chex and fruity pebbles, safe or not

[pdm1981]

So what's the deal with Chex and Fruity Pebbles? Is it really gluten free and safe for celiacs or not? I've heard answers all over the board about it's safe and people eat it all the time to never trust General Mills. I would like to put this one to bed. I know the Cherios was a sham but what about these two, safe or not?

[GFinDC]

I've eaten Rice Chex with no problem.  I'll probably try Corn Chex soon.  I think I read that the Cheerios might be ok, but I don't eat oats so won't try them.

[Ennis-TX]

I trust the rice chex, the cinnamon sugar one alright also, only other cereal I will let someone bring in my house is Van's. I do not eat them personally but I have tried a few pieces to check them, and keep them in stock for a friend who sometimes stays over.

[pdm1981]

I'll give Chex another try I guess. I stopped trusting anything that General Mills said after getting sicker than a dog from Cherios. I did like some of the Chex flavors too. My brother said he saw a Lucky Charms box marked Gluten Free the other day but I personally haven't seen it but I know they had some products coming out.

[pdm1981]

On 1/5/2017 at 7:24 AM, GFinDC said:

I've eaten Rice Chex with no problem.  I'll probably try Corn Chex soon.  I think I read that the Cheerios might be ok, but I don't eat oats so won't try them.

I'm going to give the Chex another try but not the Cheerios. "The Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) recommends that people with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity DO NOT consume the gluten-free labeled Cheerios products at this time because of concerns about the potential levels of gluten in boxes of these cereals...Based on the information provided to date, our scientific advisors are not convinced that the testing procedures described by General Mills are sufficient to detect these contamination “hot spots” in the oats and oat flour or in the boxes of cereal that may contain those contaminated oats." That's why I'm having trouble with trusting General Mills but the contamination supposedly has to do with the harvesting.  I guess the Chex may be alright because it's rice. I recommend checking the article out: Open Original Shared Link

[GFinDC]

Thanks for the link pdm1981.  Yep, it's a bit of a controversy whether or not the Cheerios are safe for celiacs or not.  This link below to General Mills has links to info on their gluten-free efforts.  I like their statement on the bottom of the Lucky Charms page that says they check for gluten at 3 different stages.  But I don't eat oats at all myself, so I am not going to say people should eat them.  It's a question for each person to decide.

Open Original Shared Link

I have eaten the regular plain Kix cereal and didn't react to  that.  But I don't think they even list Kix as gluten-free.  Kix is corn based though, not oat based.

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Open Original Shared Link

How gluten-free is gluten-free?

We test every batch of oats after sifting to make sure it has less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

We check it twice.

First, we check the oats after sifting. But we check again after the oats are milled into flour. We even ship the flour to our plants in our fleet of dedicated gluten-free trucks and rail cars.

And three times is a charm.

After the flour is baked into Original Lucky Charms cereal, we check one last time to ensure they’re gluten-free.

(Chocolate Lucky Charms™ are not gluten-free.)

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[pdm1981]

2 hours ago, GFinDC said:

Thanks for the link pdm1981.  Yep, it's a bit of a controversy whether or not the Cheerios are safe for celiacs or not.  This link below to General Mills has links to info on their gluten-free efforts.  I like their statement on the bottom of the Lucky Charms page that says they check for gluten at 3 different stages.  But I don't eat oats at all myself, so I am not going to say people should eat them.  It's a question for each person to decide.

Open Original Shared Link

I have eaten the regular plain Kix cereal and didn't react to  that.  But I don't think they even list Kix as gluten-free.  Kix is corn based though, not oat based.

**********************************************************

Open Original Shared Link

How gluten-free is gluten-free?

We test every batch of oats after sifting to make sure it has less than 20 parts per million of gluten.

We check it twice.

First, we check the oats after sifting. But we check again after the oats are milled into flour. We even ship the flour to our plants in our fleet of dedicated gluten-free trucks and rail cars.

And three times is a charm.

After the flour is baked into Original Lucky Charms cereal, we check one last time to ensure they’re gluten-free.

(Chocolate Lucky Charms™ are not gluten-free.)

**********************************************************

So their is a gluten-free Lucky Charms. I'll check out their page and I'm getting the Chex today. Thanks.

