There is a classroom birthday party and you're worried. Should your child bring their own cupcake or are you over reacting? Is it really possible there might be peanut protein in that birthday cake?

Peanut protein can show up in the most unexpected places. There is no way to know what one persons cleaning style is like or if the mom frosted the cupcakes while making peanut butter sandwiches. Bakery cakes are not much better unless they come from a true peanut free bakery.

The only way to be sure is to bring your own food.

If you are not handy in the kitchen or don't have time to bake from scratch, there are now several options. You can purchase a cake or cupcakes from a dedicated peanut free bakery OR you can purchase one of the many peanut free mixes that are availabe online or on grocery store shelves.

A&J Bakery
A&J Bakery makes cakes to order in a 100% nut free bakery. They also ship nationwide!

Cherrybrook Kitchen
In addition to cookies and cookie mixes, Cherrybrook Kitchen makes a great peanut free cake mix that is easy to whip up. Their products are free from peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and egg.

Divvies
Divvies doesn't just sell cookies, but cupcakes as well. You can order them online and know that they are free from peanut, tree nuts, dairy and egg because they are made in a dedicated facility.

There are several other brands of great tasting cake mixes and other products that are available for those with peanut or other allergies. Visit www.bestallergysites.com to search our directory of allergen friendly food manufacturers.

If you are living a peanut free life you may have wondered what foods are safe to eat. Are cookies on grocery store shelves safe if they don't contain peanuts? What about those warning labels like “may contains” or “processed in”?

What you eat depends largely upon your comfort level. Many cookies on grocery store shelves really are safe to eat because some manufacturers go to great lengths to clean their equipment. However, most allergists warn against consuming items with warning labels. A study revealed that up to 7% of items tested contained enough detectable peanut protein even though peanut was not a listed ingredient.

Luckily the food industry is taking allergies seriously and many manufacturers are going to great lengths to either manufacture their cookies in dedicated peanut free facilities or clean and allergen test their product lines.

Following are a list of just a few of the cookie manufacturers that go above and beyond to ensure their cookies are safe for those with peanut allergies. Some can be found on grocery store shelves, others can be ordered online.

HomeFree
Packaged cookies sold in many Shaw's and Whole Foods supermarkets or online. They are made in a dedicated facility free from peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, and dairy.

Cherrybrook Kitchen
Cherrybrook Kitchen makes cookies and cookie mixes that are also available in many supermarkets. Their products are free from peanuts, tree nuts, dairy and egg.

Divvies
Individually packaged cookies available online, made in a dedicated facility and are free from peanut, tree nuts, dairy and egg.

There are several other brands of great tasting cookies that are available for those with peanut or other allergies. Visit www.bestallergysites.com to search our directory of allergen friendly food manufacturers.

When a food allergy diagnosis is made, it is often difficult for siblings or other family members to give up the food that causes the reaction. Some families choose to keep the food in their home but ensure that the allergic individual steers clear of the item. Other families feel the risk is not worth it and clean their home out of any foods that could cause a possible reaction. There is no right or wrong decision. It's completely up to the family, their comfort level and whether they think they'll be able to keep their home and surfaces free of the allergen.

One course of action that has helped many food allergic families is finding substitutes. Not all substitutes work for all families, but following is a list of potential substitutes that might work for yours.

>Peanuts
Sunbutter (sunflower seed butter)
Almond Butter
Soy Butter
Hemp Seed Butter

>Dairy
Rice Milk
Soy Milk
Almond Milk
Potato Milk
Coconut Milk

>Eggs
*Keep in mind that most liquid egg substitutes do contain egg white
In baking—apple sauce, prune baby food, vegetable oil
Powdered egg replacer i.e. No Egg
Ground flax seed mixed with water

>Wheat/Gluten
Amaranth Flour
Arrowroot Flour
Brown/White Rice Flour
Buckwheat Flour
Chickpea Flour
Corn Flour
Corn Meal
Maize Flour
Millet Flour
Potato Flour
Quinoa Flour
Sorghm Flour
Soya Flour
Tapioca Flour
Teff Flour

There are many other food substitutions. This list is to get you started. What are your favorites?

One U.S. food manufacturer I am especially impressed by is Clabber Girl (www.clabbergirl.com).  At home in my cupboard, I have a can of Clabber Girl Corn Starch and a can of Rumford Baking Powder, also made by Clabber Girl.  The side of the Rumford Baking Powder can bears a familiar looking picture of a peanut with a line through it.  It says "Produced in a Peanut-Free Facility".  If you visit the Clabber Girl website (http://www.clabbergirl.com/peanut_free.php), you will see just what exactly Clabber Girl means by "peanut-free":

"...no peanut products are allowed in the Clabber Girl facility. In the transition to become a peanut-free manufacturing facility the company had to utilize a Canadian protocol, because there are no established standards in the U.S. for peanut-free facilities. As a part of the monitoring process, ingredient suppliers are required to provide statements declaring their products to be peanut-free, visitors must sign a statement that they are not bringing any product into the facility that contains peanuts in any form, and product samples are sent to independent labs for testing."

Over the last year, I have been in touch with Clabber Girl, learning about their commitment to producing products in a completely peanut-free environment. We tried some of Clabber Girl’s Delisheries baking mixes, a line of 8 different cookie mixes available to schools for fundraisers--tasty, easy, and peanut-free. You can purchase Delisheries online at http://www.delisheries.com/Store/index.php. We also enjoyed their all purpose baking mix--much like Bisquick--which can be used to make biscuits, pancakes and a number of other foods. I think it’s important we support manufacturers that are so conscious of food allergies, and in this case, peanut allergy aware. Next time you are at the supermarket, keep your eyes open for products made by Clabber Girl and bearing their peanut free symbol. Clabber Girl brands include Clabber Girl, Rumford, Davids and Hearth Club; their most easily found products are their baking powder and corn starch.