I called Land-o-lakes today to ask. The lady that I talked to seemed to know just what I was asking, and mentioned that she just checked on it for another caller recently. I'm sure they've been getting a few extra calls lately. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img] Anyway, she said the cheese is safe and the butter is safe, but she would have to get back to me about the margarine. I usually don't use L-O-L margarine, but I bought some last time because it was on sale plus I had a coupon (almost free!). I've never even heard of cabot's, so I'm super happy that L-O-L is safe. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Gale
Well, I probably should have waited until I cooled off a bit, but I just sent an e-mail to Land O'Lakes. I'll post the reply if I get one:
I recently spoke with one of your Customer Service Representatives to inquire about the safety of your processed cheese for my severely peanut allergic child. Your representative informed me in no uncertain terms that no Land O'Lakes cheese product should be considered safe for a peanut allergic individual because the cheese is processed in another facility over which Land O'Lakes has no control. I was told that Land O'Lakes will not guarantee any cheese product to be "safe". Today, I was informed that another person had called Land O'Lakes with the same inquiry and was told that Land O'Lakes products ARE safe for peanut allergic individuals.
Here is what you can do to help me (and countless others): Please provide your employees with adequate training to ensure that your product is being represented correctly. The maze that allergic individuals must go through to find safe food is ridiculous and if major companies would at least be able to provide us with accurate information, we could be a little less fearful that our precious child's next bite could be fatal.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Dawn-I think your letter is perfect. They really need someone to speak harshly with them. Even after calling them, I'm just a tiny bit nervous still. I will probably just stick with the butter for now.
Gale
BTW -- Cabot is a Vermont company and I think only distributes to the New England area -- which may be why some of you have not heard of it.
Too bad about the contradictory info. from Land o Lakes...I'm one of the ones that got the "facilities we don't control" response. I hope they get their act together.
Here is the response I received today from Land O'Lakes:
We apologize for the inconsistency of the replies you have received
regarding the
cross-contamination by peanuts of the LAND O LAKES
Unless I hear otherwise, we've been using the Olivio brand spread. It's made with olive oil and my daughter loves it. But, with my luck, there will probably be something wrong with this down the line too! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/biggrin.gif[/img]
Here is the reply I received today. I guess it means they have poorly trained customer service reps working the phones?
Thank you for visiting the Land O'Lakes Web Site.
We understand you concern about potential allergens in food products
and apologize fur
the delay in our response. We are aware of this issue and have
developed quality
programs that attempt to identify or control allergens in our products.
Land O' Lakes, Inc. identifies allergenic ingredients including nuts
and peanuts and all
ingredient constituents on the labels of our packages. These labels
contain the most
accurate information on the ingredients in our products. Furthermore,
we hold suppliers of
our ingredients to these same high standards and require that they
disclose the contents of
their products to Land O' Lakes, Inc.
As we continuously improve the quality of our products at Land O'
Lakes, Inc., the
identification and management of potential allergen concerns will be a
significant priority
for us.
Thank you again for contacting us. It is our goal to supply consumers
with the finest
quality products. As a valued consumer, please feel free to contact us
if we can be of help
in the future.
Please let us know if we can be of assistance in the future.
Sincerely,
Land O'Lakes Consumer Affairs
They mention actual ingredients, but what about cross-contamination issues? I think I'll still limit my land-o-lakes purchases to the real butter.
Gale
If you go on the Cabot cheese website you can find stores in your area by going to "products" and then "where to find us". I live in Pennsylvania and I have found Cabot in Walmart, Shop Rite, and Mr. Zs. Some stores carry more of a variety of products.
I found these products in Florida too.
I hope this helps. This is the link to get you right to the store finder page.
[url="http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.tmpl?left=menu-ourproducts.html&right=htm/storefinder.html"]http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.tmpl?left=menu-ourproducts.html&right=htm/storefinder.html[/url]
[This message has been edited by Emmie (edited May 10, 2002).]
