What foods are not safe in Canada???

Care, I think I mentioned this to you in a different thread. I'm glad you started this one though because it should be a good one. The whole thing is though, it depends on what you consider "safe". I would consider the above-noted product safe as long as it did not say on the package "may contain". Do you know what I mean? And, this is only because I have not had a bad experience (i.e., my son having a reaction) with a manufacturer that also has peanut products in their facility (for example, Christie's).
However, as to your initial question, about whether people have called different manufacturers, etc. Kellogg's can send you a product information brochure which shows which products "may contain". I am not clear if it tells you whether they are made in a plant that also has peanuts in the plant. I have called General Mills about MultiGrain Cheerios which has the warning "may contain trace almonds" because I thought both of my children had a reaction to that and I could only think about peanuts. I was told that that particular cereal was made in a peanut free facility so there was no way that it had come in contact with peanut products. I have checked out the website for Chapman's Ice Cream - [url="http://www.chapmans.on.ca"]www.chapmans.on.ca[/url] and they provide a list of products that are run in a peanut free facility and a list of products that do not contain peanuts and do not have the warning "may contain" but are manufactured in a plant that has peanut products in it. Their recent advertising and their website shows that they're really aware of the allergy. At any rate, those are the 3 companies that I have been in contact with. Oh, I was in contact with Trebor-Allan in June of this year when someone told me that GummiBears were "coated in peanut oil" and was told that they were not manufactured in a plant with peanuts. Also, you can check out [url="http://www.nuconnexions.com"]www.nuconnexions.com[/url] for their list of products that may or may not be safe. Again, though, it all depends on your individual definition of safe and we all probably have different ones. Check out that website and then maybe, for you, it means calling every manufacturer of every product that you bring into your home if you are not comfortable with the "may contain" warning only. Also, I only recently found out through this board, through Redtruck, that manufacturers are not legally required to put the "may contain" warning on their product. For me, that means sticking to name brand products only by large manufacturers who do have the warning on them. I never buy store brand cereal, cookies, etc. despite the cheaper cost. If you do not want your child to eat anything from a facility that has peanuts in it, if you do not want to take that chance, then you may have to do that. Also, the great thing about being on-line is that you can e-mail them and hopefully get a response rather than tying yourself up on the phone. Or, by starting this thread, hopefully, everyone will add who they've called and it will get figured out eventually. I really hope that's what happens 'cus it's a great question and you'll/we'll have it all in one thread! Best wishes!

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Hi Cindy--looks like you are a night owl!
I'm not sure what my comfort zone is yet. What concerns me is the companies that do produce nut products or make an item in a nut plant and then don't put a warning on the package. Also how much is may contain? It varies with each product. What I have learned(heard) is that each exposure to nuts can make you more and more sensitive that is why we should worry about "may contain" products. Has anyone spoken to an allergist about this?
What I'm asking in this thread is--what products that we think are safe or assume their safe are really not or possibly contaminated.

Care, okay, now I see exactly what your question is. So, I would consider Christie's products "safe" for me - crackers, cookies, etc. but I know that they are manufactured in a plant that also has peanut products in it. So, for the purpose of this thread, Christie's would not be considered "safe".
Chapman's Ice Cream - you can go to their website and find out the products that are manufactured in a totally peanut free facility and for purposes of this thread would still be considered safe. Then you can find out what products of theirs are, what they call Peanut and Nut Free lines, different building, peanuts in the building,
which for the purposes of this thread would not be considered "safe".
I can see where you're coming from with this thread, but personally, it would scare the bejesus out of me and my picky little PA eater would be eating even less than he is now!
As for the night owl, why do you think I have so many posts on the board and end up getting in so much difficulty because of it?
Best wishes!

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care:
just a quick note, your statement that "each exposure to nuts can make you more and more sensitive" is not correct, according to the posts here on what leading PA researcher and world reknowned pediatric allergist Dr. Scott Sicherer has to say on the topic. While it is true that you never know what kind of reaction may occur, you had a mild one first then anaphylactic next, or vice versa, each exposure doesn't mean greater and greater sensitivity.
As for your statement that something is "not safe" I think cindy is trying to say that this means its "not safe" for you, based on your own comfortability. Cindy, like myself, doesn't call manufacturers (at least I don't think she does), relies on lables that say either "may contain" or actually list peanuts as ingredients. The fact that something is manufactured in the same building as other nut products does not concern me, if it did I don't know how I could actually live everyday without feeding my child food I grew in my own "tree free" backyard, know what I mean?
The fact that you don't want your child to eat it is totally understandable, its just not how I live with this allergy.
I think of it in terms of this: nuts are everywhere. I cannot guarantee that somehow a nut or nut byproduct will slip into ANYTHING, any joker on an assembly line could be eating something with nuts, a food handler at McDonalds could have forgotten to wash his hands after his pb&j sandwich, etc.
The possibilities are endless as is my imagination, I just cannot, FOR ME, live like that.
Please don't think we don't care as much for our children, we do, its only we do not feel the same on everything here, but try and respect each others comfort zones.
And what Cindy also said about not having a negative experience also makes our comfort zones different. For example, if somehow my child were to have a severe reaction to playing on the jungle gym due to peanut butter residue then perhaps I would rethink going there, but since she never has been touch/airborne sensitive and has only had reactions when she actually ate and swallowed a product with peanuts definitely in them, I will keep things as is. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]

Thanks for the reply. I don't worry about things that are produced in a nut plant. I am trying to find out more info. My sister worries about things like this, my sister-in-law (both have PAkids) doesn't. My son has eaten may contain products including granola bars, sat next to children eating peanut butter and been around many adults eating shelled peanuts. All without a reaction, but now we know he is PA and I am trying to educate myself on how careful I should be through listening (reading) to others experiences. My neice has had a reaction from a shopping cart so I would say she is an extreme case and that is why my sister is extra careful. I will look up the article and allergist you mentioned as I honestly thought you did get more sensitive because of more exposures ( this is true with penicillin). I think that my son has a mild allergy as he has never had another reaction since his first when he had PB on toast but I don't want to just assume that either. Do I make sense???