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

A few weeks ago, I purchased some rolled oats from a health food
store with the intention of making some oatmeal. I figured that I
would be able to remove any flakes that were not oats, and therefore
avoid any stray wheat that might be mixed in. I spread the oats on
a counter top and scanned the lot for anything that did not look like
rolled oats.

On inspection, I could not visibly see anything that was suspect. It
all looked exactly the same. Step two was to add boiling water and
let it stand. After adding the water, an interesting transformation
took place. The softened oat flakes stayed nearly the same color
as the dry oats. The wheat flakes that were present turned white
in color and could be easily seen. As I stirred the oatmeal, I found
more than a dozen wheat flakes and fragments of wheat flakes.
What I found was that not only was the oatmeal contaminated with
wheat, but there was lots of it. I started this experiment with the
expectation that I would find one or two complete flakes in the
entire batch of oats, and that I would be able  to easily remove them.

Finding more than a dozen pieces in a single bowl of oatmeal was
a lot of contamination, and that did not account for wheat dust that
was undoubtedly also present. It became quickly obvious that I
would not be able to safely remove all the wheat from the oatmeal.
Claims of oats containing gluten and research declaring oats to be safe
are probably both correct, depending on the level of contamination in
the product.

Forbes
(Tacoma, USA)