First of all, it is clear that some people with celiac disease simply can not eat oats at all, pure or otherwise, because oats trigger the same exact autoimmune reaction as wheat, rye, or barley in those people. However, the best research I've seen on this subject has found that the number of people with celiac disease who react to oats is a fairly small percentage.
There are persistent tales of oats contamination which I tend to view skeptically. I've often seen it flatly stated that "All oats produced in the USA are contaminated with gluten." I find it difficult to believe that this could be a known fact, even if it is true, because I doubt that any single government or research agency has ever tested "all oats" for gluten. I believe that the "All oats are contaminated" claim is a celiac urban myth that, by the very nature of the claim made, could never possibly be proven. Perhaps this statement has its origins in the unfortunate fact that some celiacs simply can not eat any oats at all. It is conceivable that people in that condition trying various sources of oats might have extrapolated from their personal experience and confused the results with facts.
Now it may very well be true that much of the oats, or most of the oats, or nearly all of the oats grown in America are contaminated with gluten, but I wonder if the amount of this contamination is always or often sufficient to be medically significant.
The argument I see most often used to support the " all oats are contaminated" position is that oats are processed in the same silos and grain mills as other grains. I do not doubt that this is probably true, it seems very easy to believe. But this fact alone still does not convince me that the Quaker Instant Oats in my cupboard right now has a sufficient amount of this theoretical contamination to cause the reaction we all want to avoid. And in actual practice, I do not react to oats when I eat them. Some people will say, and have said, that I might be silently reacting and doing myself harm that I do not know about. I concede that point. I still need to eat.
Any food product that has come from a food processing plant might have any one or more of thousands of contaminants that could harm any person, celiac or not.
It does seem to me that I am among the apparent majority of celiacs who can eat oats without reacting. I do eat oats. I don't react, in fact, I get a feeling that I call Happy Tummy.
I eat oatmeal indiscriminately. By that I mean that, of course I always read the label because that is rule #1, but if an oatmeal product appears to be GF based on the ingredients list, I do not hesitate to try it. I often have Quaker Oats in the instant tear-open single serving envelopes. I also buy the cheapest available generic brand instant oats and have no problem with those.
I think that food manufacturers today have lots of lawyers working for them. And the lawyers do not want the companies to make any claims that might expose them to tort action at a later time. So I believe there may be many occasions when a particular food provider firmly and sincerely believes that their products are gluten free, yet they are reluctant to say so for fear of lawsuits. I have no idea or opinion about whether this applies to the maker of McCann's oat products.
Personally I would not be reluctant to try them if you put them in front of me.
This message reflects my opinions based on my experiences and my reading of freely available data on the Internet. I'm not a medical professional and I'm not giving medical advice. I urge you never to buy anything from anybody that is giving you medical advice. Please examine the facts and make your own decisions.
