<<Disclaimer: Verify this information before applying it to your situation.>>

There is no justification to exclude oats from FDA gluten-free labelling 
criteria.  Oats can readily be supplied which meet the new FDA proposed 
less than 20 ppm gluten criteria.  Further rice, corn, beans, etc. are all 
subject to possible contamination during processing and transport.  Why 
aren't they considered unsafe?  Why ban only oats?  Why not just stop 
eating?

Oats have repeatedly been found to cause no celiac disease-type immune 
response or villi damage in studies lasting up to 5 years or more.  While 
some studies have supplied tested gluten-free oats to subjects, other long 
term oat studies allowed subjects to purchase oat products directly from 
the shelves of retail stores.  (Off-the-shelf Finnish oats and oat 
products were found to be uncontaminated and were consumed by test 
subjects in Finnish oat studies, for example.)  At least 3 North American 
companies currently supply certified gluten-free oats, tested to contain 
less than 10ppm gliadin.  Commercial R5-ELISA gliadin tests are accurate 
to below 5 ppm.

Further, anyone can purchase oat groats (whole, dehulled oat grain) in 
bulk from natural food stores.  Since oat groats are the whole oat grain, 
one can easily inspect, identitify, and remove any grain contaminants from 
the oats, assuring themselves the groats are uncontaminated.  I can and do 
purchase clean uncontaminated bulk organic oats groats for only $1.39 a 
pound.  Oat groats can readily be ground into a usable oat flour with an 
inexpensive coffee grinder or a more expensive home grain mill/grinder.  A 
home grain/oat flaker/roller can turn oat groats into rolled oats.  And, 
besides oats, you can economically buy all kinds of grains, beans, and 
nuts in bulk to grind or roll.  GF flour doesn't have to be expensive!

Here are 3 sites for gluten-free oats which describe their certification 
processes:
 
< http://www.glutenfreeoats.com >
 
< http://www.creamhillestates.com >
 
< http://giftsofnature.net >

Gluten-Free Certification Organization 
< http://www.gfco.org >

One example of an R5-ELISA gliadin test being used for oat purity testing:
R-Biopharm RIDASCREEN®FAST Gliadin test
< http://www.r-biopharm.com/foodandfeed/ridascreenfast_gliadin.php >

Grain Grinder Information and Comparisons
< http://waltonfeed.com/self/grinders.html >

Bulk Grain Guide
< http://www.aaoobfoods.com/graininfo.htm >

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* Please remember some posters may be WHEAT-FREE, but not GLUTEN-FREE *
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