Hello,
I've been searching for an ice cream that is safe to feed/eat around my PA 19 month old and found this information on the Ben & Jerry's website. We've been eating the Vanilla and Apple Crumble with no problems. You may want to call and check on your own but we feel their ice cream is safe.
From Benandjerry's.com:
I am allergic to Peanuts, Peanut oil, etc. In fact, an allergy to peanuts is one of the most common food allergies there are. However, many companies and restaurants use peanut oil in their products. I love your ice cream but many of your flavors have peanut oil as an ingredient. I was wondering why your company cannot use another oil in all of your products??
Answer
At 2/19/99 10:07 AM we wrote - It is always terrific to hear from a customer who loves our products and to be able to pass on good news as well! Recent scientific studies* have determined that highly refined peanut oil (filtered, bleached and deodorized) is safe for persons with sensitivity to peanuts. All of the peanut-oil-containing products that Ben & Jerry's makes are of the highly refined type or have been tested as being virtually free of peanut protein. Our products that contain peanut oil and have no other peanut protein source listed in the ingredients are safe for persons who are allergic to peanuts.
Ben & Jerry's has a proactive approach to addressing the concerns of persons with food allergies. We work closely with all of our ingredient suppliers to verify all ingredient components, including ingredients in natural flavors, colors, and spices that might be of concern to persons with specific food sensitivities. We insure that this information is then included on the ingredient label of our product. Any product containing peanuts or peanut oil would show those ingredients listed on the label.
We use a precautionary label on flavors containing our chocolate fudge pieces which, though they are free of peanut derivatives, are processed on the same lines as peanut-containing products. We are working with the supplier to have these items made on dedicated lines and hope to be able to remove this precautionary statement in the future.
Ben & Jerry's is a member of the Food Allergy Network and the Food Allergy Resource and Research Program. These important groups provide updated information and support for people dealing with food allergies. It is the recommendation of these groups that, because lists of flavors may be replicated and become outdated, the safest approach is to read the label each time a purchase is made. We recognize that reading labels can be time-consuming and tedious; however, it is the best way for us to insure that you receive the information you need to enjoy our products free of worry as to their contents.
*Referenced article: "Allergenicity of Edible Oils," Food Technology, February 1999 Vol 53 No 2, Dr Steve Taylor and Dr Susan Hefle.
I also saw that response on the Ben & Jerry's web site, and wrote to them recently asking if they had, in fact, made any progress toward getting their shaped chocolate pieces (I had in mind the fish in Phish Food and the little cows in Bovinity Divinity) made on separate production lines, and they haven't. :-(
But I do feel that they are extremely allergy conscious in general, and have been allowing my PA 6 year old to eat the flavors that are not labelled as containing nuts, peanut oil or manufacturer on the same product line.
Ben and Jerry's Scoop Shop is actually the only hard ice cream restaurant where we will eat. They've been good about using the scoop I provide and making other accomodations. They're also (nearly) the only ice cream I'll buy from the grocery store any more.
While we were in Vermont this summer, we also went on their factory tour (you never get near the equipment or ingredients, you're upstairs from the production line, looking down through a glass wall), and found that they sold Vermont Nut-Free chocolate in their giftshop!
Has anyone reading this reacted to any of their products that appeared to be safe from the ingredients label?
Debbie