Gluten-Free 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...

Gluten Contamination Levels of Oat Products Labeled Gluten-Free: Summary Test Results from Gluten Free Watchdog

Over the past five years Gluten Free Watchdog has tested 35 different oat products labeled gluten-free that list oats as the first or second ingredient. Bottom line: Based on testing data from Gluten Free Watchdog, oat products labeled gluten-free are at a higher risk of gluten contamination as compared to labeled gluten-free foods as a whole. 28/35 or 80% of oat products tested below 5 parts per million of gluten. 5/35 or 14% of oat products tested at or...

NASSCD Summary Statement on Oats

The North American Society for the Study of Celiac Disease recently released a summary statement on oats. In the interest of full disclosure, I am a member of NASSCD. While I provided comments via a dietitian colleague on various drafts of this statement, I am not a member of the executive council and was not directly involved in the writing of this statement. The statement can be accessed HERE. Please share your thoughts. Gluten Free Watchdog Position Statement on Oats: ...

Quaker Gluten-Free Oatmeal: Gluten Free Watchdog Updated Position Statement

Bottom Line: Based on all of the information available to us, including Quaker's testing and our own independent testing, Gluten Free Watchdog does not oppose the use of Quaker gluten-free oatmeal by the celiac disease (and non celiac gluten sensitivity) community. Gluten Free Watchdog supports the use of gluten-free oats by the celiac disease (and other gluten-related disorders) community that are produced under a robust gluten-free purity protocol. For examples of purity protocols see the post “Oats produced under a gluten-free...

Gluten-Free Cheerios: Summary Report & Final Test Results

Gluten Free Watchdog tested 5 boxes of gluten-free Original Yellow Box Cheerios, 2 boxes of Honey Nut Cheerios, and 1 box of Multi-Grain Cheerios (these boxes are not part of the Cheerios recall). Some boxes of Original Yellow Box Cheerios and Honey Nut Cheerios tested by GFWD are contaminated with low levels of gluten. This contamination varies by box. Gluten contamination within each box of Cheerios is difficult to evenly distribute... The entire summary report including test results is available...

Quaker Gluten-Free Oatmeal: Take Two

DISCLAIMER: The information included in this post is based on a 2-hour phone conversation with Quaker and extensive written information provided by Quaker in follow-up emails. Quaker reviewed the information included in this post for factual accuracy. In October 2015, Quaker Oats debuted three gluten-free oatmeal products—Quick 1-Minute Oats, Instant Oatmeal Original, and Instant Oatmeal Maple & Brown Sugar. The oats used in these products are not produced under a gluten-free purity protocol; they are mechanically and optically sorted to be...

Class Action Complaint filed October 30, 2015 in US District Court against General Mills (“Gluten-Free” Cheerios & Honey Nut Cheerios)

Contact information: C. Brooks Cutter, Esq., (SBN 121407) John R. Parker, Jr., Esq. (SBN 257761) CUTTER LAW P.C. 401 Watt Avenue, Suite 100 Sacramento, CA, US 95864 Telephone: (916) 290-9400 Facsimile: (916) 669-4499 bcutter@cutterlaw.com jparker@cutterlaw.com Permission has been granted to post the complaint. To view click Complaint.

The gluten-free oats situation & why it is such a sticky wicket

Gluten Free Watchdog Position Statement on Oats: Gluten Free Watchdog supports the use of gluten-free oats by the celiac disease community that are produced under a robust gluten-free purity protocol.* At this time we do not in general support the use of regular commodity oats that are cleaned at the “end” of production via mechanical and/or optical sorting. We are not necessarily opposed to the use of such oats in the future if their gluten-free status can be definitively demonstrated via a rigorous...