Food Allergy Friendly Valentine's Day Treats

Some Valentine's Day treats from some of our favorite food allergy friendly businesses!

Amanda's Own Confections: In the mood for chocolate? Amanda's chocolates are dairy-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free and gluten-free. Orders for Valentine's Day are being taken through February 6, 2012.

A & J Bakery: How about biscotti? A & J makes great biscotti and offers so many flavors! (We're on a mission to try them all!)

Dean's Sweets: Dean's peanut-free, nut-free truffles are sure to please. Valentine's Day orders must be received by February 9 in order to be delivered by February 14.

Gilbert's Gourmet Goodies: Cookies and other goodies from Gilbert's are "made without wheat, gluten, soy protein, peanuts, tree nuts, corn, corn syrup, dairy (milk, casein, whey), chemicals, hydrogenated oils, transfats or preservatives." (from the Gilbert's Gourmet Goodies website) Wow! Check out their gift baskets and cookie dough.

Sweet Alexis: Send your sweetie a dozen mouth-watering Valentine's Day cookies! (see below) They are dairy-free, egg-free, tree nut-free and peanut-free. ($24.00)

Cookie:  All-Purpose Flour (bleach flour, malted barley flour, niacin, iron, ascorbic acid, thiamine, mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), Sugar, Margine (Expeller-pressed natural oil blend [soybean, palm fruit, canola and olive oil], filtered water, pure salt, natural flavor [derived from corn, no MSG, no alcohol, no gluten] soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid [non-dairy, derived from sugar beets], colored with beta-carotene from natural sources), Baking Powder, Soybean Oil, Salt, Vanilla Extract.   Frosting: Confectioner’s Sugar, Vegan Margarine (Expeller-pressed natural oil blend [soybean, palm fruit, canola and olive oil], filtered water, pure salt, natural flavor [derived from corn, no MSG, no alcohol, no gluten] soy protein, soy lecithin, lactic acid [non-dairy, derived from sugar beets], colored with beta-carotene from natural sources), Water, Oil, Baking Powder, Vanilla, Pink Food Coloring

Contains: Wheat & Soy

Buzz Around New England: Dean's Sweets - Delectable!

We recently received a beautiful package of assorted chocolate truffles and caramels from Dean's Sweets of Portland, Maine. A box like the one we received would make a lovely gift for someone or treat for yourself! (Hint, hint. Valentine's Day's coming!) It was lovely to look at and every single hand dipped chocolate piece was exquisite. The chocolate exterior was scrumptious and the inside of every truffle was a pleasing flavorful surprise. We thoroughly enjoyed them. We took our time and savored each. It took us several days to finish the box and we didn't ever want to reach the end. The truffles and caramels are of such high quality, just one is a satisfying treat, even for a chocoholic, sweet tooth like me! I admit, though, they're so good...we did eat two in a day...a few times. (My sons and I happily, thoughtfully tried each flavor.) What a treat! 

I am so happy to tell you that Dean's Sweets are nut-free and peanut-free, made by hand in their nut-free, peanut-free facility. What a gem those Downeasters have in Dean's! The chocolate stout truffles contain no dairy and many of the truffles are free of gluten as well. We could not narrow down our favorite flavor to just one. Our favorites were lemon apricot chevre, cayenne, and double dark.

The founder of Dean's Sweets, Dean Bingham, is an architect by trade. He started making candy and then truffles years ago for family and friends. As you may have surmised, the candies and truffles were a hit! Dean's creative talents clearly extend beyond his architectural talents and he eventually opened Dean's Sweets. Over time, Dean has developed new flavors and chocolates, more recently chocolate bars too, and his store is flourishing. 

Please take a look at the below video which I have included with Dean's permission. See how everyone is nodding his or her head and making "yum" sounds? Same thing happened to us! Dean's Sweets are irresistible and you can't help yourself!

As you can tell, I highly recommend Dean's Sweets. You can order online on the Dean's Sweets website. The store is located at 82 Middle Street in Portland, Maine.

A big thank you to Dean and his lovely wife, Kristin, for the truffles and caramels, and for answering all my questions. I am glad to share Dean's Sweets with Food Allergy Buzz readers! 

Living with Food Allergies Blog Carnival Postponed Till Feb 2

If you are wondering why the Living with Food Allergies Blog Carnival is not up today, it's because we decided to push it off until next Thursday, February 2. We have received some great blog posts to share then too! If you haven't sent yours in yet, you still have time. We are accepting entries until 11 pm Eastern time on February 1.  Here is the link to submit your post. (Hopefully it's working again!)

Also, if you'd like to host the carnival on your blog, let me know, we still have a couple months open.

Thanks so much!

