I grew up eating Cheerios and sliced bananas for breakfast many mornings. I loved Cheerios! And even though I don’t eat processed cereal now, I would be happy for General Mills to offer it as a safe gluten-free cereal for those who do want to eat it.
In case you’re not aware, there are five flavors of Cheerios that are now labeled gluten free. Whether the cereal is in fact gluten free, or is consistently gluten free, has been a question of debate. Here are some things you should consider before eating them or allowing your gluten-free child to eat them.
The story on oats
First we have to cover the basics about gluten-free oats because oats are the main ingredient in Cheerios. Pure oats are gluten free (though some people do not tolerate even pure oats). The problem is that most farmers who grow oats practice crop rotation, which results in the oats being contaminated with gluten during harvest and transportation.
Because of this cross contamination, there is a handful of companies who grow oats in fields where there is no crop rotation with gluten containing grains. These oats are considered safe for the gluten-free diet. Personally, I prefer brands that are certified gluten free and tested to less than 10 parts per million (ppm).
How General Mills makes Cheerios gluten free
So, when General Mills decided to make five flavors of Cheerios gluten free, you might have expected them to use gluten-free oats. But they didn’t. Instead, they decided to use contaminated oats and mechanically separate them from the other grains, which have a different size and shape.
The obvious question at this point is why would they choose to use oats that are known to be contaminated rather than simply using gluten-free oats? According to General Mills, there are not enough gluten-free oats available for their needs. Keep in mind that they are not making two versions of the five gluten-free flavors. Whether people eat gluten free or not, they only have one choice.
Does their process work?
The next obvious question is whether their mechanical process for purifying the oats actually works. The method of determining that answer is to test for the presence of gluten. General Mills does testing after the oats are separated from gluten-containing grains, after the oats are milled into flour, and after the Cheerios are made.
General Mills goes by the US Food and Drug Administration guideline that less than 20 ppm is considered gluten free. And according to GM, their Cheerios meet that guideline, often citing much lower levels of gluten.
What’s the debate about?
The debate has to do with the testing, and Tricia Thompson of Gluten-Free Watchdog is our advocate in this. According to Tricia, who traveled to General Mills, GM is reporting a lot mean (average) by combining 12 to 18 boxes of cereal, grinding them together and testing the results. (How many people combine multiple boxes of cereal when they eat it?)
And when they shared extraction values with Tricia, it revealed that while most extractions were under 20 ppm, some were above 20 ppm.
Gluten Dude also visited General Mills and they sent him an email in response to the concerns expressed by Tricia. While they cited numbers well below 20 ppm, they were again citing mean results.
The problem with mean values is that any samples that are over 20 ppm are getting diluted by the lower value samples. That works for some things, but not for people who need to avoid gluten 100% of the time.
Tricia Thompson says,
Based on extraction values shared with me I am not fully confident that every box of Yellow Box Cheerios from the 88 lots produced at the time of my visit to General Mills contains a level of gluten less than 20 parts per million.
And that is where the debate is centered. Some believe (including myself) that every box should test to less than 20 ppm gluten. Not an average.
My opinion?
Honestly, I’m mad at General Mills for trying to pass off mean (average) test results when I know they understand the seriousness of people needing safe gluten-free food. Do I think that every box of gluten-free Cheerios contains more than 20 ppm gluten? No! But if one box on the grocery store shelf does contain more than 20 ppm and a celiac gets sick from eating it, then shame on them. We’re not buying 12 boxes and mixing them all together and pouring an average sampling into our bowls. People buy one box and eat what’s in that box. If it says it’s gluten free, then it should be less than 20 ppm. Always.
If you know that gluten is detrimental to your health or that of your child, then I don’t think that eating Cheerios is worth the risk. I know it’s disappointing, but I would give it more time. According to an update that Tricia posted today, General Mills says they are working on the areas of concern. We can always hope.
- Gluten-Free Cheerios: Safe or Not? Part 2
- More on Gluten-Free Cheerios and We Should All Be Watchdogs
- Gluten-Free Cheerios Recall
Further Reading
- Gluten Free Watchdog’s blog post, which is much more in-depth: Gluten-Free Cheerios: Take Two.
