Plan to Make Pure Oats Available to Celiac Patients

Dr. Vernon Burrows, CM.,FAIC.,PAg., Research Scientist Emeritus

Eastern Cereal and Oilseed Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Central Experimental Farm, Ottawa, ON., Canada, K1A 0C6

Celiac patients have been advised to not consume oat based products because such products are made from oats that contain various amounts of gluten proteins derived from admixtures of wheat, barley, rye or triticale seeds. The Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) is in agreement with this Health Canada regulation and has developed a strategy to ensure that pure oats can be made available to its members so that they can diversify their diet and take advantage of the reported beneficial medical effects of oats. The avenin protein in oats is considered to be safe for celiac patients because it is different in composition and of low concentration compared to the gliadin in the offensive cereals.

The strategy that has been developed involves making pedigreed seed available for celiacs to consume. Canada has a seed purity and inspection system (Canadian Food Inspection System) that conforms to the standards required by the Seeds Act. Canada has a large membership of qualified Select Seed Growers to produce pure seed for both the seed and celiac markets. The CCA has trademarked the name and logo PAVENA to alert the celiac consumer that the oats, or oat products in packaged goods, were grown in a dedicated manner by a qualified seed grower, the crop was inspected by a qualified CFIA seed inspector and found to meet the Foundation #1 level of purity (0-1 wheat, barley, rye or triticale seed/kg of oat groats). The pure oats were processed in a dedicated HACCP processing facility where the oats being processed were monitored for gluten content and found to meet specifications for safety using the R5- Elisa test. At least two companies are producing PAVENA oats for celiac patients in Canada.