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    Jefferson Adams
    Jefferson Adams

    Lucky Charms is Now Gluten-free!

    Reviewed and edited by a celiac disease expert.

    General Mills announces that Lucky Charms cereal is now gluten-free.

    Lucky Charms is Now Gluten-free! - Lucky Charms cereal is the latest General Mills cereal to go gluten-free. Photo: CC--Mike Mozart
    Caption: Lucky Charms cereal is the latest General Mills cereal to go gluten-free. Photo: CC--Mike Mozart

    Celiac.com 10/10/2016 - Good news for anyone on a gluten-free diet who misses their beloved Lucky Charms breakfast cereal.

    Lucky Charms joins a number of General Mills' other brands with gluten-free versions, including Chex and Cheerios. In this case, the company turned an old brand into a gluten-free product.

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    Like Cheerios, Lucky Charms are made from oats, which are gluten-free, except that most major commercial oat supplies have minor, but problematic, amounts of other grains.

    To solve that, General Mills has created a process that sorts "out the small amount of wheat, rye and barley in our supply of whole oats that are inadvertently introduced at the farms where the oats are grown, or during transportation of the whole oats to our mill," according to the company.

    General Mills has applied for patents on their unique sorting process that ensures General Mills’ gluten-free cereals meet the FDA's strict guideline for gluten free, said Emily Thomas, senior marketing manager for Lucky Charms in a press release.

    One advantage of General Mills sorting process is that it allows the company to formulate gluten-free options without altering their recipes, or changing their flavor.

    One thing consumers can count on, says Thomas, is that “…the recipe won't change. It will maintain the same great, magically delicious taste that Lucky Charms fans love."

    Read more: Open Original Shared Link  



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    Guest Jen

    Gluten free watch dog has done some great articles on the sorting process for oats that this article mentions... I wouldn't trust GMs sorting process!

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    Guest admin
    Gluten free watch dog has done some great articles on the sorting process for oats that this article mentions... I wouldn't trust GMs sorting process!

    To date their process seems to be working, as there are no reports of gluten in their cereals. It is easy to make such a claim, but big claims require some evidence to support them.

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    Guest Julie

    No reports of gluten?! What about all the terrible reports of glutenings from Cheerios!? At least in the hundreds from just what I've personally read in chatrooms etc. Myself and my daughter included. Many Celiac bloggers, gluten free reviewers, chatrooms, etc have already covered the Cheerios topic, besides just Gluten Free Watchdog! The reports of people being glutened by Cheerios are never ending. I personally am not a Celiac who just believes anything new must be evil and glutened. I have given many new things a chance. My 8 year old daughter and I both have Celiac Disease, and we were both very excited about Cheerios. Until we became violently glutened, that is, upon the very first release. Then, all the reports of glutenings, and bad publicity, followed. So we were definitely not just following a herd of complainers or anything. This "process" the company is using is disgusting and disrespectful to Celiacs. Have you even watched the videos of the process? If cross contamination is dangerous to us, how is this process remotely ok? How about I pour you a bowl of regular cereal mixed with gluten free cereal, and then I'll just pick out the gluten pieces?!

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    Guest admin
    No reports of gluten?! What about all the terrible reports of glutenings from Cheerios!? At least in the hundreds from just what I've personally read in chatrooms etc. Myself and my daughter included. Many Celiac bloggers, gluten free reviewers, chatrooms, etc have already covered the Cheerios topic, besides just Gluten Free Watchdog! The reports of people being glutened by Cheerios are never ending. I personally am not a Celiac who just believes anything new must be evil and glutened. I have given many new things a chance. My 8 year old daughter and I both have Celiac Disease, and we were both very excited about Cheerios. Until we became violently glutened, that is, upon the very first release. Then, all the reports of glutenings, and bad publicity, followed. So we were definitely not just following a herd of complainers or anything. This "process" the company is using is disgusting and disrespectful to Celiacs. Have you even watched the videos of the process? If cross contamination is dangerous to us, how is this process remotely ok? How about I pour you a bowl of regular cereal mixed with gluten free cereal, and then I'll just pick out the gluten pieces?!

    While there are anecdotal reports of people getting sick, why no boxes testing positive for gluten? It is well known that a certain number of celiacs are also oat intolerant, and should also not eat oats, but this condition is not celiac disease.

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    Guest Jefferson Adams

    Posted

    No reports of gluten?! What about all the terrible reports of glutenings from Cheerios!? At least in the hundreds from just what I've personally read in chatrooms etc. Myself and my daughter included. Many Celiac bloggers, gluten free reviewers, chatrooms, etc have already covered the Cheerios topic, besides just Gluten Free Watchdog! The reports of people being glutened by Cheerios are never ending. I personally am not a Celiac who just believes anything new must be evil and glutened. I have given many new things a chance. My 8 year old daughter and I both have Celiac Disease, and we were both very excited about Cheerios. Until we became violently glutened, that is, upon the very first release. Then, all the reports of glutenings, and bad publicity, followed. So we were definitely not just following a herd of complainers or anything. This "process" the company is using is disgusting and disrespectful to Celiacs. Have you even watched the videos of the process? If cross contamination is dangerous to us, how is this process remotely ok? How about I pour you a bowl of regular cereal mixed with gluten free cereal, and then I'll just pick out the gluten pieces?!

