The sweet, nostalgic scent of Anzac biscuits fills the air in a small factory in Toowoomba in Queensland’s south-east.<\/p>\n
These are not just any biscuits.\u00a0<\/p>\n
They are made with Gloriously Free Oats, or GF Oats, which are free of gluten contaminants.<\/p>\n
They follow a recipe endorsed by Legacy Australia, a group that supports service veterans and their families.<\/p>\n
Kylie Martin, who founded GF Oats in 2009, said she began her journey to find truly gluten-free oats after her children were diagnosed with gluten intolerance.<\/p>\n
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Kylie Martin’s quest to find gluten-free oats was originally a personal one. (Landline: Cameron Lang)<\/p>\n
“I had a recipe I used to make every year with my children,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I started playing around with it. I had to make it gluten-free.”<\/p>\n
She said she had not been using oats.<\/p>\n
“And then I thought, ‘Well, there are no gluten-free oat-based Anzac biscuits on the market,'” Ms Martin said.<\/p>\n
US connection<\/p>\n
Ms Martin started looking for gluten-free oats and stumbled upon a company in the US that processed them.<\/p>\n
She said she had not realised people with gluten intolerance and most coeliacs could consume oats if they were grown and processed correctly.<\/p>\n
“I had never heard of it,” she said.<\/p>\n
“I was excited about it because we ate porridge out in western Queensland growing up.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“So I reached out to the company that I found in America, and they were actually the founders of gluten-free oats in America, a family of coeliacs.”<\/p>\n
After years of importing oats from the United States, in 2021 Ms Martin partnered with two West Australian farmers, including Kim Rintoul, who grew and processed the oats without cross-contamination from gluten-containing grains to ensure the highest level of purity.<\/p>\n
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The partnership provides employment for people with disabilities. (Landline: Cameron Lang)<\/p>\n
Ms Martin said the business was also a socially conscious enterprise that provided employment for people with disabilities through a partnership with the Endeavour Foundation.<\/p>\n
The gluten conundrum<\/p>\n
Oats are naturally gluten-free, but they are often contaminated with gluten because they are grown and processed in the same facilities as wheat, rye and barley.<\/p>\n
Oats contain a protein called avenin, which is similar to gluten and can affect a small number of people with coeliac disease.<\/p>\n
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Oats are naturally gluten-free but contain avenin, which can affect some coeliacs. (Landline: Cameron Lang)<\/p>\n
While GF Oats’ Anzac biscuits are gluten-free, they can’t be labelled as such because they contain oats.<\/p>\n
A range of imported and local products are marketed as wheat-free, uncontaminated, pure and low-gluten.<\/p>\n
They are neither legally defined nor regulated.<\/p>\n
Coeliac Australia lead dietician Kim Faulkner-Hogg said the lack of regulation in Australia around what products could be called gluten-free could be a source of confusion.<\/p>\n
“What we would really like to see is this one label for oats, for the 90 per cent of people with coeliac disease who know that they can actually eat the oats to come in and find that label on the shelf,” Dr Faulkner-Hogg said.<\/p>\n
“And that label means it’s been grown correctly and it’s been tested.”<\/p>\n
Coeliac Australia says labelling needs to be clearer. (Landline: Camerong Lang)<\/p>\n
Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) has no legislation to regulate the marketing and does not require any testing for gluten contamination.<\/p>\n
Dr Faulkner-Hogg said clearer labelling was crucial for consumer safety and confidence, even if some Australian farmers had taken care to grow oats to have minimal contact with other grains containing gluten.<\/p>\n
“We strongly suggest that people go and see their gastroenterologist and they have a conversation with their medical team about how they could test out whether oats are suitable for them,” she said.<\/p>\n
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It is recommended people with coeliac disease seek medical advice about whether they can eat oats. (Landline: Cameron Lang)<\/p>\n
From farm to factory<\/p>\n
West Australian farmer Kim Rintoul has dedicated part of his property at Wandering to growing oats free from gluten contamination.<\/p>\n
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Kim Rintoul takes a number of steps to ensure his oats are not contaminated with gluten from other grains. (Landline: Mitchell Edgar)<\/p>\n
His oats are the special ingredient in GF Oats products.<\/p>\n
He is meticulous in keeping every piece of equipment used to harvest the oats separate from other crops.<\/p>\n
“[The] machinery is all dedicated to a non-contaminant,” he said.<\/p>\n