Our History

When Tracy Perry's 11-year-old daughter was diagnosed with celiac disease in February 2004, he began to research her new dietary needs. His goal was to improve both the nutritional quality and taste of his daughter's new life-long eating plan. Soon, his focus turned to oats and celiac disease.

Cream Hill Estates was born out of his dedication to help his daughter and others like her. He and partner, Beth Armour, conducted an extensive review of the medical literature and confirmed that for most people with celiac disease, pure oats – uncontaminated with other grains – are safe to eat. The challenge was to grow pure oats and to keep them pure during processing.

In collaboration with Dr. Vernon Burrows at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada in Ottawa, Perry and Armour developed and perfected a method to keep oats pure at every step from planting to retail. They located a seed grower in Southwestern Ontario willing to grow pure oats and a mill owner close-by who agreed to dedicate and/or thoroughly clean his grain mill to process our oats.

The first seeds went into the ground in May 2005 and the first crop was harvested in August 2005.

Who We Are

Co-President

Tracy B. Perry, research associate, worked in the Genetics and Obstetrics and Gynecology Departments at McGill University and the Royal Victoria and Montreal Children's Hospitals in Montreal, Quebec.

Co-President

Beth Armour, professional dietitian, worked with the School of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, McGill University and as manager, Clinical Nutrition Services at the Royal Victoria and Montreal Neurological Hospitals in Montreal.