Is Pepcid gluten-free?
Looks mostly clean — worth verifying with the maker. Mostly yes — but worth a quick call to the manufacturer for some generics. Of 10 product labels we checked, 8 are clean, 0 are confirmed gluten-free by the maker, and 2 contain an inactive ingredient (typically a source-ambiguous starch) whose botanical origin isn't fully disclosed. None contained confirmed gluten.
Drug context
About Pepcid
Pepcid is a brand name for famotidine — the brand-name H2 blocker famotidine for heartburn. The active ingredient is the same across brand and generic versions, but inactive ingredients (excipients) can differ between manufacturers, which is the whole point of this page.
Why this matters
Different manufacturers, different ingredients
Generics of Pepcid use the same active ingredient, but they aren't required to use the same inactive ingredients. Your pharmacy may switch which manufacturer they dispense between fills, sometimes without telling you. The list below shows each manufacturer's product label as a separate entry, because that's the granularity that actually matters when you're celiac.
The labels
The 10 we checked
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01Amazon.com Services LLC worth a call to confirm
Worth a call to the maker: SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A
Inactive ingredients ANHYDROUS LACTOSE · ASPARTAME · D&C RED NO. 7 · DEXTRATES · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 ALUMINUM LAKE · FD&C RED NO. 40 ALUMINUM LAKE · GLYCERYL MONOSTEARATE · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYSORBATE 80 · POVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A · TALC
View source label → -
02CVS WOONSOCKET PRESCRIPTION CENTER, INCORPORATED worth a call to confirm
Worth a call to the maker: SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A
Inactive ingredients ANHYDROUS LACTOSE · ASPARTAME · D&C RED NO. 7 · DEXTRATES · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 ALUMINUM LAKE · FD&C RED NO. 40 ALUMINUM LAKE · GLYCERYL MONOSTEARATE · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYSORBATE 80 · POVIDONE, UNSPECIFIED · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A · TALC
View source label → -
03Teva Pharmaceuticals USA, Inc. nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CELLULOSE, MICROCRYSTALLINE · FD&C BLUE NO. 2--ALUMINUM LAKE · FD&C YELLOW NO. 6 · FERRIC OXIDE RED · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · HYPROMELLOSES · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 3000 · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL 4000 · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · SILICON DIOXIDE · SODIUM STARCH GLYCOLATE TYPE A POTATO · STARCH, CORN · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · TRIACETIN
View source label → -
04Kroger Company nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CARNAUBA WAX · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, UNSPECIFIED · SILICON DIOXIDE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
05CVS WOONSOCKET PRESCRIPTION CENTER, INCORPORATED nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CARNAUBA WAX · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, UNSPECIFIED · SILICON DIOXIDE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
06CVS WOONSOCKET PRESCRIPTION CENTER, INCORPORATED nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CARNAUBA WAX · FERRIC OXIDE RED · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYDEXTROSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE · TRIACETIN
View source label → -
07Doc Rx nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients AMMONIA · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FERROSOFERRIC OXIDE · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, UNSPECIFIED · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SHELLAC · SILICON DIOXIDE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
08Ascend Laboratories, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients AMMONIA · CROSCARMELLOSE SODIUM · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 · FD&C BLUE NO. 2 · FERROSOFERRIC OXIDE · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · MICROCRYSTALLINE CELLULOSE · POLYETHYLENE GLYCOL, UNSPECIFIED · POLYVINYL ALCOHOL, UNSPECIFIED · PROPYLENE GLYCOL · SHELLAC · SILICON DIOXIDE · TALC · TITANIUM DIOXIDE
View source label → -
09Kenvue Brands LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients ACACIA · CELLULOSE ACETATE · CROSPOVIDONE · DEXTROSE, UNSPECIFIED FORM · FD&C BLUE NO. 1 ALUMINUM LAKE · FERRIC OXIDE YELLOW · HYDROXYPROPYL CELLULOSE, UNSPECIFIED · HYPROMELLOSE, UNSPECIFIED · LACTOSE MONOHYDRATE · MAGNESIUM STEARATE · MALTODEXTRIN · MINERAL OIL · STARCH, CORN · SUCRALOSE
View source label → -
10Ascend Laboratories, LLC nothing flagged on the label
Inactive ingredients CITRIC ACID MONOHYDRATE · METHYLPARABEN SODIUM · POWDERED CELLULOSE · PROPYLPARABEN SODIUM · SODIUM BENZOATE · STARCH, CORN · SUCRALOSE · SUCROSE · XANTHAN GUM
View source label →
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Background
What “gluten in a medication” actually means
Gluten enters drugs through their excipients — the inactive ingredients used to bind, coat, fill, or stabilize the dose. The main concern is wheat starch as a filler. Source-ambiguous starches (plain “starch”, pregelatinized starch, sodium starch glycolate, modified starch) get flagged for verification because their botanical origin isn't always disclosed on the label.
The 2024 Mangione et al. pediatric NDC analysis (689 NDCs across the top 100 pediatric medications) found 1.5% contained gluten outright; another 25.7% couldn't be confirmed either way. Liquid and oral-suspension formulations carry disproportionate risk because wheat starch is a common thickener. Full methodology →
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