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Oats and Gluten-Free in Canada
Oats are included in the list of gluten sources in Canada, under
section B.01.010.1 of the Regulations (B.24.018 refers back to
B.01.010.1)
Until recently, products made with pure oats (that have been
specially grown or processed to ensure there is no wheat, rye or
barley in them) could not carry a gluten-free claim in Canada
o
Regular oats are generally contaminated by gluten-containing
grains because of harvesting/transportation practices, etc.
Pure oats have been allowed to make gluten-free claims in some
countries
CODEX includes oats in its list of gluten sources but also notes
decisions on whether to allow gluten-free claims for pure oats can
be made at the national level
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MAs are ministerial regulations which enable the
Minister to implement certain food safety decisions by
exempting from prohibitions found in either the
Food and
Drugs Act
or the
Food and Drug Regulations
.
Health Canada's Marketing Authorization (MA) permits
the use of gluten-free claims for gluten-free oats (that do
not contain more than 20 ppm of gluten from wheat, rye,
barley, or their hybridized strains) and for foods
containing these oats as ingredients, under certain
conditions.
MA for gluten-free claims on oats
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