Gluten contamination in the Canadian commercial oat supply

Figures & data

Figure 1. Survey results of the average gluten levels in a sampling of pre-packaged oats sold in Canadian retail stores using a commercial ELISA kit. The insert is an expanded region of the lower-level samples along with a line representing the 20 mg kg⁻¹ level recommended by CODEX for gluten-free status.

Table 1. Gluten content as a function of type of oat product.

Type of oat	Range (mg kg^−1)	Median (mg kg^−1)	Mean (mg kg^−1)
Steel-cut oats	55–1467	660	645 ± 512
Rolled/flaked/ oatmeal	0–2485	81	316 ± 497
Quick/minute oats	13–3784	534	655 ± 694
Oat bran	37–3469	280	704 ± 862

Figure 2. Results for the determination of gluten source for a subset of samples using two different ELISA kits.

Table 2. Number of occurrences for different precautionary statements.

Precautionary statement	Number of occurrences
No warning	65
Wheat-free claim	2
May contain wheat or traces of wheat	43
May contain other allergens^a	9
Manufactured in a facility that also uses wheat, etc.^b	11
Wheat starch in the ingredient list	3
Notes: ^aExample: ‘May contain traces of nuts and milk ingredients.’
^bThis also includes the following statement: ‘Good manufacturing practices have been used to segregate ingredients in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat, sulfites and soy ingredients.’