- Gluten Dude’s blog post: The Lastest “Facts” on the Gluten-Free Cheerios
This totally burns my butt. I HATE that companies are now trying to jump on the bandwagon and make claims that things are gluten free when they aren’t. It should be law that everything has to be thoroughly tested and verified and not from the slap-dash methods General Mills are using. I’d be dangerously ill if I hadn’t read this and just bought a box off of the shelf. They should be ashamed.
What’s frustrating is that GM jumped on the bandwagon a number of years ago when they introduced the gf Betty Crocker mixes. Many people have reacted to those and they know it. This was their chance to get it right and so far they haven’t.
I am glad you mentioned this, while I have never purchased the Betty Crocker gf mixes other than the Bisquick, my husband who have a severe allergy to wheat has mentioned that when he eats some labeled gluten free foods, like Bisquick pancakes, he gets a reaction. I am glad to read your blog and find out why. He has really limited his grain intake and has seen great improvement with his R.A.
Very well put, Linda. I feel the same way. Everyone needs to make their own choice, but they need the facts to do it, so I’m all for sharing Tricia Thompson’s test results and method. It’s eye opening when you understand how they test versus how they COULD be testing. As a celiac, I would never knowingly take a chance like this. I don’t want to be the one who gets the box that’s over 20ppm. No bowl of cereal will ever be worth that to me.
I’ll be watching closely to see if they change their methods as time goes on. I applaud them for wanting to serve the gluten free community, but they could perfect their methods and certainly seek independent oversight and certification from GFCO, for example, to allay our fears. As of now, I’m not willing to be their guinea pig.
~jules
gfJules.com
I appreciate you input, Jules. GM has had gluten-free products on the market for years now, and they weren’t willing to get certification for those, so I’m not holding my breath on that. I also wonder if their testing is done the same way on those products since many people react to them but others don’t. Anyway, I agree. I won’t be their guinea pig.
If people are ALLERGIC to wheat (like ME) DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT EATING THIS STUFF!!
It sounds like barley is the primary problem, but you’re right. If you have a dangerous allergy, it’s not worth it.
I agree with Linda, and would not risk eating Cheerios. Another reason to not eat them is that they are not organic, and the sugar in them is not organic cane sugar. Sugar in itself is best to be limited in a diet, but when we do eat it it should be organic cane sugar and not beet sugar which is generally GMO (genetically modified). If is does not say “organic cane sugar” on the label, and only “sugar”, I do not buy it or eat it. And the milk we usually put on the cereal was created by God for baby cows, not for humans to drink!
You’re right, Terri. This is not a health food, but for people who want to eat it, they should be able to trust the gluten-free label.
I wasn’t aware of Cheerios being marketed as gluten free. I contacted General Mills when they came out with gluten free Chex in regards to the BHT in them. Cheerios has vitamin E as a preservative and I suggested viamin E for Chex but they refuse to change their formulation with BHT in Chex. Too bad they aren’t considering the health effects of their claimed gluten free products. Thanks for making me aware, Linda.
You’re welcome, Marlene. FYI, Cheerios have only recently been made gf and they are still showing up on store shelves. Only boxes labeled gluten free are supposedly gf.
I tried many brands of gluten free cereal, most of them are disgusting. Thank you General Mills for your gluten free cheerios. I was diagnosrd 10 years ago with celiac disease and also suffer from sever DH whenever I get contaminated or eat something that contains gluten. I have had no reactions from any of your cereal. So I thank you for giving it your best.
I wouldn’t trust them THAT IS FOR SURE! Big companies such as this one…. Are just looking for $$
You’re right, Gigi. It’s too bad that money is a bigger factor than people’s health.
I am heartbroken about this whole thing! When I first heard about gluten free Cheerios, I was excited, since that was my favorite cereal as a child. What a let down! I fail to understand why they don’t care more about purr health. I wonder if we all would bombard General Mills with letters of complaint, if it would get them to make a change.
