Easter\'s coming - safe candy

Hi Laura,

Thank you for the information on this company. I will be calling them for their complete list as well.

Have you checked out Vermont Nut Free candies? They have gotten rave reviews, but I have not bought any of their products.

I won't mention I live in sunny Florida, 75 degrees, 50's at night, no shoveling snow...nope, won't mention it!!

Thanks again for the information!

Thanks Connie for not mentioning the nice weather in Florida. I am in NJ and the kids are all home from school today under 8 inches of snow. Oh well its supposed to be in the 60's by Thursday. I just wanted to mention Vermont nut Free's website says they want their Easter orders by WEd. Mar 17th if you are going to order from them. Thats only two days away. Now I have to go back to shoveling. Connie don't get to sunburned now will ya.
Patti

Hi Patti,

Where DID I put that bottle of Hawaiian Tropic? Aloha, Baby!!

Thanks for telling us about the deadline for Vermont Nut Free orders. I need to get my order in...and through PeanutAllergy.com, of course!

Oh by the way Patti, our high was only 55 today...oh that's right, that's your t-shirt weather!!

Stay safe!

Hi everyone! The Calgary Allergy Network has a list of chocolate and candies for Easter and otherwise, broken up into major manufacturers, peanut/nut free plants or just dedicated lines etc. Nestles Canada has a few chocolate bars listed that are made in nut free plants. Check this out if you haven't already - it's interesting.

Hi-everyone!

BAD NEWS!

I just received a call from Just Born. The "new" marshmellow vanilla creme eggs contain GUM ARABIC (a peanut cross-react) and ARE produced on the same machine as the marshmellow peeps and rabbits. Hence, this candy is now UNSAFE for the peanut allergic (unless you've been told gum arabic is O.K. for your child).

However, the jellybeans - fruit and marshmellow flavors - are still safe. The snowmen at Christmas and the Pumpkins at Halloween will also be produced on the same line as the marshmellow creme eggs.

I put down a consumer comment with the company - that they should remove the Gum Arabic from the eggs, or discontinue the product. Perhaps if the company gets enough calls about this, they'll stop making those eggs. It's a real shame. This was one of the only safe candy companies I had come accross.

Hi Laura,
Did your allergist recommend staying away from the foods with arabic gum? I was just curious because FAN says that allergic reactions to gums are rare and I was wondering if you had some other info or was just being extra cautious.

Hi Laura,
I called Erica's allergist today about GUM ARABIC. I am curious about what you are referring to also. Have you been advised to avoid gum arabic?

I would like to hear more about this from everyone.

Stay Safe,

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[email]"Chris@PeanutAllergy.Com"[/email]

Hi Brenda! Hi Chris!

When Logan was diagnosed, I was told to avoid peanuts, hydrolyzed vegetable protein, natural flavor (unless I checked), and acacia gum. I just found out a few days ago from a post by Connie (I think) that gum arabic is the same thing as acacia gum - hence, I'm going to avoid it. I'm curious Chris - what did your allergist say about the gum arabic? Am I being overly cautious here? Even if reactions to this gum are rare, I certainly don't want my son to be the "unfortunate rarity"!

I just found a GREAT site for the Allergy Society of South Africa (if anyone should know about this tree, it's them) -

[url="http://www.allergysa.org/1spec_a.htm"]http://www.allergysa.org/1spec_a.htm[/url]

They list the Acacia tree under legumes -- same family as peanuts (leguminosae). But, also listed in that family are lentils, carob, and peas and a few others (things I wasn't told to avoid). They mention how acacia gum is used in icings, ice cream, and sweets.

What do you think?

[This message has been edited by LauraP (edited March 31, 1999).]

Lou Anne:
Just Born Inc. can be reached at 1-800-445-5787. Please call them to make sure you are comfortable with their processes. They do not mail order direct to consumers, but do have their products available at Rite Aid stores and several other large chain stores.
Mark

I've seen in several posts that some Nestle's candy in Canada is made in peanut-free plants. Does anyone know if there is a way to mail order candy from Nestle's Canada if you are from the United States????
Thanks for any info on this.