Characterizing the Distribution of Ppm Gluten in Gluten Free Oatmeal Servings Contaminated with a Wheat Kernel

Ronald D Fritz,Yumin Chen

doi:10.5539/jfr.v6n5p92

Abstract

Oats are often contaminated with rogue kernels of gluten-containing grains like wheat, barley and rye. When producing gluten free oatmeal, possessing an understanding of the consequences of this possibility is prudent, as labeling requirements specify a maximum amount of gluten in terms of ‘parts per million’ (ppm) gluten. Variation in contaminant kernels, along with variation due to measurement itself though, can result in a wide range of possible ppm gluten outcomes in contaminated servings. This research pursues characterization of this variability, highlighting contributors to it, doing so by quantifying distributional outcomes of ppm gluten in wheat kernel contaminated servings. This is done via statistical simulation of wheat kernel contaminated servings, done for a collection of wheat types and incorporating various measurement influences. Results indicate substantial variability in ppm gluten per serving for a given wheat type, as well as between them, with this being compounded by the measurement task itself.

Highlights

Oats are often contaminated with gluten rich grains like wheat and barley (Hernando, Mujico, Mena, Lombardia, & Mendez, 2008; Koerner et al, 2011; Thompson, 2004; Thompson, Lee, & Grace, 2010)
It was noticed that a surprisingly wide range of ppm gluten outcomes were obtained. This was despite care being taken to contaminate equal serving amounts with wheat kernels of comparable weight and type. These disparate outcomes became the genesis of this research, which seeks to understand and characterize the distribution of ppm gluten outcomes for a wheat kernel contaminated serving of otherwise pure oats
Based on simulated servings of pure oats contaminated with a single hard wheat kernel, Table 3 shows outcomes obtained for ppm gluten per serving

Summary

Introduction

Oats are often contaminated with gluten rich grains like wheat and barley (Hernando, Mujico, Mena, Lombardia, & Mendez, 2008; Koerner et al, 2011; Thompson, 2004; Thompson, Lee, & Grace, 2010) This ‘kernel based’ type of contamination complicates attainment and assessment of true gluten free oatmeal (Fritz & Chen, 2017), as these rogue kernels remain largely intact during processing, being transformed into flakes indiscernible from their oat counterparts. It was noticed that a surprisingly wide range of ppm gluten outcomes were obtained This was despite care being taken to contaminate equal serving amounts with wheat kernels of comparable weight and type. These disparate outcomes became the genesis of this research, which seeks to understand and characterize the distribution of ppm gluten outcomes for a wheat kernel contaminated serving of otherwise pure oats

Methods

Results

Conclusion