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Spelt (Triticum spelta) is a hexaploid species of Wheat. Spelt was an important staple in parts of Europe from the Bronze Age to medieval times; it now survives as a relict crop in Central Europe and has found a new market as a health food. Spelt has a complex history. From genetic evidence, it appears to have originated as a hybrid of domesticated tetraploid Wheat such as Emmer wheat and the wild goat-grass Aegilops tauschii (1).

"Wheats", as defined by US and Codex standards, can have either 28 chromosomes (e.g., for Durum wheat) or 42 chromosomes (e.g., for Common wheat or Club wheat). Scientific evidence shows that there is a high percentage of homology between the proteins of Spelt and those of Common wheat (2).Spelt may be ground into flour for Wheat-like products, e.g., Spelt pasta. Spelt products are available mostly from speciality stores, although Spelt flour is becoming more easily available, being recently sold in UK supermarkets.In Germany, the unripe Spelt grains are dried and eaten as Grünkern, which literally means "green grain".The Dutch distil Spelt to make a curiosity gin, jenever. Beer brewed from Spelt is sometimes seen in Bavaria (3).

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Spelt has recently been marketed as safe for Wheat-allergic or Wheat-intolerant individuals. This claim is anecdotal and not scientifically supported.
Wheat-allergic patients can react as readily to Spelt as they do to Common wheat. Furthermore, Spelt is not suitable for people with coeliac disease.

IgE-mediated reactions

Unexpectedly, allergic reactions to Spelt have not been commonly reported. This may be a result of Spelt products not being commonly available. Reported adverse reactions are expected to increase as Spelt and Spelt products become increasingly more accessible. Adverse reactions may be similar to those reported to Wheat. See Wheat f4.
A case report describes an individual with a demonstrated allergy to Common Wheat who had several similar anaphylactic reactions after consuming Spelt (4).

Cross-reactivity

The National Center for Biotechnology Information Entrez data base contains 97 sequences for Spelt proteins, and these sequences are > 95% identical to "Common wheat" protein sequences. In addition, the single sequence for a Spelt protein that is known to be a Wheat allergen, alpha-gliadin (accession ABB17533), is 99% identical to a homologous Wheat protein (accession CAB76957). Therefore, cross-reactivity may be similar to that reported for Wheat. See Wheat f4.

As Spelt contains a lipid transfer protein, cross-reactivity with other plants containing lipid transfer proteins is possible. This is demonstrated by a report of occupational sensitization to Spelt that was associated with symptoms on ingestion of several lipid transfer protein-containing foods.

Last Reviewed-  April 2022