One of America's oldest and most successful companies.The old mill. near the banks of Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes region of New York State.
 
 
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The Birkett Mills
163 Main Street
Penn Yan, NY 14527
email
 
315-536-3311
  
  An Old World Favorite.  
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
     
  How Our Buckwheat is Gluten Free  
 

The Birkett Mills processes its pure buckwheat food products in a self contained mill dedicated solely to buckwheat grain. No other substances are processed in our buckwheat milling systems.

In addition, all buckwheat received from the farm is thoroughly cleaned of foreign matter to maximize the purity of the grain prior to milling. Fortunately, wheat and other glutinous grains are a very different size and shape than buckwheat, which is actually triangular. Any glutinous grains, which may rarely be present in buckwheat when received from the farm, are quite easily removed in our cleaning process.

After milling, our pure buckwheat food products are packaged immediately on totally dedicated equipment.

For added assurance, The Birkett Mills has initiated sporadic testing for gluten in its pure buckwheat food products using the enzyme immunoassay based on a monoclonal antibody to omega-glaidin. This testing procedure was recently adopted as an AOAC official method for measuring glaidin as a gauge of gluten in foods. None of the pure buckwheat food products coming directly from our mill have tested positive for gluten at sensitivity levels above twenty parts per million (the maximum sensitivity of the test).

  
   
   
 
 
 
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Why Buckwheat is Considered Safe for Glucose Intolerance and Celiac Disease:
Buckwheat is actually a fruit (not a cereal grain). It is the fruit of the dicotyledonious plant, a member of the family Polygonaceae, which is quite distinct from the grass family Gramineae*, and is actually more closely related to rhubarb.
 The vast majority of celiac-related associations and various government agencies around the world (including Celiac.com and the European, Scandinavian, Australian and Canadian Celiac Associations) all consider buckwheat gluten free.
 Scientific articles and evidence, such as J.A. Campbell's "Diet Therapy of Celiac Diseases and Dermatitis Herpetiformies," * conclude that buckwheat would not be expected to have toxic prolamins. Dr. J.H. Skerritt, CSIRO Wheat Research Unit, concluded from his investigations, which included actual immunological studies, amino acid analysis and electrophoretic procedures, that "buckwheat should not be excluded as a valuable source of dietary protein for gluten-sensitive individuals."**
Many positive testimonials have been received over the years from celiac patients. In fact, the National Buckwheat Institute has not received a single documented case of anyone having a celiac reaction to pure buckwheat in the many years that information on buckwheat and buckwheat products has been collected and recorded.
General editorial materials also back our findings. For instance, Gluten Free Living*** (a national bimonthly newsletter for those with celiac disease), published an article entitled "The Basics of Buckwheat," which stated, "The first thing you should know about buckwheat is that it is gluten free."
  Literature Cited:
* Diet Therapy of Celiac Disease and Dematitis Herpetiformies, J.A. Campbell, Wld. Rev. Nutr. Diet., Vol 51, pp 189-233 (Karger, Basel, 1987)
** Molecular Comparison of Alcohol-Soluble Wheat and Buckwheat Proteins, J.H. Skerritt, Cereal Chem 63. (4): 365-369.
*** Gluten Free Living. GFL, P.O. Box 105, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY 10706, Foods for Celiacs, J.A. Campbell, PhD., Journal of the Canadian Dietetic Assoc. Vol 43, No 1, Jan. 1982.