Gluten-Free Oats

It isn’t just oats that have gluten cross contact issues

We've known for well over a decade that standard oats are highly likely to arrive at a mill from the farm containing errant wheat, barley, and rye grain. But we also have a problem with errant gluten-containing grain showing up in other naturally gluten-free grains, seeds, and legumes, including millet grain and dried lentils. This is happening in products labeled “gluten-free” as well as those labeled “certified gluten-free.” And it doesn't matter if the food manufacturing plant is dedicated gluten-free. Why?...

Gluten-Free Quaker Oats & Testing with the Nima Sensor, R5 ELISA, & G12 ELISA

November 6, 2017 Please read this entire document very carefully. The information is presented in bullet point format to hopefully make complicated information a bit easier to understand. Background: A consumer tested a carton of Quaker Oats labeled gluten-free with the Nima Sensor consumer-testing device. Two samples—one cooked and one raw were tested. Both results were “gluten found”. The consumer sent all remaining product in the original container to Gluten Free Watchdog. Gluten Free Watchdog sent the product to an independent...

General Mills removing gluten-free claim from Cheerios in Canada: Implications for US market?

As many of you have heard General Mills is removing the gluten-free claim from Cheerios sold in Canada. Gluten Free Watchdog reached out to General Mills to learn more about this decision and how it might impact Cheerios sold in the US. In particular, we asked about testing protocols and any changes to these protocols. These questions are motivated by our knowledge that an AOAC working group on gluten in oats was established because “Standards and methods are needed for...

Glanbia Gluten-Free Oats: Another Source of Purity Protocol Oats

August 23, 2017 Glanbia Agribusiness is a purchaser and processor of grain in Ireland. They have recently begun to sell their OatPure™ gluten-free oats to manufacturers in both North America and Europe, through their sister company, Glanbia Nutritionals. According to Glanbia, their OatPure™ oats are guaranteed to contain a level of gluten below 10 ppm. Also according to Glanbia, their oats have been licensed by Coeliac UK, the Coeliac Society of Ireland and the Spanish Federation of Coeliac Associations (FACE) to...

Oats and the Gluten-Free Diet: Something for Everyone!

In Honor of Celiac Disease Awareness Month, Gluten Free Watchdog is writing a series of articles (the goal is one per day during the month of May) related to the gluten-free diet–currently the ONLY treatment for celiac disease.  Post (#10)… I have written more on oats for both scientific and general audiences than any other issue related to the gluten-free diet. My first article published in the scientific literature in 1997 was on oats and there are at least 27 posts on oats...

Gluten Free Watchdog Updated Position Statement on Oats

Background: Two scientific publications from PepsiCo scientists provide us with the best data to date on the state of contamination of oats sold as gluten-free in the US (1, 2). Extensive testing by PepsiCo found 1 in every 57 servings tested (0.25 g sample taken from each 45 to 50 g ground serving) to contain gluten at levels at or above 20 parts per million using the R5 ELISA R7001 assay. The scientists point out that the number of contaminated...

Quaker researchers publish a second study highlighting the difficulties associated with testing oats for gluten contamination

Note: This is one of two companion articles published today on oats. An updated position statement on oats from Gluten Free Watchdog will be published in the near future. PepsiCo scientists recently published a second article in the scientific peer-reviewed literature on the difficulties associated with testing oats for gluten contamination. This article entitled “Kernel-based gluten contamination of gluten-free oatmeal complicates gluten assessment as it causes binary-like test outcomes” compliments their first article entitled, “Gluten-containing grains skew gluten assessment in oats...

Controversy continues to swirl around oats & their suitability for a gluten-free diet

Note: This is one of two companion articles published today on oats. An updated position statement on oats from Gluten Free Watchdog will be published in the near future.  Very long bottom line “Do oats belong in a gluten-free diet?” This was the title of the first article of mine published in the peer-reviewed scientific literature. This was way back in 1997. Oats were controversial then and they are controversial now. There have been questions about: oat safety, oat avenin; different oat...

Must Read Study Courtesy of Quaker on Testing Oats for Gluten

Gluten-containing grains skew gluten assessment in oats due to sample grind non-homogeneity. Fritz RD, Chen Y, Contreras V. Food Chemistry. February 2017;216:170-175. Published online ahead of print August 12, 2016. Disclosure: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ronald D. Fritz, Yumin Chen, and Veronica Contreras are salaried employees of PepsiCo Inc. or Quaker Foods and Snacks (QFS), a subsidiary of PepsiCo, Inc., which funded this research. QFS has a commercial interest in gluten-free foods. …………………….. What follows is a summary...

Canadian Celiac Association Recommends Against Gluten-Free Cheerios

Bottom Line Recommendation from CCA: “ The Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) recommends that people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity DO NOT consume the gluten-free labeled Cheerios products at this time because of concerns about the potential levels of gluten in boxes of these cereals. The CCA is receptive to evaluating any additional information that General Mills is willing to disclose.” Gluten Free Watchdog is in complete agreement with the CCA's position on “gluten-free” Cheerios Gluten-free Cheerios will be widely available in Canada...