Grrr. Bought a box of Lucky Charms (General Mills) without an allergy warning!

Did you call them and ask them about this? I'd be curious as to what they say.

I just called General Mills' U.S. customer service line (1-800-328-1144, then 1, then 4) and talked with someone named Bruce. He didn't know too much about their allergy policy, but eventually checked with someone else when I kept asking questions. He then told me that because the "wheat starch" in the Lucky Charms is so refined, people with a wheat allergy wouldn't have a problem with it, so they don't put an allergy warning for wheat on the box.

So maybe there isn't a problem with their labeling after all? (Does anyone know if wheat starch isn't a problem for people with wheat allergies??)

(I should mention that Bruce had no clue what General Mills' allergy policy was. At first, he explained to me that they don't ever label items made on shared lines. When I questioned him and said that GM has told me that they always label, he put me on hold to check into it. He then came back and said that if an item doesn't have a "may contain nuts" warning, it isn't made on a shared line with products containing nuts.)

I'm assuming that there wasn't an allergy warning about wheat on the Lucky Charms because wheat isn't one of the 8 most common allergens that manufacturers claim to label for. Anyone can be allergic to anything (well, nearly [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] ), but manufacturers only claim to label for a the subset of most common allergens.

For example, my PA son is also allergic to strawberries. When I buy yogurt, I know I won't see an allergy warning for strawberries, but (if warranted) I expect to see one for soy, peanuts or treenuts, all of which are in the "big 8".

Does that make sense, or did I misunderstand the initial comments about the Lucky Charms and wheat?

Debbie

PS. My PA/TNA/strawberry allergic son has eaten Lucky Charms without reactions as recently as an hour ago.

The reason I'm worried is that General Mills DOES label for wheat on other cereals. We have a box of Honey Grahams with an allergy warning that states it contains wheat and milk.

For us, this raised the question ... if they usually label for wheat, but they didn't label the Lucky Charms box, are they lax about labeling in general?

I thought wheat was one of the big 8. What are the big 8?

I thought wheat was a common allergen as well, along with Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, Nuts, Soy, Fish, Shellfish

Correct me if I'm mistaken.

Well, I want to apologize for my mistake. For some reason, I thought corn was the grain on the list of common allergens, not wheat.

I checked on the nuconnexions website, and they say that General Mills is supposed to label for: milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, and shellfish.

Debbie

[This message has been edited by DRobbins (edited March 19, 2002).]

I recently bought a box of apple-cinnamon cheerios and was also surprised not to see a warning for wheat (wheat starch in ingredients). I thought I had seen it on previous boxes.

I will call GM and post their response.

I don't think that GM has ever labelled "Wheat Starch" ingredients with a may contain statement for wheat.... I say this because way back when (this time last year) it seemed that everyone who makes "cheerios" or anything analogous started using wheat starch in them, and nobody noted it in allergy warnings. I KNOW (because we checked them repeatedly) that GM did not, though it was right there in the ingredients.... it may be that like hot-processed PN oil, wheat starch is considered "safe"... if you're dealing with a severe wheat allergy, I would steer clear of this ingredient! It would be interesting to hear who told GM that wheat starch is free of wheat proteins, though...hmmmm.

I have noticed this problem with other GM products. My friend's son can't eat wheat because of celiac disease. We have noticed wheat starch and other "minor" wheat products are listed in ingredients, but are not included in the allergy warning statement at the end. I suspect this is because those ingredients do not include the protein, and are not an allergy risk.

I am afraid that I have to disagree with this product "not being an allergy risk"-

for most of us, this is probably the case, including celiacs. For anyone with a severe wheat allergy I suspect that it is not safe enough. This is the *same* issue as we wrestle with in deciding whether peanut oil is safe for those with PA.

Our solution was to avoid this ingredient since as a chemist I know that NO separation process is *ever* 100% effective- no matter what a manufacturing engineer may think.

Don't settle for the black-and-white answer when it isn't the whole truth! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

This is the one and only cereal -LUCKY CHARMS--that I feel safe for my Pa/Tna, Wheat and Egg allergy son to eat! WE just made a cake out of Lucky Charms for his birthday and Lucky Charms balls (like Popcorn balls, etc. minus the popcorn and using Lucky Charms in their place)

They were delicious!!!

[This message has been edited by momomom (edited April 26, 2002).]

Momomom -
That sounds interesting. Could you share that recipe? My son loves Lucky Charms. I am trying to come up with interesting desserts for him.(especially since Oreos are now a no no.
Thanks so much.

(What brand of marshmallow do you use?)

[This message has been edited by Emmie (edited April 29, 2002).]

Forgive me for being kinda confused [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/confused.gif[/img] , but is wheat starch in the actual ingredient list of the product?

