Oats

Oats have a characteristic appearance and are the cereal easiest to recognise as they blossom in a panicle with small ears rather than a combined ear. Oats are grown in all our regions and the Nordic climate is perfect for oats, which means Swedish oats are of high quality. Today, oats are grown on seven percent of the arable farmland.

Each year around 700,000 tons of oats are harvested in Sweden, which accounts for approximately 13% of the total grain harvest (based on the average for oats and the total harvest over the last five years in Sweden).

A brief history

Oats are our youngest type of cereal and originated in southern Europe. However, oats first appeared as weeds in other cultivated fields. They proved to be so competitive that they began to be grown as crops, which happened about the time of the Bronze Age in Europe.

Oats started to be grown in the Nordic region on a larger scale in the 18th Century, and cultivation grew rapidly, peaking at the end of the 19th Century. At that time, oats accounted for around half of all grain harvested.

Did you know that...?

“No reasonable person doubts the benefits of oats. It doesn't require extensive evidence either. Nonetheless, [...] it is not unnecessary to confirm the power of porridge, the benefit of porridge and necessity of porridge.”

As long ago as 1771, Ola Hungerstedt argued in his disputation that porridge oats had several benefits.

Health benefits

Oats have several unique health properties and the combination for oats is very much in line with Nordic dietary recommendations.

Oats contain high levels of Beta glucans, a soluble dietary fibre, that helps towards more even blood sugar levels, lowers cholesterol and helps keep the stomach in good condition. Oats also contain vital amino acids (proteins).

Porridge oats and exercise

Charge your batteries with porridge before exercising – the slow release carbohydrates in porridge will keep you feeling full and energetic for longer.

Former Swedish cross-country skier and Olympic Gold medal winner Gunde Svan is said to have eaten eleven portions of porridge a day during his active career. Viola Adamsson, a researcher at Uppsala University and former head of nutrition at Lantmännen Cerealia, had previously worked with Svan and the Sweden national ski team. Porridge was an important part of the diet to enable skiers to perform at their best, competition after competition.

 

Innovation 

Oats research

A research centre at Lund University has been given a SEK 100 million grant to develop the oats of the future - a cooperative project in which Lantmännen is also engaged. With higher protein content, resistance to fungal attack or higher levels of beneficial Beta-glucan that reduces cholesterol levels in the blood, oats are set to become a Swedish export success.
 

100 procent gluten free rolled oats

Oats are naturally gluten free, but risk being mixed with other grain when harvested. This is why Lantmännen has developed a gluten free label under its AXA brand for its rolled oats, that guarantees that the grains have been kept separated from sowing and harvesting to reaching store shelves.
 

Furniture made from oats

Lantmännen is always looking for new development areas within the grain value chain and is a partner in a start up project financed by Vinnova. The aim is to create an entirely new kind of furniture and interior design objects, based on secondary products from the production of rolled oats.

Did you know..?

Gluten is a protein found in wheat (including durum wheat), barley, rye, spelt, kamut (Khorasan wheat) and crosses of these grains. Bread, flour, flakes, pasta, cakes and pastries are all foods that contain gluten. Oats on the other hand, are the only grain that is naturally gluten free and therefore a good option on the breakfast table for anyone with a gluten allergy. Always read the list of ingredients to ensure that a food product does not contain gluten.

Source: Swedish National Food Agency

Products containing oats