Two weeks ago I shared important information about gluten-free Cheerios. If you haven’t read that yet, please go read it now. Today I want to give you an update as well as my thoughts on some of the responses to that post.
Tricia Thompson (Gluten Free Watchdog) posted an update based on a conversation she had with General Mills. It is both encouraging and very concerning.
The Encouraging News
As I mentioned in part 1, General Mills mechanically separates oats from gluten-containing grains. Barley seems to pose the biggest problem in terms of it slipping through the mechanical process and causing contamination.
Oats: Because of the problem with barley contamination, General Mills will be getting a large percentage of oats from farmers who do not grow barley, and they are also looking into using some pure oats.
Testing: GM will be testing more individual boxes of Cheerios.
The Discouraging News
Testing: GM will continue to use mean (average) testing based on a sample of 12 – 18 boxes. They will also continue to use the R7002 assay which has a lower limit of quantification of 10 ppm. Yet they use values below that limit (which are not necessarily accurate) when determining lot means. Switching to the R7001 assay with a lower limit of quantification of 5 ppm would increase accuracy.
Why is this a problem? Tricia initially mentioned that when she visited General Mills, some of the extraction values shared with her were above 20 ppm. In her update, she revealed that one of those was above 90 ppm of gluten! But because the other values were so low, the lot mean was below 20 ppm. And remember what I just mentioned about the test that is used. Because they use values that are below the test’s lower limit, those lot means may not be accurate.
The problem with “I didn’t react, so they’re safe”
I got some blog comments and many Facebook comments about my last post. Some people understand the danger and are thankful for the information. Some have already tried the Cheerios and gotten sick from them. Others are choosing to trust General Mills, and many people are saying that they (or a child or spouse) have eaten the gluten-free Cheerios with no problem. Therefore, they think that all the gluten-free Cheerios are safe for them and anyone else.
The problem with that is that many of the boxes do contain less than 20 ppm of gluten. So most people most of the time would not react to eating them. I will repeat what I said in my last post. I do not think that all of the cereal is unsafe to eat. I do think it is likely that some of the boxes of gluten-free Cheerios are unsafe (maybe as unsafe as 90 ppm!), and we have no way of knowing which ones.
That means that eating gluten-free Cheerios is taking a risk for anyone who needs to be on a gluten-free diet 100% of the time, which includes everyone with celiac disease, as well as many others. Now, I understand that we all take risks to some degree (certainly eating out at most restaurants is a risk), and each person needs to assess the risk factors for themselves.
I don’t think at this point that gluten-free Cheerios are a risk worth taking. Especially if it is to be eaten regularly and not as an occasional treat. Autoimmune disease is not to be taken lightly, and triggering the autoimmune response can have effects that go beyond immediate symptoms, including the development of other autoimmune diseases.
Final Thoughts
The idea that some boxes of cereal labeled gluten-free could potentially have 90 ppm of gluten in them is appalling to me. While the measures they are taking that I mentioned in “The Encouraging News” should certainly help, I want more reassurance than General Mills is giving. They’re a big company. They are able to do that, but so far they are unwilling.
I strongly recommend that you read Tricia’s full update and original post here: Gluten-Free Cheerios Take Two
What are your thoughts on this new information from General Mills?
Thank you so much for continuing to post about this. I was so excited to hear they would be making them gluten free, but I hate that it’s not done in a proper way. I have Celiac and miss eating “normal” things, like Cheerios. But I think I’ll wait until I know I can trust that every box is safe for me to eat.
I do wish they would be more careful and more aware. I will certainly not be eating them. They are also making me much more leery of other companies which are claiming certified gluten free. The only upside is that one is less likely to become glutened by the Cheerios the family toddler is eating.
I think GM should lower the ppms. I am just intolerant to gluten, but when I get some I am sick for at least 5 days and back to square one to get my stomach feeling good. I’m suppose to trust the company’s that say no gluten? How can they think this is acceptable?
I have celiac disease and I had the Cheerios and did have reaction ! I then Read all news on Internet and it makes me angry that a huge company like GM does not use gluten free oats and get certified to the standards of celiac approved!
I feel like if people have celiac and have a reaction or not should stay away as every little bit of gluten adds up to damages to small intestines! I really feel sorry for the young kids who are excited to have there Cheerios and can’t!
GM should be ashamed what they are doing to breaking those kids hearts!!
