General Mills to roll out five gluten-free Cheerios products this summer

By Elaine Watson

- Last updated on GMT

General Mills to roll out five gluten-free Cheerios this summer

Related tags Wheat Gluten-free diet

Beginning in July, five Cheerios products will be going gluten free: Original Cheerios, Honey Nut, Multi-Grain, Apple Cinnamon and Frosted, General Mills has revealed.

While the number one ingredient in Cheerios is whole grain oats, which do not contain gluten, Cheerios are not currently safe for celiacs as small amounts of gluten-containing grains such as wheat, rye and barley can be introduced at farms where oats are grown, or when they are transported, creating a cross contamination risk.

However, in a posting on its Taste of General Mills blog​, the company says it has “developed a way – years in the making – to sort 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 were grown, or during transportation of the whole oats to the mill”.

Asked how this had been achieved, Mike Siemienas, manager, brand media relations at General Mills, told FoodNavigator-USA: "Through a proprietary method, we now have the ability to remove the wheat, rye and barley from the oats. This is something we have worked on developing for several years and this process takes place after the oats are delivered to our facility from the farm."

This is probably the biggest news for Cheerios since our commitment to whole grain in every box

This ensures that the oats used in Cheerios meet the FDA’s strict <20ppm gluten guidelines for gluten free products, said Jim Murphy, president of General Mills’ Big G cereal division.

This is exciting news for the cereal category, probably the biggest news since our commitment to whole grain in every box.

“We know there are many consumers – as much as 30% in the U.S. – who avoid gluten. And, people are looking for more gluten-free options for cereal so it’s important that we make these five varieties of gluten-free Cheerios available.”  

We are working at making more of the Cheerios franchise gluten-free

While recipe changes were not required for four Cheerios variants, reformulation was needed for multi-Grain Cheerios, which contain wheat and barley (these are being replaced by the gluten-free grains sorghum and millet).

The gluten-free Cheerios products “will be clearly marked for consumers​”, said General Mills.

Asked what was happening with other Cheerios products, Siemienas told FoodNavigator-USA: "We are working at making more of the Cheerios franchise gluten-free, however at this time the other products are not​ gluten-free. Also, Cheerios products that contain a cluster, like Cheerios Protein, are not currently slated to go gluten-free."

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5 comments

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Mrs

Posted by Nikki Morrison,

Is it true that you are only launching these in the US? Please reconsider and launch in the UK. My friend's son has coeliac and he's only 6, he used to live on Cheerios before his diagnosis. He would be over the moon to be able to eat them again. If you are not launching in the UK, could I arrange to buy some for him from you directly? Or could you sell through Amazon etc. Thanks x

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Mrs

Posted by Nikki Morrison,

Is it true that you are only launching these in the US? Please reconsider and launch in the UK. My friend's son has coeliac and he's only 6, he used to live on Cheerios before his diagnosis. He would be over the moon to be able to eat them again. If you are not launching in the UK, could I arrange to buy some for him from you directly? Or could you sell through Amazon etc. Thanks x

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awesome

Posted by annette,

my dad has been gluten free for 8 yrs now and is very excited to have a new choice in gluten free cereal. He always loved cheerios. we all cant wait to try them.

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