#Cheerio recall 2015 free#

Quaker also uses standard oats that have been sorted to remove wheat, barley, and rye in their labeled gluten-free oatmeal. It is genuinely curious why General Mills does not follow a testing protocol similar to the protocol followed by Quaker**.

Therefore it is not possible to test boxes produced around the same time as the box containing gluten. If testing from General Mills reveals high results, they have no idea which box is to blame. This helps us assess the extent of cross contact within the box. If a result from any given box comes back with quantifiable gluten, the lab can regrind the sample and test additional extractions and/or grind another sample from the same box for testing.

#Cheerio recall 2015 free#

This testing protocol continues to baffle.When Gluten Free Watchdog sends Cheerios to the lab for testing, each individual box is tested separately.

Any lot of flour and/or Cheerios not verified as gluten-free would not be used or shipped.

All lots of oat flour and all lots of gluten-free Cheerios are placed on hold (not shipped) until gluten testing has verified that the lot is gluten-free.

Extractions are tested using the Ridascreen Total Gluten assay R7041.

A minimum of six, 1-gram sample extractions are taken from this combined, ground sample.

The combined sub-samples are subject to additional grinding.

The sub-samples are composited-meaning they are combined.

A sub-sample of ground product is taken from each box.

The contents of each individual box are ground.

Twelve to eighteen boxes of cereal are pulled during a production cycle or “lot”.

To arrive at a lot mean for gluten-free Cheerios, the following protocol is followed:.

In both cases, General Mills defines a “lot” as a 24-hour production cycle.

Further, General Mills determines gluten-free status of a “lot” of gluten-free Cheerios via a lot mean.

General Mills determines gluten-free status of a “lot” of oat flour via a lot mean.

General Mills is producing gluten-free Cheerios using what they term “validated gluten-free flour.”.

General Mills testing protocol: updated & reconfirmed on January 28, 2021īottom line: General Mills continues to use mean test results from a composite sample made up of sub samples taken from 12 to 18 boxes of cereal to determine if a lot (24 hour production cycle) is gluten-free.

2015: One-third of the extractions tested from 2 boxes contained quantifiable gluten.

2021: One extraction from the 3 boxes tested contained quantifiable gluten at or above 5 parts per million.

2015: Over half of the extractions tested from 5 boxes contained quantifiable gluten at or above 5 parts per million.

2021: No quantifiable gluten was found in the 3 boxes tested.

Results from our 2021 spot testing are an improvement over 2015 spot testing for both Original and Honey Nut Cheerios.

*Sorted oats are traditionally grown (standard) oats that undergo a mechanical and or optical screening at the mill to remove gluten-containing grain based on a variety of grain properties (e.g., size and color). Because General Mills uses sorted oats*, testing protocols take on added importance as a benchmark of oat safety. We truly wish General Mills would adopt a testing protocol similar to the one followed by Quaker Oats, another manufacturer also using sorted oats in labeled gluten-free foods. This is due largely to the testing protocol followed by General Mills versus our recent test results. However, Gluten Free Watchdog cannot in good conscience recommend gluten-free Cheerios. General Mills has always been transparent with Gluten Free Watchdog about the protocols used for gluten-free Cheerios. Please make decisions based on the totality of information available to you, including the position of Gluten Free Watchdog, the statement at the end of this post from General Mills, and Gluten Free Watchdog’s updated position statement on oats.*** Whether or not you choose to eat Cheerios is your personal decision and you do not owe anyone an explanation. ***Note: What follows is the opinion of Gluten Free Watchdog. This position statement may not be reposted without the express written permission of Gluten Free Watchdog, LLC.