Jeanne, letting a company know your concerns is always a good idea. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people who think the Cheerios are fine to eat. I’m afraid that if they are making enough sales, our voices won’t make a difference. But we can always try. Tricia of Gluten Free Watchdog is recommending that anyone who has a reaction contact both General Mills and the FDA.
Thanks so much for looking into this. This gives us all the more reason to look for that certified gluten free symbol on the products we buy. Ugh! I’m going to share this with my son who lives on his own so that he doesn’t decide to give it a try.
Have a great weekend, Linda.
You’re welcome, Barbara. Certification isn’t a 100% guarantee, but it sure helps and makes those of us who take this seriously much more comfortable. Thanks for spreading the word.
Thank you for this article! I think its sad how even celiac groups in my area are promoting this product and many others that simply have “gluten-free” splashed across the label. I don’t know when standards changed in the celiac community, but I can’t get away with consuming anything that isn’t certified at less than 10 ppm.
You’re welcome, Diana. I think that people who are not as sensitive and don’t have obvious reactions to cross contamination have a different attitude. I understand it’s harder for them to get it, but just because they don’t react doesn’t mean it’s not affecting them. It’s too bad that celiac groups are jumping on board with this. Hopefully there are enough concerned people to make a difference.
The Cheerios are so good and I am happy to be able to eat the product again. I have had no reaction to the product. In the past, I would have reactions even after eating the “gluten free” cereals. I changed from cow’s milk to almond milk and the pain and bloating stopped. Turns out it wasn’t the cereal, it was drinking cow’s milk on the cereal.
Thanks for sharing this, Linda- It’s quite disappointing to see the less than stellar care taken by such a huge corporation but I suppose at the end of the day, their main concern is the bank balance.
My mother in law rushed over with a box of gluten free Cheerios for me.
I never opened them. I questioned them since they were not using certified gluten free oats. Thanks for the informative article.
I took an extreme chance and bought a box of Cheerios and a box of Honey Nut Cheerios. I am quite sensitive and as I say I took an extreme chance. Starting with a little and increasing to a bowlful of both, I would say I am extremely lucky. I have had no reaction. However, that was enough to remind me that I am going to wait until General Mills gets their complete act together. Just because I was lucky this time does not mean I will be lucky in the future.
That’s right, Clair. Many of the boxes are safe, but we can’t be sure that they all are, so it’s a risk. So many people are saying that they (or their child) haven’t reacted and using that as a reason to trust them completely. I’m glad you understand the risk.
Computing the mean is a perfectly acceptable way to say what the typical level of gluten is — after all, you’re not going to measure and report each individual Cheerio, so you have to take a mean to some extent. What celiacs really care about here is the variance or standard deviation: how likely are you to be above the mean by a certain level? For example, if the mean box is 15 ppm with standard deviation 1 ppm, then there’s a 1 in a million chance that you get a box with 20 ppm or greater. On the other hand, if the mean is 15 ppm with standard deviation 5 ppm, then one box out of 6 will have more than 20 ppm.
Do you have any breakdown of the measurements of different lots that we could use to estimate the variance?
I’m sorry, Dave, but I do not have that information. I have posted an update on this topic here: http://glutenfreehomemaker.com/gluten-free-cheerios-safe-or-not-part-2/
Holy smokes! Cheerios was my favorite cereal growing up and was so disappointed when I found out I had Celiac 3 years ago. This morning I had a bowl of GF Cheerios and 4 hours later, omg, my stomach started grumbling and I had a date with the porcelain God. This is so disappointing . Who the hell buys 20 boxes at one time. Shame on GM!
I am gluten free due to food allergies and I reacted to the “gluten free” Honey nut cheerios. I feel terrible! I’ve been gluten free 6 years and this is horrible. Cheerios do not deserve the “gluten free” label. I’ve I were anaphylactic to gluten I would be in the hospital right now. Instead I have a headache, congestion, itchy skin and am breaking out in a rash!
They made me sick the next day after eating one bowl at night. I do not recommend this product. If you have celiac disease stay away.