Cheerios ~ six delicious gluten-free cereals… what <20 ppm 'mean' means for celiacs...

Six varieties of Cheerios are labeled gluten-free… what does their ‘mean’ mean?

I have enjoyed eating Cheerios since I was a wee little kiddo… as with many people in these United States of ours.  They’re a simple snack for every age, from the youngest toddlers to the wisest elders, and easily found in most major grocery store chains.

In the past year, General Mills created six varieties of gluten-free Cheerios (Thank you, General Mills!).  Since then, some questions have been buzzing on exactly what their “under 20 ppm mean” really means.

Buzz – copyright General Mills

In order for any product to be labeled gluten-free, the FDA definition states it must contain less than 20 parts per million (ppm) of gluten.  The Celiac Foundation posted a great article about these FDA labeling requirements worth the read.

General Mills’ Cheerios website shows how they make their Cheerios gluten-free.  I’m so thankful they saw the demand for this, and stepped up to make a cereal ‘safe’ for us non-glutenous eaters.  The following varieties are labeled gluten-free:

• Original Cheerios
• Honey Nut Cheerios
• Multi-Grain Cheerios
• Frosted Cheerios
• Apple Cinnamon Cheerios
• Strawberry Cheerios – available for a short time only

Speaking of ‘safe’, I investigated a bit further to see what studies this past year has exposed re: these six cereals.  Gluten-free homemaker posted an excellent article to tie this information together – citing the findings of both Tricia Thompson of Gluten-free Watchdog, and Gluten Dude – GM uses a “lot mean” to sample 12 to 18 boxes of cereal, grinds them together, and then averages the results.  This “mean”, then, is an average of less than 20 ppm.  We all know “average” means some numbers are higher, some are lower.  So, then, every box is not actually below that 20 ppm requirement.

I am gluten intolerant, and I’ve not noticed any issues eating Cheerios’ gluten-free cereals.  Thankfully!  I suppose if you are truly celiac, you will need to consider all the information more closely, and decide for yourself to partake or to pass.

For those indulging, General Mills’ Cheerios website is loaded with fantastic recipes, such as:

• Pumpkin Cheerios Bread
• Cheerios Crumb Crust
• Pork Meatballs with Cheerios & Pineapple Pepper Sauce

I’m looking forward to trying some of these out, and post my findings after taste-testing!

– wendi e.  :O)