According to Coeliac UK, one in 100 people in the UK has coeliac disease, not all of them diagnosed. That's a lot of people struggling to find cereals they can eat without risking their health.

But the list of options is growing. Scottish brand Nairn's, hitherto best known for its oatcakes, entered the cereals market in March 2010, launching gluten-free porridge oats and muesli. Containing Swedish oats, they are guaranteed free from any contact with the likes of barley, wheat and rye, all of which contain gluten.

The new products are stocked by Tesco, Sainsbury's, The Co-operative Group and Waitrose, and the company says sales are growing steadily. Further line extensions are promised for 2011.

Gluten-intolerant fans of ITV's This Morning will be delighted to hear that resident doctor Chris Steele, himself a coeliac sufferer, has endorsed a new range of gluten-free cereals from The Groovy Food Company. The range includes cornflakes, multigrain rice and maize flakes and a puffed chocolate rice cereal.

There is increasing variety in the types of cereals on offer. Maria Jeetoo-Luigi's Mini Magoo produces a 'granuesli', a wheat and gluten-free cereal consisting of nuts, seeds and puffed elements such as millet, sweetened with tahini and a raw agave nectar. "Our focus on gluten-free is in response to an ever-increasing demand from our customers" she says.

But it's not all for the grown-ups. Rude Health's gluten-free Honey Puffed Oats, Puffed Rice and Honey Rice Flakes launch into Waitrose this month. Nature's Path, meanwhile, will introduce Whole O's, a gluten-free version of Cheerios, to the UK in March 2011, followed by Maple Crunch, North America's most popular gluten-free offering, in May.

The company worked with Coeliac UK to refresh its packaging, learning along the way that families affected by gluten intolerance feel like second-class citizens when forced to buy blandly packaged free-from products.

Focus On Cereals