My husband has Celiac disease and we were really looking forward to some new cereal choices. Based on this article, I think we’ll stay away from the Cheerios. Too bad…
I was excited to see the boxes of gluten free Cheerios at my local Wgman’s, and I bought a box. I have never been diagnosed with celiac, but I am very sensitive to most grains, except for gluten free oats, so I thought I would give them a try. When I have problems with grains, it manifests with an upset stomach, and vomitting, followed by terrible mood swings for up to forty eight hours. No one can stand to be around me. I exhaust myself and everyone else when I am on a tear, and it is not pleasant to be in the same house as me. I had a small bowl for breakfast one day, and had a moderate problem with mood swings, but it didn’t last long. I waited a week and tried it again. The second time I had the upset stomach, acid reflux, and horrible horrible mood swings. I locked myself in the bedroom so I didn’t bother anyone, and I was very emotional. My husband threw out the Cheerios and said no more. I would like to be able to eat Cheerios and Lucky Charms occasionally, but not if they don’t sort things out. Definitely not worth it for me. Initially I discounted the reports because some bloggers had no problems with them. I wish now I hadn’t.
The other thing to consider on the “I didn’t react” attitude is that the small intestine is still being damaged by gluten even if it is within the safety standard. So, an individual may not have the dramatic, often agonizing, reaction but the gut is still being damaged and triggering the inflammation piece of the autoimmune disease.
I see this as another corporation cashing in on gluten free. For those of us who can’t tolerate even 1ppm, cheerios is off limits. It’s just not worth the risk. If I ate something with 90 ppm, I would be horribly sick for two weeks. Gluten will cause damage whether someone has a physical reaction or not. I don’t understand why food corporations, and the government, can’t understand that a “little bit ” of gluten is just as bad as a lot. Gluten free means NO gluten.
I was excited to hear they were going gluten free too as Cheerios has long been a favorite for me. Now I am very disappointed. I am very sensitive to cross contamination so this seems like it would be like playing Russian roulette with my gut to try eating it. I’ll have to pass for now. Seems like they are making it more for the gluten free fad eaters rather than for those of us with Celiac or NCGS.
Although I used to LOVE Cheerios, (my husband still does eat them and hides them in his cabinet where I do not go) I will NOT be eating these until everything is straightened out. If I happen to eat the box containing up to 90ppm, I might not be able to walk for a day, as I also am effected in that way.
I had been looking forward to this, but not now. General Mills needs to really to fix this!! How can the government allow this to be ok. Gluten Free should mean 20ppm or LESS in EVERY box.
I had read everything about the manufacturing processes and decided to try them. The first box was ok and none of us had any issues. Second box, not so lucky! My son and I got very sick so daughter didn’t try. Obviously it was a box way over the 20 ppm. So no more for us 🙁
There isnt any part of this I feel to be safe or worth the risk.
In the end its still overprocessed junk food trying to pass itself off as safe.
Be sure that should you chose to eat this abd get sick I will not be compassionate to your plight. Only when we as a community stop buying into this vs marketing will we garner the respect and consideration this community needs and deserves.
Thanks for continuing to post about this, Linda — sharing it with our local Milwaukee group! Hope you are doing well.
Hi Sara. Yes, I’m doing well and hope you are too. Thanks for spreading the word.
I had them once and noticed that my DH rash got worse so now they are on my husband’s side of pantry!
I too got sick eating Cheerios. I have read Tricia’s posts. I would like to know what we can do about this situation. I’m sure General Mills has found a loophole in the law, but it seems like averaging the boxes violates the spirit of the law which was intended to protect us.
Whom can we write at the FDA, and what can we do as a community to tighten up the law?
You can sign this petition: http://buff.ly/1ItnAaJ
Becky, Gluten Free Watchdog is compiling reports of people getting sick and submitting it to the FDA.
https://www.glutenfreewatchdog.org/news/sick-after-eating-gluten-free-cheerios/
we’ve tried several boxes, and were unsure at first if they were bothering me or our child. He’s been extra emotional lately, but he’s a pretty high strung kid, and my symptoms are usually pretty mild (joint pain and lots of toilet time, but no pain), so we weren’t completely convinced that it was due to the cereal. But we I tried some Cheerios these last few days, and we both are in the bathroom having tummy issues. We will not be finishing these boxes of cereal or buying them again. Boo!!!
Just to report I tried a box, got sick after one bowl. Saw a news report of contamination of wheat by worker at a plant in CA. I thought maybe one of those boxes made it to IA and that was why I got sick. I bought another small box to try, production dates were not on the CA list and the letters CR were so I am assume this box was made at the Cedar Rapids, IA plant. Same issues, I could not digest them, horrible pain in gut, undigested food diarrhea then bleeding. These are not safe for people who are a Celiac. The gluten free fad people won’t know the difference since they can digest gluten. This product should have the gluten free stamp removed!
We opted to not use as unhappy as my boys are. Choose to support smallet companies going the full extent of making sure their product is safe. It’s too bad they are not committed once you loose customers it’s hard to get them back