Gluten Contamination of Commercial Oat Products in the United States

Abstract

To the Editor: Research published in the Journal 1 and elsewhere2 strongly suggests that persons with celiac disease can consume moderate amounts of uncontaminated oats. Nonetheless, celiac disease organizations in the United States continue to advise against the consumption of oats because of concern that commercial oat products may be contaminated with wheat, barley, or rye during harvesting, transporting, milling, and processing.2 However, little information is available on the contamination of oat products in the United States. Here I report an assessment of selected brands of oats for gluten contamination. Twelve containers of rolled or steel-cut oats, representing four different lots . . .