Philly Swirl - Spoke to Alex - Please Read

I have not yet tried these treats as I can't find them yet in a store near me but I did email the company to express my thanks. I think it is great when any company makes the effort to accomodate a growing number of the population and make a safe treat!!! Yeah to them! I'm hoping to find them soon so my PA son can enjoy them!!!

Does he make this product for his personal gratification or for profit? I DO understand this is a wonderful service for PA families. If we buy it then that is positive feedback enough. I have seen plenty of positive feedback on this site for his products.
Peggy
[This message has been edited by Peg541 (edited March 10, 2004).]

Unfortunately, I think this is a big reason why more companies will not come out and say their products are peanut free. And this is also why some companies that actually make products containing no peanuts will not say they are safe for people with PA. It drives me crazy when manufacturers say their food doesn't contain peanuts, yet they "can't recommend it for people with PA". It's because some PA people need so much reassurance and proof that it's easier for companies to write us off entirely.
It is a difficult problem. If someone feels they need absolute proof that every raw ingredient could never possibly have been stored in the same warehouse as something containing peanuts, well then, we are going to have problems getting any company to stick their necks out that far.
I trust that the Philly Swirls are peanut free. We bought some the one time we could find them and my son ate some. But I also think there are similar products available that are just as peanut-free but don't say it on the box.
It's too bad the guy feels unappreciated, but I'm kind of with Peg on this--it's a business and he needs to market it to others, too, not just to people with PA. I don't think most people write mash notes or make phone calls to provide moral support to food manufacturers. If he aggressively markets his product, he'll get all the feedback he needs from his sales figures.
Good luck to him! I will look for the product this summer.

I too spoke to Alex about 9 months ago. Very nice guy, but I felt like he was pushing me to do his advetising for him. I had only called to enquire if it were available in Canada. He had me making long distance phone calls to BC from Ontario to call some distributor on his behalf to request they carry the product. I kept getting emails from him asking why I had not called him back with a response from the lady. I felt like I was doing his job. This went on for about 2 weeks then he finally gave up. But I do still get the odd email asking to support him, but we have not even tried his product, I would have thought he could afford to atleast send us a sample so I knew what I was trying to market for him.
I really felt like he gets a lot of FREE advertising on this site and tries to take advantage of our situation making it sound like it's for our child's benefit and not his at all.
Good luck to him, there is a market out there but I think he should find it not me.

I can't not believe what I'm reading. How dare you criticize this KID for sticking his neck out for us. You obviously can't tell, but I have tears running down my face as I'm typing this response. I can remember as if it was yesterday when my daughter was told that she can have philly swirl and not worry about getting sick. Some of you should have seen the look on her face when her allergy free girlfriends commented on how much they love philly swirl. Not a single day goes by that she does not ask me why philly swirl is so different from EVERYONE else. Does anyone have an answer for her? For some of your information, I speak with Alex almost every week (sometimes, 45 minutes at a time) and for some of you to criticize his intentions is truly pathetic. Maybe you have forgotten the last time you called a company asking them about their products. These guys have been a total blessing to my family and YES, they do not have PA in their families, which should tell you how much they believe in us. It's my job as a parent to make sure that their effort does not go unnnoticed so they can have the strength to continue to support our cause. By reading some of these comments, it seems that they need plenty of help.

Couple things here...
Alex's child is PA, isnt he? (or is there SOME allergy in the family?)
Now, my comments;
The products sound great for people that are PA and concerned about x-contam. We are not in that boat (we are in <2> boats)
Our first boat consists of DW, who is ana to peanuts/nuts. She eats any type of ice cream, etc, and reads the label. Obviously, she wont eat something like 'fudge brownie sundae' without looking, but very easily could choose vanilla/chocolate without reading labels. Hell, I BUY the ice cream in our house, and I wouldnt read the label of vanilla. That doesnt have nuts, afaik, does it? [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img] (This same boat could easily consist of Sara as well, who has NKFA, though we avoid nuts for her, though she has had PB 2X without problems.)
Boat #2 consists of Caitlin. With her FA's, cows milk ice cream is NOT an option. We go the soy route for her. And we stick with vanilla/chocolate. Thats pretty much that. Other products that are milk free usualyl have SOMETHING in them, that she'd react to (banana, grape, etc..).
So, my conclusion:
Alex, thank you for making a product that is truly safe for PA/NA kids. Im sure they appreciate it very much, as do their parents.
Currently, it is NOT necessary for us to buy your product. We could, very easily, for 2/5 of our family. Why havent we? No reason, I suppose. DW is on weight watchers,, and I would choose whatever is available/on sale at the store. Im not picky.
And I you are not asking me 'why are you not buying my product', since this wasnt your post/intention.
So, I dont know ehre I was going with this (since my coffee hasnt kicked in yet), but for us, we havent hit that point yet. But when we do, Im sure we will consider your products. At that time, I may send you an email stating how good it is.
Jason
Caitlin 4-17-00 Allergic to Dairy, Egg, Wheat, Bananas, Grapes, Rye, Sesame, Beef, Garlic, Mustard, Onion, Peas and Avoiding Latex and all Nuts
Sara 2-13-98 NKA (avoiding nuts) (Happy 6th Bday!)
Meghan 2-28-03 Outgrown? Reflux - Alimentum feeder, Stopped Zantac - RAST neg. - PASSED Yo-Baby MILK challenge
[url="http://community.webshots.com/user/jtolpin"]http://community.webshots.com/user/jtolpin[/url]

DS is having tonsils and adenoids out tomorrow. I'm going out today to buy him a lot of Philly Swirl popsicles. Last summer I bought a box and put it in the freezer at work. I put a sickey on the freezer saying "help yourself". They must have liked them becuase they ate them. I will do the same this summer with the sandwiches.

I have also talked to Alex and I go out of my way to tell everyone I can about this company and their wonderful products. The Philly Swirl sorbet cups are DAIRY, EGG, WHEAT, and NUT free. Not only all that but the are also under 100 calories each (2 points for those of us on Weight Watchers!) and simply yummy. My only complaint about them is that they are very hard to find.
For those of you who are fans, you should get one of their tee-shirts. They are very cool looking and great advertising for a company that would be in our best interest to see become very successful.
For those of us dealing with multi allergies products like this are very rare. Seeing my son's excitement over these literally brings tears to my eyes.
My husband actually talked some people who where looking at another frozen treat into buying these instead by telling them how much the kids love them - not even mentioning the allergy connection. I about died laughing at him.
Oh, and they do not have a allergy person in either family, there was a time when they thought there could be a dairy allergy but it was just a normal baby thing going on. Of course they want to be a profitable successful business but I am behind anyone who introduces safe yummy kid friendly products into the world.

I am appalled at some of the comments in this thread. Every single one of you know how hard it is to find products that are safe. Here we have a safe (and very tasty) ice cream product available to our PA children and some of you are bashing the creator? If you don't want to call manufacturers or tell people about the product - then don't. I rarely get upset or involved in the drama that often consumes these boards, but I cannot be quiet this time. Alex is a great guy. He is the ONLY person that voluntarily calls to answer your questions instead of senidng some generic e-mail or letter. Let's give him the props he deserves.
Jaime

Please don