Mares eat oats and Does eat oats and little lambs eat…?
The ever baffling world of gluten free has a huge Question Mark on if OATS are ok. As with all cases, it is based on the individual and needs to be tested in a controlled way. However, I found a little clarification as to the ” why” of it today in an article that was ” tweeted”.
The GFCF Diet Support Group states: “Less than 5% of the oats which are now grown commercially are for human consumption. The chief value of oats remains as a pasturage and hay crop, especially for horses. Oats are also used in crop rotation. The possibility of cross contamination is the issue here, rather than the glutenous type of protein which is not found in oats. However, oats are considered unacceptable by our standards.”
Now that gives me a little more to go on. I know, when I go to test it for my family, to look into if an Oat is dedicated field, processed in a dedicated factory… dedicated dedicated dedicated. Until then… this mare won’t be eating oats.
“So here it is. Oats do not actually contain gluten, but almost all oats are grown in close proximity to wheat, rye, and/or barley. And they are processed in facilities that also process wheat, rye, and/or barley. So they are usually contaminated with gluten from wheat, barley and/or rye. Lucky for us, some smart manufacturers are producing gluten-free oats. No cross-contamination. But, about 2 – 3 % of the population of the people with Celiac Disease cannot tolerate any oats at all, even if they are gluten-free. They are sensitive to protein in oats as well.”
http://glugleglutenfree.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/what-roll-should-oats-play-in-a-gluten-free-diet/
This is disheartening. I see my tasty burgers going the way of the dodo – or at least, a solid re-invention for when there are wheat-free folks around, which is much of the time.
I’d always been told oats where gluten free and so had used them when needed.
Ingredient labels are hard enough, trying to know when “natural flavor” means “lime juice”, and when it means “wheat protein”. One should not have to go and use Google to find out what is really in a given product – which I so often have to do when cooking for family who is wheat intolerant/allergic – now to find out that one would have to find out whether oats are grown in a dedicated oat growing facility or if they’ve been crop rotated with wheat! When and where does it end?
I have sympathy for you wheat free folks – this is not an easy lifestyle to cook for!
Does anyone know the brand names of some safe oats? I have seen Scottish oats in a fancy white tin that are labled “blade cut”. Are those ones safe?
Ronya- You want to look for a label that says gluten-free. I think I know which ones you are talking about, and there was a study a couple of years back. They tested tins from 3 different batches. One was safe, under 20ppm, but another one tested at over 700ppm. So it’s a crap shoot if you are going to be ok. If it’s labeled gluten-free, then it should be grown in a dedicated field and manufactured in a dedicated facility and tested afterward to be under 20ppm.
Thanks Tia.
This is frustrating…but for me not such a big deal. I’m full on allergic to wheat and oat so it’s zero tolerance in my house (at least for me…the little people around here are free to eat what they wish!)