    As far as we know not a single box has tested positive for gluten over 20ppm. Until we get actual evidence, not reports of evidence, but actual evidence, color me very skeptical of these claims.

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    Guest Jefferson Adams

    Posted

    No reports of gluten?! What about all the terrible reports of glutenings from Cheerios!? At least in the hundreds from just what I've personally read in chatrooms etc. Myself and my daughter included. Many Celiac bloggers, gluten free reviewers, chatrooms, etc have already covered the Cheerios topic, besides just Gluten Free Watchdog! The reports of people being glutened by Cheerios are never ending. I personally am not a Celiac who just believes anything new must be evil and glutened. I have given many new things a chance. My 8 year old daughter and I both have Celiac Disease, and we were both very excited about Cheerios. Until we became violently glutened, that is, upon the very first release. Then, all the reports of glutenings, and bad publicity, followed. So we were definitely not just following a herd of complainers or anything. This "process" the company is using is disgusting and disrespectful to Celiacs. Have you even watched the videos of the process? If cross contamination is dangerous to us, how is this process remotely ok? How about I pour you a bowl of regular cereal mixed with gluten free cereal, and then I'll just pick out the gluten pieces?!

    There are also many anecdotal reports of very sensitive celiacs eating General Mills Gluten Free cereals with no adverse reactions. Do we believe the people who say the product makes them sick, or the people who say it does not? The answer is: Until we get actual evidence, we push neither side. We suggest that people use caution and evaluate the products based on their own experience. Also, we definitely encourage anyone who suspects gluten contamination to report it.

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    Guest Suzanne

    Posted

    Child having gluten reaction to Lucky Charms but does not with Cheerios...anyone else?

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    Guest Jefferson Adams

    Posted

    An excerpt from the Celiac Disease Foundation, regarding General Mills' Gluten Free Cheerios: "Our Medical Advisory Board has no evidence that General Mills gluten-free cereals are not safe for celiac consumption. General Mills is a proud sponsor of Celiac Disease Foundation, and they understand the importance of safe gluten-free food to our community. In fact, we enjoy Cheerios at the National Office ourselves where half of us have celiac disease. Cheerios only need to be avoided by those with celiac disease who also cannot tolerate oats. "

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    Guest Gary

    Remember that "mixed tocopherols" indicates that the source of Vitamin E is from both d-alpha tocopherols AND dL-alpha tocopherols. The "L" indicates that it's synthetic and not derived from wheat, therefore safe. Without the "L" indicates that the product's Vitamin E is derived from wheat.

    Check the box. It states "mixed tocopherols". That's mostly why we're still getting sick.

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    Guest David

    Posted

    This article disputes your claim that d-alpha tocopherols (without the L) are all derived from wheat. Indicates that the majority is derived from vegetable oil and that while some is derived from wheat germ oil the refining process rids them of allergenic proteins.

    Open Original Shared Link

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    Shantel

    I’m newly diagnosed all this gluten free not truly gluten free is so frustrating I’m trying so hard to go weeks with out any gluten only to find out things aren’t truly gluten free. I just bought two big boxes of lucky charms excited to be able to eat them but as I was eating them decided to google the subject only to read it’s controversial as I put a handful  in my mouth . Now one my symptoms are inflammation and feels like arthritis when I eat gluten I’m tired sluggish I get puffy I don’t want any these symptoms. Can the label that says gluten free do what it says and truly be gluten free ?

    Edited by Shantel
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    Guest Erin
    On 10/17/2016 at 6:58 AM, Guest Jen said:

    Gluten free watch dog has done some great articles on the sorting process for oats that this article mentions... I wouldn't trust GMs sorting process!

    Yeah for the cheerios and lucky charms it's a hit or miss. You could get lucky and never eat out of a box that's been contaminated, but there's always a chance you won't be so lucky and get sick. I recently had a bowl of lucky charms and was sick within the first few bites. Not to scare anybody but just a heads up!!

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  • About Me

    Jefferson Adams

    Jefferson Adams is Celiac.com's senior writer and Digital Content Director. He earned his B.A. and M.F.A. at Arizona State University. His articles, essays, poems, stories and book reviews have appeared in numerous magazines, journals, and websites, including North American Project, Antioch Review, Caliban, Mississippi Review, Slate, and more. He is the author of more than 2,500 articles on celiac disease. His university coursework includes studies in science, scientific methodology, biology, anatomy, physiology, medicine, logic, and advanced research. He previously devised health and medical content for Colgate, Dove, Pfizer, Sharecare, Walgreens, and more. Jefferson has spoken about celiac disease to the media, including an appearance on the KQED radio show Forum, and is the editor of numerous books, including "Cereal Killers" by Scott Adams and Ron Hoggan, Ed.D.

    >VIEW ALL ARTICLES BY JEFFERSON ADAMS

     


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