new please help

[Linden]

Jessica that is exactly what we heard from Campbell's/Pepperidge Farm as well - that they only put May Contain if they feel there is still a risk after they have washed the line.

[CMdeux]

Our thinking is similar to Jessica's-- I do not trust Nabisco or Pepperidge Farms to label for low-level XC with pn/tn simply because they share lines without disclosing that on labels.  Kraft (and subsidiaries)-- a special circle of hell all its own shall be reserved just for them, since they won't even reveal the information when you call to ask.

I've begun to suspect that General Mills doesn't either, so we've become rather wary of them wrt breakfast items like cereal, though I definitely still use Gold Medal flour.



On the other hand, they do label VERY well for intentionally included ingredients, and their allergen handling must be very good indeed, since so few people have problems with them, and so many people DO use them (Nabisco, PF, GM, Kraft).   Some of them also treat sesame as a priority allergen-- which is HUGE if you must avoid sesame.

It's really individual.  DD's reaction threshold for some nuts is crazy, very crazy low-- and she HAS consistently reacted to Kraft products that 99% of people with her allergies use regularly without any trouble at all.  But we don't trust 'em.  Reactions trump any rationalizing I can do there-- they may not have ever TOLD me why it is that my kid can't eat marshmallows, in other words, but that doesn't mean that I don't know that they are quite regularly contaminated with one of her allergens.

[Jessica]

I agree about General Mills. They've gone from full disclosure to being very vague in emails. I switched to King Arthur flour-they told me that all of their "signature" flours (bread, white, whole wheat) are made in pn and tn free facilities. I also use Hodgson Mills who has a nice statement right on their website. I still do use GM and even some Kraft and Mondelez (as noted above) but if there's a readily available version from a more allergy-friendly company, I'll get that instead.

[CMdeux]

BUMP for someone looking for info on Ragu

[CMdeux]

I must be talking to the wrong people. Pepperidge Farm told me they clean well between products and will label if they feel there is cross contamination despite thorough cleaning but that they do not have any dedicated lines or facilities. In fact I was told this by all Campbell's brands, all of which we avoid. We also avoid Ragu (which is Unilever?) because of the same thing and I think Chef Boyardee is Con Agra which we mostly avoid (same issue). Pepperidge Farm has also told people (including me) that if the concern is peanuts or tree nuts, none of their products contain peanut (not true-the refrigerated biscuits contain peanut flour) and that nearly everything else BUT graham goldfish are safe. Only thing is, graham goldfish have no warning and PF themselves are telling people they aren't safe. So the only way to know is to call? No thanks. Here's what they sent me in the past:

Snipped and repeated.

PROBABLY,  Ragu is fine if the label reads okay, at least for nuts.