GF Oats Story

In 2008 Kylie became aware of a variety of oats being grown in the USA, that were certified as uncontaminated from the gluten found in wheat, rye and barley. Kylie reached out to this company, GF Harvest, based in Wyoming USA. GF Harvest are a farming family who all have Coeliac disease. As a family, they started a project with their son Forest, to see if they could produce oats that met their strict dietary requirements. By 2008 they had successfully done this, and were just finalising the product to be export ready.

Kylie decided if she didn’t import this product, then someone else would. She knew the food industry, and understood the struggles faced by those who have to follow specific dietary requirements.

At the time of importing the first batch of oats from the US, Kylie did not fully realise the labelling laws around oats, and was not prepared for the misinformed controversy about the nature of uncontaminated oats. It is important to note that here in Australia, a product that contains oats cannot claim to be “gluten-free” due to current food labelling laws. These oats can be called “low gluten” but that is also very confusing for customers. So in late 2009, GK Gluten Free Foods introduced their brand Gloriously Free Oats into Australia.

Customers in Australia have been eager to source uncontaminated oats and demand has continued to grow as people learn more about the unique nature of this product, however this has not been without its challenges. Kylie has continued to bear the brunt and backlash from various sectors in the food and health industry about the nature of this product, however her persistence is paying off!

GF Oats have been very restricted in the information we can share with customers and how we communicate that on our packaging. The term “Gloriously Free Oats” was born out of a continued barrage of consumers, who were keen to access this product, but were unsure about the lack of claims being offered. This for the moment is the best we can do, as well as try our best to inform consumers about the term “uncontaminated.”

At GF Oats we deter people who absolutely need to guarantee they are eating uncontaminated oats from choosing 'Wheatfree Oats'. There is no defined terminology for 'wheat free' in the Australian food standards, BUT, wheat free does not mean it is free from barley or rye. We have tested various wheat-free brands from time to time and the highest test we found at one time was more than 80 parts per million which is incredibly contaminated.

Mainstream oats are predominately contaminated at the farm level where growers also process crops such as wheat, rye, spelt or barley, all of which contain gluten. Here at GK Gluten Free Foods, we test each batch of oats that we receive from our Aussie farmers. The results are always below the traceable level for gluten detected from wheat, rye and barley.

Since the beginning, it has been Kylie's dream to partner with Aussie farmers and offer uncontaminated oats grown right here in Australia. After 13 years of being in business, this dream has finally become a reality. In 2021, GF Oats partnered with Australian farmers to offer the first oats grown right here in Australia sourced from farmers who specialise in growing and processing oats in a clean, uncontaminated environment, ensuring that they test to nil gluten from wheat, rye and barley.  

In 2022, GF Oats made the decision to transition all of its products across to oats supplied by our Aussie farmers. This decision was partially accelerated by the onset of the pandemic, which resulted in challenges in accessing stock from overseas and soaring freight costs. It was with great sadness that we said goodbye to our supply partners in the US, but with utmost joy that we are now able to partner with farmers right here in Australia.

We are extremely proud to now be able to say that we are Aussie through and through.

The Avena Mills Aussie Farmers that GK Gluten Free Foods now partners with follow the protocols of the Global Purity Oats Group of growers. Their oats are uniquely grown using minimal impact growing techniques and crop exclusion zones, and are processed in facilities that are free from the contamination from the gluten found in wheat, rye, spelt and barley grains. That’s why we are proud to call our oats “The Oats You Can Trust!”.

Want to explore the full range of GF Oats products? You can shop the full range online by clicking on the Shop Now button.

If you would prefer to buy locally, you can visit our store locator to see if there is a store near you that stocks GF Oats products. GF Oats are predominately available in health food stores, bulk food stores and selective IGA’s around the country.

Visit the Store Locator here.

If you don’t find a store near you that stocks GF Oats and you have a local store that you frequent, please give us the name of the store and we will look into this for you.