Oats are an ingredient that can be problematic for those living with celiac and gluten sensitivity due to cross contact and sorting methods. It's important that the gluten free community be aware they're an increasingly popular ingredient in both food and beverages. At Natural Products Expo West 2019, they were listed as a trend, along with healthy fats, plant-based and lower sugar products. Listen to Episode 18 for more on these trends.
Oats are showing up in obvious products but not so obvious places as well. Oat Milk is gaining popularity for it's milky mouthfeel and gaining particular momentum in the dairy-free product market. Less obvious products containing oats sources are non-dairy frozen products, chocolate bars, waffles and coffee beverages.
This uptick in use of oats means the gluten free community needs to pay even closer attention to labels. Sources of oats - and whether they're purity protocol, can require an extra level of detective work. Gluten Free Watchdog is keeping a running list of manufactures and suppliers using oats produced under a gluten-free purity protocol. Listen to Episode 7 for more info about gluten free oats.
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