Author: Laurie

General Mills Inc. is recalling 1.8 million boxes of gluten-free yellow box Cheerios and Honey Nut cereal because they may contain wheat and therefore are not gluten free. This is a Class I recall because an allergen is involved and involves only one batch of all Cheerios manufactured. Consumers with wheat allergies, celiac disease or gluten intolerance should not consume products bearing the affected code dates and should contact General Mills for a replacement or full refund.

According to the GM press release, the bad lots were produced at the facility in Lodi, California during a four-day period for Yellow Box and thirteen-day period for Honey Nut. Cause for the recall was human error. If you have boxes of Cheerios in your pantry, the recall includes boxes with certain “Better if Used By” code dates and the plant codes LD which indicate it was made in Lodi, CA. Questions? Call 1-800-775-8370. (I called. My box was 18JUL2016 CR141107C. The CR stands for Cedar Rapids, therefore my box was not a recall box). The recalled codes made in Lodi are:

Honey Nut Cheerios
12JUL2016LD; 13JUL2016LD; 14JUL2016LD; 15JUL2016LD; 16JUL2016LD; 17JUL2016LD; 18JUL2016LD; 20JUL2016LD; 21JUL2016LD; 22JUL2016LD; 23JUL2016LD; 24JUL2016LD; 25JUL2016LD

Yellow box Cheerios
14JUL2016LD; 15JUL2016LD; 16JUL2016LD; 17JUL2016LD

Are you a gluten free college student? Karis wrote to us that she’s starting a college GF group. Please read the following and pass it on to anyone you may know who is in college,  on the gluten free diet, and who may need some support! The Beyond Celiac has some great info too.

Hello Northeast Ohio Celiac Network! My name is Karis L. and I am student at John Carroll University. I would like to start a college group for those of us following the gluten-free diet. It would not be anything serious just going out to eat or baking gluten-free food together. I know college can be a difficult time for many, and even more challenging for those of us trying to follow a gluten-free diet, but we can help each other. If you are interested please email me through the contact page HERE or EMAIL HERE
Sincerely,
Karis L.

Move over Ralph Nader, there’s an independent voice in the gluten free community.
Tricia Thompson MS RD runs the Gluten Free Watchdog website. She routinely pulls gluten free food off shelves and tests it for gluten.
She has her work cut out for her. The new gluten free labeling law of 2014, although a first step toward identifying safe GF products, is a soft law. It doesn’t require manufacturers to test, doesn’t require a particular type of test or outside tests, and doesn’t regulate the frequency of testing. If labeled GF, the final product simply cannot contain 20 parts per million (ppm) or more of gluten.
Before the new law, only oats certified GF by an outside agency were allowed on the strict gluten free diet. Now General Mills will be mechanically cleaning regular oats and as long as they can prove them to be under 20ppm, they can be labeled GF.

That means GM will be launching SEVEN “new” GF cereals this fall—FIVE flavors of Cheerios, CHEX CLUSTERS FRUIT AND OATS, and even LUCKY CHARMS (which will be labeled GF under the nutrition panel).

Tricia Thompson recommends sticking with certified GF oat cereals. Should we follow her recommendation? Continue reading “The Gluten Free Watchdog Takes a Position on Oats: A review of “GF Cheerios: Take Two””