Out of straight up curiosity, I visited my local Dollar Tree to see what food allergy safe nut free candies I could find. Last year, we discovered allergen safe candy corn– thanks to Charlene, a mom in our local parent asthma and food allergy parent education group (AAPE to those who know and love us). I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered a nice variety of candy choices and with clear labeling! I especially liked the $1.00 price tag, but most of all I really enjoyed for the first time in 13 years, good strong labeling stating peanut free or made in a NUT FREE facility!
Generally, I call each manufacturer to ask about the risk of cross contamination due to allergens being used within the facility. It is extremely helpful to offer labeling that addresses this on the package. Also, it inspires me to buy items I normally would not simply because it is safe and I like to keep a variety of treats in my pantry for visitors. I am feeling very thankful and grateful today for the improvement of some labeling. Next, I would love to everything GMO labeled and less food dye….(my list goes on). My favorite candies are dye free, natural and non-GMO, but sometimes I go to the dark side and crave a good old fashioned candy corn. The Candy discovered was..
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Hard to read the labels, but each bag I purchased had clear statements of what each facility DID NOT process.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..
It’s great that companies are catching on! I would keel over with happiness if I saw dairy free labels!!!
Elizabeth, I truly hope this trend catches on and manufacturers understand what this means to us.
You can only imagine how happy I am when I see the big no peanut symbol on a bag of candy. My son is 17 & has multi food allergies. For several years Halloween candy was nearly impossible to buy for him. It made me sadder than him. Thanks to FARE for years of advocacy with the food industry.
Jenny, don’t you think we’ve been moving in a positive direction thanks to FAAN (now FARE), AAFA, KFA, AANMA and so many local advocacy groups. It is heart warming to see the changes and heart breaking to seeing the disease grow.
I am so grateful for all FARE (was FAN when we started) did to improve labeling and make things easier for all of us.
I learned so much from FAAN. They were really there in the beginning and worked hard on the labeling law!
This is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂
Meg
Co-Founder
http://www.mommeetmom.com
YAY I have been looking for a nut free candy corn. We tried Starburst but he did not like the taste. Thank you. Sugarbabies are new as well, will have to try them. But the rest are treat specials around here.
Have some candy corn fun! As always, call the company to double check on recipe changes, etc.
Brindi,
I almost bought those but thought that I could not get my head around the shape and flavors. I know that sounds crazy! But my brain has some serious candy corn expectations!
This is the right webpage for everyone who hopes to find out about this topic.
You understand so much its almost hard to argue with you
(not that I personally will need to…HaHa). You definitely put a new spin on a subject that
has been written about for years. Excellent
stuff, just great!