If you’ve been thinking of reducing your gluten intake, you might be wondering, is Quaker Oatmeal gluten free? Food companies are claiming that their products don’t contain gluten, including Quaker.

Here is some information you might need, before purchasing the product.

Gluten is a protein found in barley, rye and triticale, to keep the food in their original shape. It also helps bounding the food together like a glue. There is a restriction regarding to food containing gluten, to make it tolerable for people with celiac disease, a disease that make you sensitive to gluten. In the US, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made it clear that gluten-free labeled foods are those that contain no more than 20 pars per million (ppm) of gluten.

Oats-based products are naturally gluten-free, as is stated by Quaker Oats. However, it is still possible for the grain to be unintentionally introduced to other foods that contain gluten during the process of farming, transportation and storage. It is carried along the way and get mixed-up with the oats that are supposed to be free of gluten. If farmers and companies are willing to sell pure oats, it should be certified to ensure that it doesn’t get cross-contaminated.

Maybe you’re still asking, is Quaker Oatmeal gluten free? Here is the answer: there are some products that are labeled as such, though it doesn’t necessarily mean that they sell pure oats. The label means that Quaker has met the requirement made by FDA regarding to the safe level of gluten. But for people who are highly sensitive, they might still be reactive even if the amount of the gluten contained is really low.

There are three types of gluten-free products sold by Quaker Oats: instant plain oatmeal; quick oats and instant maple and brown sugar oatmeal. According to the website of Quaker Oats, here is the list of their gluten-free products. You can easily find them in your nearest stores and pick the one that suit your taste:

• quick 1-minute oats;
• large rice cakes;
• popped rice crisps.
• gluten-free instant oats;
• gluten-free instant oats;

If you cannot find a label saying whether it’s gluten-free or not, it means that the product doesn’t meet the gluten-free labeling standard. You should be careful not to buy it, if you have gluten intolerant. Remember, Quaker Oats doesn’t grow the oats, the company simply buys the raw materials from farmers and sorts the grain using a technique that’s quiet controversial. However, Quaker does some tests to make sure that the oats don’t exceed the limit of 20 ppm.

Before going to the store and buy one of Quaker’s products listed above, there is one last piece of advice you might want to keep in mind. There is no other way of knowing if you’re gluten intolerant or not, other than trying some and see the reaction yourself. Then, you could ask and find the answer yourself, is Quaker gluten free?

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