How Can Oats Be Labeled “Gluten-Free” If They Are Not?

If you have celiac disease or some form of sensitivity to gluten, then you are familiar with the challenges of buying food products that do not contain gluten. Even when a product is labeled gluten-free, that does not guarantee the product is free of gluten and that's due to contamination.

At Mylk Labs, we take gluten-free very seriously and do extensive testing to make sure we offer true gluten free oatmeal cups that are ideal for anyone with gluten sensitivities.

Let’s look at how naturally gluten-free grains like oats can end up contaminated.

Oats Are Naturally Gluten-Free

In the technical sense, oats are naturally completely gluten-free in that they do not contain any gluten proteins. Many oat brands that you can buy in the grocery store are gluten-free and safe for individuals with sensitivity to gluten or celiac disease.

However, not all brands of oats fall into this category. The key factor is that cross contamination can disrupt some of the purity of what is referred to as a gluten free product.

Cross-Contamination Issues

Oats alone without any contamination are naturally 100% gluten-free. However, they are often grown near crops such as barley, rye, and wheat which do contain gluten. Therefore, the possibility of some cross-contamination exists in which some of the gluten from those crops is transferred to gluten-free oats. Imagine this: the wind blows from a wheat farm into a gluten-free oat farm. Gluten can actually travel in the air and contaminate the oats and cause it to no longer be gluten-free.

Another way of cross-contamination is when oats are transported in the same truck as other gluten containing crops. Similarly, oats that are processed in a facility with the same machines that process food products that are not free of gluten can also become contaminated.

There are allergen protocols in place to prevent things like this from happening but it depends on how the safety program, how careful employees are during the cleaning and set up process, and the training that's done at the facility.

Products that are simply labeled “gluten-free” without a certification have no regulations and are self-claims. Therefore, it is important to buy from a trusted source such as products that are certified gluten-free.

Buy Our Gluten-Free Oatmeal Products

At Mylk Labs, we have a robust allergen-handling standard operating procedure in place. Not only do we require a certificate for analysis from all raw ingredients coming in, we also test each and every lot of finished goods to ensure the products are below 10ppm (we aim for below 5ppm). All gluten-free ingredients and finished goods are stored in a separate part of the facility than non-gluten-free materials. 

Order your gluten free oatmeal cups now!