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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I just checked the box of Lucky Charms in my house and wheat starch is listed in the ingredients. It isn't under in the ingredients in bold type though.

Now I checked a box of Trix which has wheat starch listed in the ingredients also, but no under it in bold. Cinnamon Toast Crunch does not have wheat starch, but has whole wheat listed as the first ingredient. That has "contains wheat and milk ingredients" under the ingredients in bold. French Toast Crunch has wheat flour as the last ingredient and it is in bold underneath.

I hope this helps. I don't understand why there wouldn't be an allergy warning for wheat starch. What is wheat starch exactly?

[This message has been edited by Emmie (edited April 30, 2002).]

This would only be my opinion, but if wheat starch is listed in the actual list of ingredients, even if it doesn't have a bold additional warning at the bottom of the ingredient list, the company has labeled the product properly. That's why we read the whole ingredient list to see if there are any of the allergens we're avoiding and then look for the additional bold type at the bottom.

I know that Peek Frean was supposed to add peanut flour to their cookies and this would have been in the ingredient list, not labeled boldly below.

I consider this proper labeling, since we're supposed to read the ingredient labels thoroughly, but maybe that's only me.

I'll have to re-check Lucky Charms here in Canada, but I'm fairly sure that they're still okay for PA only people.

Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

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I like the sound of those recipes too. How about posting??

TTFN

Cindy,

I agree with your comments about the ingredients list. If it's in the list of ingredients, I don't necessarily think it needs to be listed again separately. It's nice when it is (gets your attention), but I don't think it's necessary. JMO.

Take care,
Tammy

Quote:Originally posted by Lam:
[b]Cindy,

I agree with your comments about the ingredients list. If it's in the list of ingredients, I don't necessarily think it needs to be listed again separately. It's nice when it is (gets your attention), but I don't think it's necessary. JMO.

Take care,
Tammy[/b]
This is true, of course. But it sure is nice when they have it in bold and we can check it quickly. It already takes about 4 times longer to grocery shop since I've had to start checking ingredient labels.

Gale

according to the person i spoke with at general mills, as of 12/5/2011, GM labels for all 8, either in the ingredients or in a may contain statement. GM also labels for sesame and mollusks as a company wide policy. i was told the same thing by Kraft. it is their policy to use the 'may contain' statement if the product is made on shared lines as well. i have requested a hard copy of the statement. i will let you all know what it says when i get it.

Just wondering warriormom7 did you ever get the hard copy statement? Anyway you can post it for all of us to read when you do get it? Very interested in it! Thanks for sharing!

ok, friends, here it is. this is the email i FINALLY received from General Mills:

Corporate.Response@genmills.com

5:25 PM (15 hours ago)

to me

Dear Ms. Eubanks:

Thank you for contacting General Mills concerning the ingredients in our products. As manufacturers and consumers, we understand your concern about potential allergens in the foods you eat. Our primary goal is to provide accurate information, and we believe this is best accomplished by referring to the specific ingredients listed on each product package. This is the most current information for your needs.

Our products are labeled for the top 8 allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, dairy products, eggs, soy, wheat, crustaceans, and fish) plus sesame, sunflower and mollusks. We label for these allergens using CONTAINS and/or MAY CONTAIN lists located directly below the product’s ingredient list.

CONTAINS means that the allergen(s) is included in the product’s recipe. The allergen(s) will be listed in the ingredient list, and also in the CONTAINS statement just below the ingredient list.

MAY CONTAIN means that the allergen(s) is not in the product’s recipe but could be present as result of the manufacturing process regardless of our best efforts to exclude it. These allergens will not be included in the ingredient list.

Both CONTAINS and MAY CONTAIN mean that if you are sensitive to the specific allergen(s) in the list, no matter which way it is listed, you should avoid this product.

This ingredient and allergen information is for the package in hand. It is not intended for other packages of the same product. Ingredients may vary from one package to another due to product reformulation. If you have allergy concerns, please carefully read the ingredient information on each package.

We hope this information helps you. You may also want to contact the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) at 1-800-929-4040 , or visit their web site at www.foodallergy.org. Although they cannot provide specific ingredient information regarding a particular product, they are a good resource to help in the management of your allergies and sensitivities.

We appreciate your interest. Please contact us again with any further questions or comments.

Sincerely,

Stacey Berg

this still does not mean that they put May contain anytime it is made on shared equipment, right? I hate when companies say they will put may contain if they feel there is any chance of cross contamination because they usually feel their cleaning process eliminates that.

from what i understand, and that is from what i read on their statement, combined with the conversations i have had with the several reps i have talked to, if there is ANY chance of cross-contamination, the product will be labeled with the 'may contain' statement. the reps were very adamant that they are very aware of the seriousness of these allergens and were very serious about keeping their consumers safe.

Hi, just read this line of posts. Just to be clear WHEAT is one of the 8 major allergens.