LEO Unwrapped | Seaton & Jill Smith on Creating Safe Oats and Navigating the Challenges of In-Home Gluten Testers

Seaton and Jill Smith’s celiac journey began in 1990 when their young son was diagnosed with celiac disease. Soon after, they discovered they had celiac disease too. With gluten-free options nearly nonexistent, the family leaned on a local support group for help—but they didn’t stop there.Their experience inspired GF Harvest, the first certified gluten-free oats made using strict purity protocol standards, setting a new benchmark for safe oats. Along the way, they mastered building a brand from scratch and educating families about what “gluten-free” truly means.Retirement didn’t last long. Meeting Dr. Leo during their journey led them to create LEO Verification Systems, a portable gluten tester, sparking both excitement and debate in the gluten-free community.In this episode, we dive into:The Smith family’s personal celiac journeyHow their passion pulled them out of retirementLessons from building GF Harvest—and a gluten-free oat brand—from scratchWhy oats have long been a tricky ingredient in the gluten-free worldThe promises and challenges of the LEO gluten tester and why it's controversialNavigating the hope and criticism around at-home gluten-testing technologyFrom purity oats to portable gluten testers, we dive into the challenges, controversies, and triumphs of the Smiths’ journey.More about Leo VerifiedWEBSITES: leoverified.comINSTAGRAM:@leo2verifiedFACEBOOK: @leoverifiedMore about the Love Me Gluten Free subscription boxesWEBSITE: lovemeglutenfree.comINSTAGRAM: @lovemeglutenfreeTIKTOK: @lovemeglutenfreeFACEBOOK: @lovemeglutenfreeboxMore about Jenny FinkeJenny Finke is the founder of the popular blog, Good For You Gluten Free. Find her at (goodforyouglutenfree.com and subscribe to her FREE newsletter at welcome.goodforyouglutenfree.com.INSTAGRAM: @goodforyouglutenfreeTIKTOK: @goodforyouglutenfreeFACEBOOK: @goodforyouglutenfreeNever miss an episode. Follow us on @glutenfreeunwrapped on Instagram!