Gluten-Free Cheerios Are Coming This Summer

Beginning in July, General Mills will debut five gluten-free versions of five Cheerios products: Original, Honey Nut, Multi-Grain, Apple Cinnamon, and Frosted, the company announced on the General Mills blog.

While the main ingredient in most Cheerios products is whole grain oats, which do not contain gluten, it was not until now that Cheerios developed a successful method for separating oats from the wheat, rye, and barley that could be introduced at farms where Cheerios' oats are grown.

 Of all the products, only Cheerios Multi-Grain, which contains wheat and barley, will need to be reformulated.

"This is exciting news for the cereal category, probably the biggest news since our commitment to whole grain in every box," said Jim Murphy, president of the Big G cereal division

"We know there are many consumers – as much as 30 percent in the U.S. – who avoid gluten. And people are looking for more gluten-free options for cereal, so it's important that we make these five varieties of gluten-free Cheerios available."