Quality Assurance

Our pure whole grain oat products are grown and processed under rigorous standards and undergo numerous inspections to ensure you a top quality product.  From production through to finished product packaging we take care.

Wheat-free. Gluten-free.
Avena Foods complies with labeling regulations as set out by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) in Canada and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the US.
In Canada: Currently, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's definition of gluten-free does not include pure uncontaminated oats.  It is our hope that this will soon be amended to permitted us to label our products as gluten-free, as our products test to less than 10 ppm of gluten which is the standard set out by the US based Gluten-free Certification Organization. We are allowed to label our products wheat-free in Canada.
In US: The Food and Drug Administration allows products, which contain pure oats as an ingredient to be labeled gluten-free providing they test to less than 20 ppm.  As our pure whole grain oat products test to less than 10 ppm they are considered gluten-free in the US and we are certified as gluten-free oats with the Gluten-free Certification Organization. Avena Foods uses the R5-ELISA gluten test (the most sensitive gluten test available) we verify that our pure whole grain oats products meet this standard.

Identity Preserved Production
Our quality protocol begins a very rigid set of guidelines for seeding, harvesting, cleaning, handling, sizing and delivering our pure whole grain oats. Part of this protocol involves our Identity Preserved (IP) program, which ensure that our oats are segregated from other grains that could potentially cause cross-contamination. This ensures food manufacturers receive only the pure oats required for their operations.

HACCP System (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points)
HAACP is a systematic preventative approach to food safety that addresses physical, chemical and biological hazards as a means of prevention rather than finished product inspection. HACCP is used in the food industry to identify potential food safety hazards, so that key actions, known as Critical Control Points (CCP's) can be taken to reduce or eliminate the risk of the hazards being realized. The system is used at all stages of our food production and preparation processes. Avena Foods is in the process of becoming HAACP certified.

Canadian Seed Grower's Association Regulations and Procedures
Our growers must grow the seed in accordance with the Regulations and Procedures for Pedigreed Crop Production established by the Canadian Seed Grower’s Association, including but not limited to proper land rotation, inspection and isolation distances. 

Canadian Food Inspection Agency Inspection
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency inspects each oat crop for purity in the field. A report is submitted to Avena Foods.

Third Party Analysis
After harvest, the oats are cleaned by licensed seed growers using state of the art seed cleaning equipment. Representative samples of cleaned grain are then submitted to a qualified laboratory for an analysis of varietal purity and any contamination. The lab then issues a Certificate of Analysis directly to Avena Foods.

In House Analysis
Seed growers must also submit representative samples of cleaned seed to our facility for purity analysis. These results are cross-referenced with the Certificate of Analysis to ensure no deviation. Once the oats have passed this initial rigorous testing, only then are they allowed to be delivered to our pure oat dedicated processing plant.

Dedicated Facility
Our products are processed, blended, packaged and warehoused in a state of the art wheat-free plant. High quality-control standards are set in place in this oat dedicated facility and staff members are educated in good manufacturing practices.

Allergen Free
The following is a list of priority allergens that our processing plant is guaranteed to be free of: peanuts, tree nuts (almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, walnuts), sesame, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, mollusks, soy, wheat, kamut, spelt, triticale, and sulphites.

Batch Testing
All ingredients used in our recipes undergo similar stringent testing protocols. Ingredient suppliers must provide a letter of guarantee or Certificates of Analysis declaring that all products are gluten-free and no priority allergens are present. Ongoing batch and spot testing ensures purity of the oats and all other ingredients used in our products.

Leading Technology
Our pure oats are processed in a controlled environment and batch tested for gluten contamination using the world’s leading gluten-testing methodology (R5-ELISA test). The R5-ELISA test is a sandwich enzyme immunoassay for the quantitative analysis of prolamines from wheat, rye, and barley. These prolamines are the proteins that pose a health threat to celiac patients and those with other gluten intolerance conditions.

All of our pure whole grain oat products released to the marketplace fall below the level of 10 parts per million of gluten making them safe for a celiac diet.