Not Very Food Allergy Friendly

Did you read my last post abut trying to get information about cross-contamination from Heinz?  Well, I wrote again and here is the answer I received: 

January 25, 2012

Dear Jennifer,Thank you for visiting our web site.We are not required to list allergens present within a manufacturing facility, only those that are present as ingredients used within the product. Unfortunately we are not able to provide information as to whether any other ingredients are present in the manufacturing facility.Thanks again for contacting us.  We appreciate your interest.Heinz Consumer Resource Center

I will let my son know that the manufacturer refused to answer our question, so we must assume the food is not made in a facility free of peanuts and tree nuts. I'm a little stunned by the lack of customer service by Heinz. Pretty huge company, surely they can do better than that. Usually, when manufacturers want to dodge the cross-contamination question, they make a broad statement about their manufacturing processes constantly being modified so they cannot answer which allergens are present, blah blah, but they are very careful to prevent cross-contamination, blah blah. Heinz didn't even do that. Makes ya wonder...

A few food allergy friends with allergies beyond the big 8 wrote and said (nicely) "Take a walk in our shoes and try to get answers." They are quite right. Those of us dealing with allergies included in the big 8 are lucky. At a minimum, we usually know if the allergen is an ingredient, and often we know if it is a "may contains". I can't imagine having to figure out mustard, sesame, strawberry...etc.

So, no TGIF Frozen stuff for us. No biggie. Now I've personally learned Heinz is truly NOT food allergy friendly. At the same time, this experience has served as a reminder--not that any of us should need one!--that our friends with allergies outside the big 8 really need our support to push for better labeling.


UPDATE (I feel like that narrator French guy on Spongebob, "A few hours later..."): I did a little digging through my old emails. It turns out I have written to Heinz in the past, and the answer I got that time was better. Maybe Heinz isn't so unfriendly to food allergies, after all.  Maybe Consumer Affairs just needs a refresher on how to answer questions for food allergic consumers.  Below is the answer I received when I wrote last February to find out about Bagel Bites for my son. Take a look! It was much more informative than the one I received today.


February 1, 2011
Dear Jennifer,

Because we understand how difficult it is for consumers with food allergies to find 'safe' processed foods, we clearly list the FDA Top 8 Major Allergens on our ingredient panels if they are included in our products.

The FDA specifies the Top 8 Major Allergens are as follows:  Soy; Wheat; Peanuts; Eggs; Dairy; Tree Nuts; Shellfish & Crustaceans; and Fish.

Currently, these ingredients are listed specifically within our ingredient statements.  They are also called out in bold print underneath the ingredient statement.  Older packaging will only reflect these allergens within the ingredient statement itself (rather than reiterating the information in bold print).

The product does not contain nor is it manufactured around nuts. This product is made in a peanut and tree nut free facility.

Thank you for your interest in Heinz products.

Heinz Consumer Resource Center

Operator...can you add a voluntary "may contain" statement?

Well over a week ago, my younger son expressed an interest in trying the frozen appetizers made by TGIF that are at the grocery store in the frozen foods section. So, I told him we will write and see if they're safe. I went online, googled TGIF frozen, and found they are made by Heinz. I wrote my usual message explaining that he cannot eat foods manufactured in an environment where peanuts and tree nuts are present due to life threatening allergies. What I needed from Heinz is information about possible cross-contamination, but below is the response I received:

January 19, 2012
Dear Jennifer,

Because we understand how difficult it is for consumers with food allergies to find 'safe' processed foods, we clearly list the FDA Top 8 Major Allergens on our ingredient panels if they are included in our products.

The FDA specifies the Top 8 Major Allergens are as follows:  Soy; Wheat; Peanuts; Eggs; Dairy; Tree Nuts; Shellfish & Crustaceans; and Fish.

Currently, these ingredients are listed specifically within our ingredient statements.  They are also called out in bold print underneath the ingredient statement.  Older packaging will only reflect these allergens within the ingredient statement itself (rather than reiterating the information in bold print).

Because recipes are not patentable, the terms 'natural flavorings' and 'spices' refers to dried spices which are not disclosed on the label for proprietary reasons.  Unfortunately, if you are allergic to an ingredient other than those specifically declared, we are not able to disclose whether your ingredient is being used in the recipe, and therefore suggest that you avoid using this product.

However, if you would like to have your physician fax us a request on their letterhead with a contact phone number detailing the specific ingredient(s) in question.  They can fax that request to: (412) 237-5291.

Thank you for your interest in Heinz products.

