General Mills, it appears, is on a roll. First it released its gluten-free Chex, then it unveiled those Betty Crocker gluten-free Baking Mixes, next it expanded its line of gluten-free Chex to include six flavors and now, as Gluten-Free Philly first reported Saturday, gluten-free Kix?
Well, almost, a customer service representative told me today. Kix has been reformulated so that it no longer contains oats. However, the company has decided not to specifically label Kix gluten free nor claim it to be so, as cross-contamination is still a possibility. I’ve contacted a media representative for more information, particularly about whether production lines are washed between runs of gluten-containing and gluten-free products. This type of practice is pretty standard with a large company like General Mills, and it would most likely allow many on a gluten-free diet to add Kix to their breakfast cereal options. Expect more updates in the next few days, and while you’re waiting to know for sure, you can already eat gluten-free cereals from 20+ brands, according to the Grocery Guide.
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Kellogg’s needs to take a look at the General Mills playbook. GM has introduced yet another new cereal, Sprinkles Cookie Crisp, with no gluten ingredients. I have more info posted at Gluten Free Philly:
http://glutenfreephilly.blogspot.com/2009/06/gimme-some-sugar.html
Breakfast cereal has always been one of my favorite foods and prior to my diagnosis of celiac disease I often ate it as a late night snack. The more cereal that is gluten free, the better for me.
Rodger -
Just found another GM cereal with no WBRO – limited-edition Trix Swirls:
http://glutenfreephilly.blogspot.com/2009/07/gluten-free-philly-news-notes_17.html
I discovered about a month ago that Honey Kix has no gluten ingredients – I called General Mills and they said it’s not labeled GF because of cross contamination possibilty. I have been eating it with reckless abandon and I have been fine and I am pretty sensitive. Who doesn’t love Kix? This is awesome.
Just make sure to still read the label. My local grocery store has large Kix boxes that are old formula (containing wheat). For a few weeks the small boxes were new formula and then this past week all the small boxes were back to the old formula.
Omg! Kix is the bestest cereal in the world!
And now its gluten free?!?!
WOO-HOO!!!
After attempting to do research on the FDA website, I’m still a bit confused. My daughter is a newly diagnosed Celiac (about 3mo), and I guess we’ve been extremely lucky with labeling. When wheat has been present or manufactured on a line (whether or not sterilzed inbetween product runs) the least we’ve seen until now with Kix is: MAY CONTAIN TRACES of wheat, etc. Is there not some sort of labeling requirement for this? If there is, could you guide me in the right direction to verify? And if not, my opinion is that seems just wrong on the manufacturer’s part, especially since wheat is considered by the FDA to be a primary allergen.
I am so excited about the Chex products being gluten free! I have been enjoying them for some time now. The Kix product would be so nice if there wasn’t cross contamination issues. When you are a Celiac you have to be so careful.
i’m confused. i thought kix had no straight-up wheat in it. it’s not listed on the label. i thought it was just corn and oats. i realize oats are questionable as to whether they are gluten-free and usually aren’t due to cc in the fields and facilities. but i’m not understanding why the statement released is that kix is now wheat-free. it’s always been wheat-free, no?
Many corn and rice cereals have “malt” which is a derivative of barley — one of the gluten grains.
I didn’t know all the rice cereals had malt in them.. My daughter is allergic to gluten and we are trying to revamp our cupboards since we just found out. It’s been really hard to adjust !
-Sylvia
Indeed exciting news! Giving the danger of cross-contamination (and possibly resulting law suits) I can perfectly understand GM’s policy of not labeling Kix as a gluten-free cereal for the time being. This incident also clearly shows that the combined voice of all celiacs does carry a significant weight in the market.
I usually don’t like to advertise my own company on other blogs but I cannot possibly stay quiet given this topic
If you are interested in customizing your own gluten-free cereal – we started a company to re-introduce normalcy and variety in the gluten-free cereal bowl called Custom Choice Cereal. You can have a look at our site at http://www.customchoicecereal.com. Having just launched in October 2009 any feedback is always appreciated!
thank you for making Kix gluten free. I ask about it several months ago. It is hard to find cerals for my grandson, he gets tired of the same things. also thank you for all your work in getting many foods gluten free. It means alot .