I called Land-o-lakes today to ask. The lady that I talked to seemed to know just what I was asking, and mentioned that she just checked on it for another caller recently. I'm sure they've been getting a few extra calls lately. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/wink.gif[/img] Anyway, she said the cheese is safe and the butter is safe, but she would have to get back to me about the margarine. I usually don't use L-O-L margarine, but I bought some last time because it was on sale plus I had a coupon (almost free!). I've never even heard of cabot's, so I'm super happy that L-O-L is safe. [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
Gale
Well, I probably should have waited until I cooled off a bit, but I just sent an e-mail to Land O'Lakes. I'll post the reply if I get one:
I recently spoke with one of your Customer Service Representatives to inquire about the safety of your processed cheese for my severely peanut allergic child. Your representative informed me in no uncertain terms that no Land O'Lakes cheese product should be considered safe for a peanut allergic individual because the cheese is processed in another facility over which Land O'Lakes has no control. I was told that Land O'Lakes will not guarantee any cheese product to be "safe". Today, I was informed that another person had called Land O'Lakes with the same inquiry and was told that Land O'Lakes products ARE safe for peanut allergic individuals.
Here is what you can do to help me (and countless others): Please provide your employees with adequate training to ensure that your product is being represented correctly. The maze that allergic individuals must go through to find safe food is ridiculous and if major companies would at least be able to provide us with accurate information, we could be a little less fearful that our precious child's next bite could be fatal.
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Dawn
Dawn-I think your letter is perfect. They really need someone to speak harshly with them. Even after calling them, I'm just a tiny bit nervous still. I will probably just stick with the butter for now.
Gale
BTW -- Cabot is a Vermont company and I think only distributes to the New England area -- which may be why some of you have not heard of it.
Too bad about the contradictory info. from Land o Lakes...I'm one of the ones that got the "facilities we don't control" response. I hope they get their act together.
Here is the response I received today from Land O'Lakes:
We apologize for the inconsistency of the replies you have received
regarding the
cross-contamination by peanuts of the LAND O LAKES
Unless I hear otherwise, we've been using the Olivio brand spread. It's made with olive oil and my daughter loves it. But, with my luck, there will probably be something wrong with this down the line too! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/biggrin.gif[/img]
So, bottomline..the L.O.L. butter IS safe?
Or not?
That's all I am interested in right now?
Thanks...momomom
Here is the reply I received today. I guess it means they have poorly trained customer service reps working the phones?
Thank you for visiting the Land O'Lakes Web Site.
We understand you concern about potential allergens in food products
and apologize fur
the delay in our response. We are aware of this issue and have
developed quality
programs that attempt to identify or control allergens in our products.
Land O' Lakes, Inc. identifies allergenic ingredients including nuts
and peanuts and all
ingredient constituents on the labels of our packages. These labels
contain the most
accurate information on the ingredients in our products. Furthermore,
we hold suppliers of
our ingredients to these same high standards and require that they
disclose the contents of
their products to Land O' Lakes, Inc.
As we continuously improve the quality of our products at Land O'
Lakes, Inc., the
identification and management of potential allergen concerns will be a
significant priority
for us.
Thank you again for contacting us. It is our goal to supply consumers
with the finest
quality products. As a valued consumer, please feel free to contact us
if we can be of help
in the future.
Please let us know if we can be of assistance in the future.
Sincerely,
Land O'Lakes Consumer Affairs
They mention actual ingredients, but what about cross-contamination issues? I think I'll still limit my land-o-lakes purchases to the real butter.
Gale
If you go on the Cabot cheese website you can find stores in your area by going to "products" and then "where to find us". I live in Pennsylvania and I have found Cabot in Walmart, Shop Rite, and Mr. Zs. Some stores carry more of a variety of products.
I found these products in Florida too.
I hope this helps. This is the link to get you right to the store finder page.
[url="http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.tmpl?left=menu-ourproducts.html&right=htm/storefinder.html"]http://www.cabotcheese.com/f1.tmpl?left=menu-ourproducts.html&right=htm/storefinder.html[/url]
[This message has been edited by Emmie (edited May 10, 2002).]
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