Talking Allergies

I just came back from shopping and I was very excited to see that Quaker is now making granola bars without peanuts. They have a peanut free facility!!!!!!!!! The product I picked up is an Apple Crumble Bar, but on the back it shows several different products which are manufactured in this facility. Bravo, another step for PA individuals.

Is the facility also nut free?

I couldn't find anything on their website: http://www.quakeroats.ca/html/eng_faq.html

That's great news.....I've tried making my own granola bars but they weren't pretty!! haha Hooray for Quaker!

Kirsten's mom,

Thank you, I feel as if I have won the 649!!!!!!!!

I have just got off the phone with Quaker.
They make Harvest Crunch in the same facility so technically speaking They are not made in a nut free facility but apparently it is closed off and everyone must wash down before entering.(so there is no possible cross contamination)
Not all their bars are peanut/nut free they must have a large red flag stating peanut free

The flavours that are peanut/nut free are:

chocolate chip,
smores,
rocky road,
bumble berry,
banana delight,
apple crumble,
raspberry crumble

I have commented that they should however change the flag to read Peanut/nut free.

Fantastic news!! My son absolutely loved granola bars before he was diagnosed with his PA -- he was grinning ear to ear when I told him! Thanks for the additional info. Sil.

Does anyone know if any of these granola bars are milk and egg free?

Thanks for that!

These are the new Peanut-Free Quaker Chewy Bars , and they appear to be egg free, from what I've seen. They are not dairy free. (Boo!!)

Quaker cannot say that they are nut free because at the moment the only available detection test for tree nuts is for almond (and perhaps hazelnut - I have to check that). They can test for almonds and prove there is no almond in the bars, but they can't test for any other kind of tree nut. So they cannot truly say they are nut free. And that is why they don't have "nut-free" on their packaging. (But I do believe that they are doing everything they can to make their bars free from nuts, and would give them to my nut-allergic allergic child.)

By the way, no other company making a supposedly 'nut-free" product can prove that their product is completely nut-free either.

For a bit more info about detection tests, go to http://certification-allergie.com/index.php?rub=4&action2=&lang=en&inscription=&courriel=. The AQAA has a new certification program, and they will only certify that foods are free of peanuts, almonds, milk and eggs.

(Amazing what you learn in Allergy Land, ain't it? )

K.

_________________
Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Thanks for the info, Karen.

An e-mail I just fired off to Certified Allergen Control http://certification-allergie.com/index ... 2=&lang=en :
Hurray! Thank you for a program that we consumers can trust. Until now we have had to assume that the person on the other end of the line/receiving the e-mail was allergen aware enough to respond to our inquiries.
I have often commented that I would gladly pay an extra 0.35$ if the product carried a claim of being egg/milk free.
In my future inquiries, I will refer to your program in the effort to get more companies involved.
Thank you for assisting to keep people safe. You can't imagine the anxiety we feel in the grocery stores.
One comment on your list of products, it is hard to read the label on your website. Perhaps you could have a button that enlarges the product image?
Thank you again!

My question is though, if they have Harvest Crunch (which has almonds), do they guarantee that their almonds come from a supplier that does not handle peanuts in its plant?

I was told to stay away from nuts altogether, as they can be processed with peanuts. (Yesterday, at my daughter's dance gala, for example, somebody had brought in a can of Planter's cashews which, I'm sure, are treated in a plant that treats peanuts. Cringe!)

Am I too paranoid?