Horizon Organic Half and Half

[GoingNuts]

I guess I won't be using the batch of ice cream I just made for Thanksgiving, because Horizon Organic Half and Half now contains a shared facility warning for Tree Nuts and Soy.   Good thing I caught that teeny-tiny print as I was putting the carton away, because I didn't check it in the store.  I've been using it forever.  My bad. 

I have to say my blood pressure meds are being put to the test this week.  Mother-Forker. 

[MaryM]

Glad you caught that, GN.  So frustrating.

[GoingNuts]

I emailed them and asked them that if it is absolutely necesssary to Xcontaminate an item that should be perfectly safe, could they please label it in a way that doesn't require a spotlight and a magnifying glass?  (OK, I wasn't quite so snarky in my email, but maybe I should have been.  )

I'm looking forward to their reply.

[GoingNuts]

Here's their non-response:

On Wed, Nov 22, 2017 at 7:00 PM Horizon Organic <HorizonOrganic@casupport.com> wrote:
Hi Amy,

Thanks for getting in touch—and for your commitment to knowing what's in your food!

At this time we don't have dedicated lines for our products. Our products are manufactured at many different facilities throughout the United States, because of this we cannot guarantee certain ingredients, such as tree nuts, are not being stored at each facility.

However, we take allergenic food concerns seriously and have instituted allergen control programs at each facility manufacturing our products. Our allergen control programs consist of several components, designed to comprehensively address allergenic food concerns at multiple points of production.

We know you're trying to make the best decision for you and your family, and we don't take that lightly. Because we know this is such an important consideration for you, we are not comfortable providing information that could change without notice as we shift production among our facilities.

We really appreciate hearing from you —your questions help us understand what matters most to the families who count on Horizon.


If you have any additional questions please feel free to reply to this email.

From our family to yours,

John & the Horizon Team
Ref: Y2297088

[spacecanada]

 

Though I truly wonder how many milk products are made on shared lines with tree nuts and soy and not labelled as such.  Considering almost all non-dairy milks are made in shared facilities with milk, I bet there is a high probability of other milk products having a cc risk. 

Just throwing that out there.

[GoingNuts]

SC, you may be right about that. 

I had sent a f/u email asking if the lack of a warning on their products meant no chance of x-contamination and never received a reply.  Crossed them off my list, after decades of use. 

[buttons]

Horizon doesn't respond to Cornucopia's surveys about their organic farming practices and is generally considered to be a sucky company in terms of compliance and animal welfare anyway.

[ajasfolks2]

My brain recalling another organic milk/cream / half-and-half that is X-contam with nuts but does not label for it?

OR was it Horizon all along and they are just now labelling?

I will try to get back in here tomorrow to link 2 threads or find the other one I'm thinking of.

But for now, I'd also like to just repeat the above perfect response in top post:


MOTHER-FORKER.

[ajasfolks2]

And now I am wondering about their little shelf-stable box milk singles for lunches???

[GoingNuts]

Well, look what arrived in my Inbox today, after I re-sent my email.  Yet another non-answer - Like I need to be told that warnings are voluntary.  Who do you think you're emailing?   

Hi Amy!

Thank you for your recent email to Horizon Organic®.

The 'may contain' or 'shared facility' messaging on containers is not required per the FDA, it is voluntary messaging that you may see on some packaging.

However, I can assure you that we take allergenic food concerns seriously and have instituted allergen control programs at each facility manufacturing Horizon Organic products. Our allergen control programs consist of several components, designed to comprehensively address allergenic food concerns at multiple points of production. Examples of this program include the following:

·         Supplier control – each ingredient used in production goes through steps to ensure quality and purity.

·         Cleaning procedures – validated procedures to ensure effective clean and rinse is accomplished after each production run.

·         Allergen-free product testing – testing in-process and finished product at frequent intervals to ensure safety.

·         Storage/warehouse – allergen status labeling and isolation of ingredients to ensure no cross-contamination occurs.

·         Production scheduling - scheduling of product runs are done in a manner that ensures allergen-containing products are run only after non-allergen containing products, protecting the immediate subsequent product from contamination risk.

We hope this information is helpful to you.

Happy Holidays,
Adrian & the Horizon Organic Team