Quaker Oats rolls out gluten-free oatmeal

The Quaker Oats Co. has launched a line of gluten-free oatmeal as consumer demand grows for gluten-free foods.

Chicago-based Quaker’s gluten-free oatmeal is part of it Select Starts line, which includes oatmeals higher in fiber or protein.

“At Quaker, we’re always striving to deliver products that meet families’ evolving needs. Requests for gluten free oats have been among the top inquiries from our consumers for the past several years,” Becky Frankiewicz, senior vice president of Quaker Foods, said Tuesday in a news release.

Oats are naturally gluten free but grains of wheat, barley and rye sometimes get mixed in somewhere between harvest and processing. Quaker says it developed a process to remove stray grains so its oatmeal meets gluten free standards of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

The gluten-free oatmeal is available as 1-minute oats and as instant oatmeal in original and maple & brown sugar flavors.