Naturally Gluten-free Grains and Legumes: Minimizing Risk of Cross Contact with Wheat, Barley, and Rye
This presentation was originally given to the Medical Nutrition Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Please listen to the audio and follow along with the powerpoint. Hopefully this works.
The power point presentation is available at PresentationDIGIDGrainsFINAL
The audio is available at
Comments (2)
I have a question. If I buy a gluten free grain, but find a wheat berry in it, can I just throw away the wheat berry and use the rest of the grain, or is the whole batch contaminated?
Thank you,
Hi Dee, I’m curious if the grain is labeled gluten-free. If no, please try to choose a brand labeled gluten-free. If the product is labeled gluten-free, you may want to choose another brand. Please also let me know about any issues with a particular brand.
Labeled gluten-free grains can be treated the same way we treat dried legumes. Pour the amount that will be used onto a cookie sheet and pick through the grain removing any errant wheat, barley, or rye grains. Grains can then be rinsed under running water.
When it comes to legumes (but not grains) there is some testing data to support this practice. A bag of lentils purchased in the UK and containing foreign grain was sent by UK blogger Carly @gfreeb to senior research scientist Adrian Rogers for testing. Limited testing using the Gluten G12 ELISA was performed on the lentils. Results are shared with permission.
A sample of lentils was ground “as is” from the bag and tested. Results were 7 ppm of gluten.
A second sample of lentils was picked through and foreign material was removed before washing.
The picked through sample of lentils was rinsed 3 times in distilled water and then ground. Results were below the lower limit of quantification of 4 ppm of gluten.
The rinse water was also tested and a low level of gluten was detected.