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It would seem this week that a number of “Freefrom” oat products have been recalled from the supermarket shelves.
The product recalls from Co-op, Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury’s and Delicious Alchemy have been reported on the Coeliac UK website.
The following products have been recalled due to potential low levels of gluten or contamination of the products:
- Tesco Free From Pure Oat Fruit Muesli 450g (Best Before 20/05/2012, 22/05/2012, 18/06/2012, 19/06/2012)
- Tesco Free From Pure Porridge Oats 450g (Best Before 22/07/2012, 25/07/2012, 17/08/2012, 18/08/2012, 08/09/2012)
- Sainsbury’s Freefrom Pure Oats 450g (All best before dates for July, August and September 2012.)
- Gluten Free Rolled Oats – best before 04/08/2012, 05/09/2012, 06/09/2012.
- Original Gluten Free Purely Oaty Fruity Nut Muesli – best before 04/08/2012, 05/09/2012, 06/09/2012.
- Asda Chosen By You Oat Muesli 450G (Free From) Date code: 03-08-2012, £2.38, Barcode: 0505244901084-8
- Asda Chosen By You Porridge Oats 450G (Free From) Date code: 02-08-2012 and 07-09-2012, £2.98, Barcode: 0505244901083-1
- The Co-operative Free From Pure Oat Muesli, 450g – Best before: 22 July 2012
If anyone has purchased any of these products then please do not eat them and return them to the store where they were purchased.
It’s times like these that I feel relieved to have given up oats, including the branded “Free from” products.
Following on from my oat detox which some of you may remember, I haven’t really consumed any oats since, and have been feeling a lot better.
I don’t really miss oats from my diet, and have found that not avoiding them has left me feeling less bloated and uncomfortable.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I have found that even the specifically gluten-free oats still make me feel, for want of a better word, a bit crappy!
Has anyone else found this? Does anyone have a problem with oats or do you avoid them completely? Comment below and let me know!
Hi Sarah, I have been coeliac for 14 years and was diagnosed in the era when all oats were banned. I have been increasingly worried about the number of oats products available recently in the ‘Free From’ aisles, including oats in the form of a disguise in normal gluten free biscuits. My local C-op introduced their own branded free from products a couple of months ago and it would seem that nearly all of their biscuits contain ‘oat flour’ which although listed in the ingredients and with a small note to say that not all coeliacs can tolerate oats, there is nothing to say this on the front of the pack. Personally, I do not feel the need to eat oats – as a child I never liked porridge, or flapjacks etc, so I don’t feel I am missing out. They also say you should check with your dietician or consultant before trying them in your diet and I feel this would be a waste of those professionals’ time to ask them whether I can start to try them when I don’t really like them anyway. I only saw a dietician once 14 years ago and do not see the consultant anymore either. I doubt my GP would know anything about it either.
However, I do get concerned when I see these products containing oats in as I believe that some non-suspecting well-meaning person could produce these at meetings, parties, coffee mornings etc with a label for the coeliacs, where we the coeliacs would not have a clue as to what is in them. The well-meaning person may believe that because they state gluten free on them that all coeliacs can eat them.
I am glad you feel better without the oats and agree that the contamination issues make it quite a big risk kto eat such products.
Thank you so much for sharing this information! I’ve just started eating oats again (from Tesco and Sainsburys) and didn’t think they may not be safe! It’s a shame….
It is such a shame that this has happened – it makes you really doubt whether you can trust the food you are eating!
Sue – I agree, I think this is pretty poor labelling. I tried some of these co-op biscuits the other day (review to come soon!) and have had no problems with them luckily. But other than that I haven’t really touched any oats and don’t really feel a need to. I agree that labelling a product “free from” then saying it might not be suitable for coeliacs is definitely not on – think I shall be contacting co-op about this!