General Mills, Inc.

John M Hellweg

Philip K Zietlow

Kara M Hobart

Daniel J Winderl

Troy D Bierbaum

Jay Romsa

A method and system for removing foreign grains from oat grains to establish gluten-free oats, i.e., oat grains having gluten levels below 20 ppm and, more preferably, below 10 ppm relies upon performing a series of differentiation operations on a combination of grains, including oats and foreign, or gluten containing, grains, followed by a re-shaping operation to compress the oat grains but not the foreign grains. Thereafter, the compressed oat grains are separated from the foreign grains to establish the gluten-free oats. The resulting oats can be used to make a wide range of gluten-free oat food products, including cereal and granola products.

Method and system for producing gluten-free oats

A method and system for removing foreign grains from oat grains to establish gluten-free oats, i.e., oat grains having gluten levels below 20 ppm and, more preferably, below 10 ppm, relies upon performing a series of mechanical differentiation operations on a combination of grains, including oats and foreign, or gluten containing, grains. The various operations include aspiration, width grading and length grading steps, as well as a late stage density separating step. The resulting oats can be used to make a wide range of gluten-free oat food products, including cereal and granola products.

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Minnetonka, MN, United States of America

John M Hellweg