Heinz Consumer Resource Center


While I appreciate the answer from Heinz, that's obviously not an answer to my question. That's a form answer to an ingredients question. I'm disappointed that I have to write to Heinz again. After all, doesn't it make good business sense to attempt to answer a consumer question about cross-contamination?  If it turns out a food is safe for our family, chances are we'll buy it again. We could become regular customers, maybe even tell our friends about it. The way I see it, food manufacturers have nothing to lose by answering questions about cross-contamination. I wish those voluntary "may contain" statements were mandatory. That would really help us determine which foods might be safe options. When critical information like that is unavailable, my approach has to be "when it doubt, leave it out." In the meantime...hello Heinz? We really want to try your food if it's safe for us, so how 'bout adding a voluntary "may contain" statement? Thanks!

#foodallergy Blog Carnival 2012 Schedule and Hosts

It's a new year, so it is time to get the 'ol Living with Food Allergies Blog Carnival on a new schedule. We'll do the blog carnival the 4th Thursday of each month, and entries will be due by 11 pm Eastern time the night before. Here is the link where you enter the info for your blog post. Submission requirements are:

1. You must have a blog.
2. Your blog post must be related to food allergies.

It can be a post about your thoughts, a food allergy-related controversy, tips for managing food allergies, even a recipe! It's up to you.

Libby, at The Allergic Kid (@TheAllergicKid), will be hosting the January blog carnival. We're looking for additional hosts. It's easy to do and fun too! If you are interested in hosting the blog carnival on your blog, please send me an email jennifer[at]foodallergybuzz[dot]com or message me on Twitter @FoodAllergyBuzz.

We Should Have Epinephrine In Schools

These two links pretty much say it all. Please take a moment to visit these links, read them, and share them. Thank you FAAN and Collette Martin for these pieces.

Of Course There Should Be Epinephrine in Our Schools

FAAN - School Access to Epinephrine Act

Schools, Substitutes, Epipens...

In the last couple years, I've worked as an apprentice teacher and a substitute teacher. This experience, so far, has given me an interesting perspective on what could happen with food allergic children during the school day. Every class I substitute in has a different situation food allergy-wise. I work in different classrooms, in several districts, and I don't see any consistency within schools or districts about how substitute teachers are informed about children's life threatening allergies (or asthma, or even diabetes). 

As a sub, you are lucky if there is a lesson plan for the day. Information on potentially serious medical problems? Not so much. In one class, the teacher not only left plans, but actually left a folder with copies of the students' emergency allergy plans and their photos! That was great! There were, however, no epipens in the classroom and no indication of where the epipens were. There also were no simple easy-to-find directions on what to do to get help, in case of an emergency. How do you reach the nurse? Do they really expect a child with a serious allergic reaction to walk to the nurse's office? In another classroom, at another school, a set of epipens were kept near the door of the classroom in a bag, but I was given no instructions about what to do other than carry them every time we left the classroom. These two days were the exceptions. Most days, I receive no information about allergies. I quickly figured out which students had asthma because they were wheezing after gym class and asked to go to the nurse. I really believe it would be in the students' best interest if their substitute teachers--at least at the elementary level--were informed about which students have asthma, diabetes, or life threatening allergies, and I'm sure I'm leaving out many other serious medical conditions too. 

The substitute teacher angle is just one problem. As you know, there are a multitude of issues in the schools we can work on. I'd love to hear what your child's school does when there is a substitute teacher! Leave me a comment and let me know. 

Food Allergy Buzz Hall of Fame for Food Allergy Friendly Schools

The year before I registered my son for kindergarten, I tried to find out how food allergy friendly our town's schools were. It was extremely difficult to find any information other than the fact that some classes were peanut-free and that epipens generally stayed with the nurse. About a year ago, I set up a page here on Food Allergy Buzz to collect info about food allergy friendly schools from other food allergy parents, so we can help others in the same situation. Only one person replied!

Following the recent tragedy, I thought I'd give the FAB Food Allergy Friendly Schools Hall of Fame another push with a brief, anonymous survey to gather the information. Please take a look!

Thanks so much!

What Will You Buy at the Store? Cheerios?

What is your opinion about the new Peanut Butter Cheerios? Please complete our brief survey. Thanks!

Love Those Labels!

When I come across a very clear food label, that provides information beyond that required by U.S. law, I am always impressed. Recently, I noticed Rhodes Bake N Serv "Warm N Serv Soft Dinner Rolls" in the freezer section of a local supermarket. Look at the clear labeling for those shopping for food allergies:

I wish I could see this amount of detail on every food label. It tells what major allergens are processed in the facility and which major allergens are not used there. Hats off to Rhodes!

Did you spot a great label? Send me a pic of that awesome label--let's give credit where credit is due! We should support those companies! Maybe we can inspire more companies to go the extra step and provide more info on their labels...