• Oats & Celiac Disease
• Celiac Disease FAQ
• Oats & Health
• Oats & Food Labels in Canada
• Oats & Food Labels in the U.S.

Oats and Food Labels in Canada

Canada's current food labelling regulations prohibit use of the term "gluten-free" on a package label of any product containing oats, even if the oats are uncontaminated with other grains. This extends to advertising and marketing of the product. 

Another designation – wheat-, barley- and rye-free, also referred to by us as WBR-free – is acceptable for oat products with a gluten content that meets or exceeds the current government standard. Cream Hill Estates pure oats products satisfy the WBR-free designation.

The Canadian government is considering a separate guideline for pure uncontaminated oats, since under the existing regulation oats are included in the list of gluten-containing grains, which means that even oats that are pure and uncontaminated can not be labelled gluten-free. See the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's Guide to Food Labelling and Advertising (scroll down to 9.9.4 Gluten-Free Foods).