets or exceeds all regulations.

*Some Crayola dough products manufactured by our partner A1 Toys are gluten free, while others are not. Please read the packaging carefully to determine if dough is gluten free.”

The following statement can be found in Crayola’s Gluten Statement Page. 

THE FOLLOWING ARE PREVIOUS STATEMENTS FROM CRAYOLA AND MAY NO LONGER BE ACCURATE…

[Previous Answer from Crayola. May 5, 2009] Crayola Dough is the only product manufactured with wheat (flour) as an ingredient.  All other Crayola products, including Silly Putty, do not contain wheat or other grains known to be a source of gluten.  Since most of our modeling compounds are made in the same manufacturing facility, there is a very slight chance of cross contamination.

The question was raised regarding gluten-free crayons and what type are gluten-free. We contacted Crayola to determine the gluten-free status of their crayons and other products. See below. Please note that Crayola licenses their name to other manufacturers, bath products, cooking products, etc. Crayola only knows the gluten-free status of products they make. If the product is not made by them, the manufacturer should be contacted directly.

Question:

Hi Glutenfreeworks.

I am looking for a gluten-free crayons. I wonder whether you have one or if not could you give me some idea where can I get it from? Thank you and await your reply.
-I.

Answer:

Crayola crayons are gluten-free. We just spoke with a safety representative at the company. Their crayons do not contain wheat, barley, rye or oats. They are also not made on a manufacturing line that uses any of these grains.

The only products Crayola manufactures that contain, or may contain, gluten are their Crayola Dough and modeling compounds. The Crayola Dough contains wheat. The modeling compounds are made on the same line after a thorough wash using a gluten-free cleaner.

The following information can be found on the Crayola website. Crayola
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The exact ingredients of our products are proprietary, however, we are happy to provide you with the 7 most common ingredient requests NOT FOUND in products currently manufactured by Crayola–This does not include products manufactured under license. Please check packaging carefully to determine manufacturing company.

Peanuts
Shellfish
Fish
Tree Nuts
Eggs
Milk
Latex

(Latex gloves are one of the personal protection options requested by and available to our employees for the occasional handling of raw materials and finished goods during the product manufacturing process.)

***We are often asked if any of our products contain gluten (wheat flour). Gluten is contained only in Crayola Dough. Other Crayola modeling materials, including Model Magic modeling compound, Modeling Clay, Air-Dry Clay, and Model Magic Fusion are gluten free. All of these products, however, are produced on the same machinery. Although the machines are cleaned prior to the start of each production run, there is a slight possibility that trace amounts of gluten from Crayola Dough may be present in the other modeling compound products.***

For information regarding specific ingredients not listed, please call us at 1-800-272-9652 weekdays between 9 AM and 4 PM Eastern Time.
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