The Gluten-Free Verdict on Quaker Oats and General Mills

Oats have always remained as one of the go-to breakfast options for celiac patients. Because these cereals do not technically fall into wheat, barley, or rye, they are considered as gluten-free. However, do not be fooled. Though they are considered celiac-friendly foods, they can still be contaminated by products that contain gluten.

Depending on how these companies grow, process and package their products, oats can easily be contaminated by gluten, especially if they are grown and harvested in the same facility as wheat, rye, and barley. When it comes down to which oats are the purest, most people lean toward either Quaker Oats or General Mills. However, these companies also have an issue with how they process their oats. No matter what, it seems that small flakes of wheat, rye, or barley remain intact and in the final product.

To figure out the reason behind these small crumbs of gluten making it into the final product, the people at Celiac.com began to investigate the company’s manufacturing process. During their search, they found strong evidence that suggests that at least 4 percent of the purity protocol oats are polluted with trace amounts of gluten.

Now, this isn’t much of an issue, since anything below 20 ppm of gluten can still be considered gluten-free and safe for consumption by celiac patients. However, the team also discovered that there were isolated kernels of wheat, barley, or rye flakes also making it into their final product, and onto store shelves.

Since these kernels were rolled flat, just like the oats, there is a strong possibility that these gluten particles could make it into a bowl of otherwise gluten-free oatmeal, rendering it over the safe 20 ppm standard. This would make their products not gluten-free, according to FDA standard, which could trigger gastrointestinal symptoms in celiac patients.