Weet-Bix goes gluten-free

• How top chefs are catering to food intolerances

First came gluten-free breads, then pasta and finally brownies got the gluten-free treatment. Whatever next, gluten-free Weet-Bix?

Well, yes. The poster-child for gluten-rich breakfasts has gone gluten-free.

The new product line went into supermarkets across Australia this week, after appearing in some Coles stores in July. The original wheat-based product will remained unchanged.

But what is Weet-Bix without the wheat? Mostly wholegrain sorghum – a so-called ancient grain that is naturally free of gluten and is used in Africa and India as a staple to cook porridge and bread.

The remaining ingredients are similar to those in the original product, namely small amounts of sugar, salt, vitamins and minerals.

The corporate nutrition manager for manufacturer Sanitarium, Trish Guy, says the new product is made in much the same way as the original Weet-Bix – by cooking and rolling the flakes of cereal, then forming them into biscuits.

The two versions taste very similar, she says: "That's the bonus for people who have been wanting gluten-free products for so long but the taste and texture [has previously been] a bit of a compromise."

The wheat and sorghum products are also nutritionally comparable though the latter contains high levels of polyphenols (antioxidants), Guy says. A comparison of the nutritional breakdown of the two also reveals the new product contains slightly less fibre and protein and slightly more energy and fat than the original.

A spin-off of the gluten-free product with sunflower seeds and puffed rice has also gone on sale this week.

The company sources its sorghum from Queensland and processes it in a gluten-free factory in Perth, Guy says.

"The product has been certified by Coeliac Australia as gluten-free and our quality processes ensure from when the grain is grown to when it's transported to our factory that it maintains its gluten-free status," she says.

So, after taste-testing a sample, what was this reporter's verdict? Coeliacs with a hankering for Weet-Bix will be pleased. The gluten-free cereal does taste very similar to the original but there are a few subtle differences. There's a slight russet tinge, for example, and the taste and texture are slightly nuttier and flakier.

The most obvious distinction is in the price. At $1.46 per 100 grams (online price) for a small pack of the gluten-free version versus $0.35 per 100 grams for a large value pack of the traditional product, it's a fair guess that unless it's medically necessary most people will be sticking to the original.