General Mills cereals

Hi, you have asked a question that I am keen to know the answer to also. I am from the UK and coming over to the USA for a vacation and we want to buy Lucky Charms for the children to eat when we are over as they are about £7 here so obviously do not buy them here.

I emailed Genereal Mills and was told that if a product contains allergens its listed in bold in the ingrediants and underneath the ingrediants. I was also told that if a product is exposed in the manufacturing process it is listed under the ingrediants in the contains statement.

However, like you, my best assurance would be others actual experience.

I am pretty sure a few GM cereals have Peanut Flour as an ingredient. I'm not 100% sure but I think Chocolate Chex and Cinnamon Chex have Peanut Flour and back in the fall I noticed that Count Chocula/Boo Berry and Franken Berry also had peanut flour.

If I recall correctly, they are clearly labeled, but honestly it was a bit of a surprise to see it in so many different varieties.

It sort of begs the question if the Chocolate Chex are made on the same line as say the Corn Chex.

Our daughter has a peanut and tree nut allergy. We have received the same email from GM stating they would label products if there was cross contamination. We give our daughter Cheerios, Fruity Cheerios, Golden Grahams,and Kix and have never had a problem By the way, we also contacted Kelloggs and were told they will also label for cross contamination so she also eats Rice Krispies.

Thanks, I will add those to my list of cereals to look out for when we visit. Have you used Lucky Charms? I splashed out and bought a box over here. The labeling looks OK on the basis that GM label may contains as there is no mention of tree or peanuts.

My son has PN/TN allergies and has eaten Lucky Charms with no problems. He did eat the chocolate Lucky Charms and had a reaction, but we are not sure if it was the cereal or something else? There were a few possibilities that day.

My husband bought the strawberry Chex and that had peanut flour in it--we threw it out as soon as we saw it. I never would have expected it! We eat Kelloggs cereals but I am nervous every time I buy it. Walmart here in NY has outstanding labeling, but we can no longer buy most of their products. At least I feel safe with what we do give him.

Good luck--

General Mills is a very tricky company. I called them back in June and I got the whole speil about how their cereals are produced in a separate section from the plant, they have air filtration system to avoid "peanut in the air", and that they do testing and they will put "My contain". well I was thrilled with their response. Then I noticed they make Reeses Peanut Butter puff cereal, so I e-mailed them 3 times about how they handle this cereal. No response. I finally called yesterday. I simply asked "Is your Reeses Puffs made on shared lines with your other non peanut cereals. The rudest cs person told me to READ THE LABEL. I said well that doesn't tell me if it is made on shared lines. She continued to repeat herself again and again "you need to read the label mam." Well I know that they have to put it in the ingredients so I asked her if they put "May contains" if it is made on shared lines. "sigh (from her) you need to read the label. She then told me they can't put non peanut product on the same line as peanut product, but the Reeses puffs is not made on a dedicated line. well that is totally contradicting. All I wanted was a yes or no answer. She put me on hold twice, came back 3 times with different answers and was getting mad at me for not understanding her!! finally the THIRD time she got back on the phone and said they clean in between runs and do testing. If THEY feel there is a chance for contamination they will put "May contains". How often do they test, she has no idea. So I said so you do run non peanut cereal on the Reeses puff lines "you need to read the label mam" and we are back at square one!!!!! I think they are taught NOT to give information and give you the run around so you'll hang up and continue to buy their products. It was a 30 minute battle to get a very simple question answered, which she never did actually answer directly.

Now I ask you, what is the point of putting your cereals in a separate section and tauting special air filters if there is peanut butter on the same lines???

Obviously you got a rep with a really bad attitude when you called, so I wouldn't trust any info they gave you. I'd probably try to call back and get a nicer person, or ask directly for a manager.

General Mills is one of the brands that I trust to label correctly. I've called twice on different product lines, and been very happy with the response I was given. I still read labels every time though. A family member of mine had a friend that used to work for General Mills, and he confirmed that they are very trustworthy when it comes to cross contamination. He told her that he worked at a plant that was totally shut down for cleaning one time because a stray peanut was found on the floor.

You should only use whatever products you are comfortable with, and that varies with each PA family. For me, General Mills is on the "good list." :)

Betty Crocker is a wonderful company!! I have dealt with them on several occasions and they have gone above and beyond to help and ensure safety. I have called other companies and they actually changed their products to be peanut free!!!!

Hello!

I don't know if this will help, but I've called a couple of times with the same question (just to make sure over time things don't change) in regards to the peanut puffs....my kids love CoCo Puffs! I was told both times that the peanut butter ones are made in a different facility and there is no chance of cross contamination. This was at least a year ago, maybe?

I am so sorry for your frustration--we've all experienced bad reps! Good luck and if you find anything new, please let us all know!!!

I've had a few experiences with CS reps with bad attitudes as well. Often times it seems as if they aren't intelligent enough to even understand the information they are giving out.

Most of the time a manager is more knowledgeable and willing to share specific details about the manufacturing process then the CS reps (especially when it comes to contacting Hershey's over the phone.)

General Mills has started making gluten free products. This is my experience with them. But yes, honey nut chex has peanut ingredient. However, any cereal that is made with peanut will indicate that there is peanut ingredient in it. However, the FDA hasn't made the strong push to have companies specify if products are manufactured in these facilities.

My daughter she ate some Golden Grahams and wound up in the ER.

dtr:son: pn/tn; egg;seafood,shellfish asthma