[Fbmb]

Rice Chex are fine for me. But I notice that I have issues with Corn Chex. Maybe it's just the corn, but I don't have issues with all corn. So I'm stumped. I eat Van's cinnamon squares too. They're really good. My toddler loves them.

[flutegal64]

I've had issues with Chex so I'm going to say they are not safe. At first they were ok then I think now they aren't as careful as they were.

[Bonnie F.]

Twenty (20 ppm) parts per million is still too much for a celiac or someone that has gluten sensitivity.  When someone is highly sensitive to gluten none is acceptable.  When one is allergic to wheat and highly sensitive to gluten again none is acceptable.  Why can't there not be any gluten in cereal?  I think it's false advertising.  Anything that comes in a box and is labeled gluten free is not gluten free.  Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows 20 ppm.

[kareng]

If something tests at less than 20 ppm , that does not mean it has gluten. Its the limitation of the testing.  It could have 1 ppm or 12 ppm or 0 ppm.  Companies do not add gluten to make it get up to 20 ppm or try to be sloppy, because < 20 ppm does not give them "wiggle" room.

Also, ppm means parts per million.  That is a very very very tiny amount.  

And many companies use a test of less than 10 ppm - an even smaller  amount.

 

 

[psawyer]

I eat both Rice Chex and Corn Chex regularly, and do not have a problem with either one. I also eat gluten-free Rice Krispies.

About three times a year we travel to the US to buy Corn Chex--they are not yet available in Canada.

I have seen concerns about Cheerios. They weren't on the list of things I missed when I went gluten-free 15 years ago. Maybe I will try them, one day.

As Karen said, less than <n> ppm can be zero, or any number less that <n>. The statement refers to the test done--not the food's gluten content.

[GFinDC]

10 hours ago, psawyer said:

I eat both Rice Chex and Corn Chex regularly, and do not have a problem with either one. I also eat gluten-free Rice Krispies.

About three times a year we travel to the US to buy Corn Chex--they are not yet available in Canada.

I have seen concerns about Cheerios. They weren't on the list of things I missed when I went gluten-free 15 years ago. Maybe I will try them, one day.

As Karen said, less than <n> ppm can be zero, or any number less that <n>. The statement refers to the test done--not the food's gluten content.

Thanks Peter,

The corn Chex box will be opened pretty soon then!

[pdm1981]

Right now I'm trying out the Nature's Path Organic Kids stuff. It's certified gluten-free which I thinks goes to 10ppm. They have some good flavors. I'm sorry but as sick as I got from the Cheerios, just can't bring myself to trust anything that isn't third party certified or made by General Mills. There is a brand out there called Kay's I think that has the CSA seal on it which if I'm not mistaken means under 5ppm and is high in protein. I was thinking about giving that a try.

[pdm1981]

Correction: Kays is certified to 10ppm and doesn't have the CSA seal. I got it mixed up with Frontier Soups. I just ordered some chili mix from them and they're CSA approved and tested to 5ppm. Kay's looks good though but pricey.

[GFinDC]

Good to know, thanks PDM!  I've had one of the Natures Path cereals in the past, and it was fine for me.  When I got the Natures Path cereal, it was in big plastic bad, instead of a box.  I think it's easier for the whales to swallow the bags or something.

[DBray]

I have been eating the Chex foods (except wheat Chex) for years.  They are made in a Gluten Free facility (they tell me).

The original gluten-free Cherios were not Gluten Free at all - had some serious chats with those folks that went from false advertising to trying to kill us.  A while back I got a call from them and they asked me to try them again.  I did and I have not gotten sick since - they too are made in a dedicated facility.  The only question is the quality of the initial ingredients - but then again, I have not gotten sick.  The first time, I was sick for the normal 3 days.

The original gluten-free Cherios did not state that they were made in a dedicated facility.  There was a substantial recall on the product (they told me that it was disposed of).

In my conversations with General Mills, they told me that 40 PPM was good.  I told them that if you are Celiac, if your children (this gets them EVERY time and is accurate) is diagnosed with Autism, ADD, ADHD, or any of these other things - 0 PPM is the highest level they can go.  They REALLY want to be the only children cereal in the game.  This is when they went to a dedicated gluten-free facility - so they have been doing their homework.