October 30, 2008

Gluten-Free Halloween Candy

Last Halloween I passed out a couple of different kinds of candy including some with wheat. My theory was if I bought some with wheat I wouldn't have to worry as much about people in the house eating it before Halloween. I felt bad when Halloween came around and I grabbed a piece of wheat candy and a little girl explained that she couldn't have it becaue she was allergic to wheat. Luckily I had other options for her. Because I heard that some siblings would trade 1 piece of GF candy for multiple pieces of wheat candy. Pretty sneaky... :)

Remember to check labels regularly. Candy manufacturers can change ingredients or ingredient vendors and are also known to change facilities. Also check the ingredients on different sizes and versions of candies. A candy in a fun size may not always have the same ingredients as the full size version.

Are you looking for natural, vegan, gluten-free, casein free, organic lollipops? Yummy Earth has lollipops that are allergen free and also free of high fructose corn syrup.

If you like Tootsie roll products and are wondering if certain candies are gluten-free click here to go to their website. Under "Product Nutrition" select the appropriate candy and it will tell you the allergen information for that product.

Just Born products:

Are your candies gluten-free?
The modified food starch that we use in our candies in corn starch. We are in the process of updating our package labels to reflect products that are gluten free. Our gluten free brands are: MIKE AND IKE® Brand Candies, HOT TAMALES® Brand Candies, PEEPS® Marshmallow Candies, PEANUT CHEW® Brand candies, TEENEE BEANEE® Jelly Beans and JUST BORN® Jelly Bean. This information pertains to all Just Born candies that we make and package at our two manufacturing locations (Bethlethem, PA and Philadelphia, PA) and are in their orginal packaging. Please be aware that we do sell some of our products in bulk to other manufacturers who may be repackaging them in another facility. We encourage consumers to read the labels carefully for any gluten information on products that might be packaged elsewhere. For further questions, we recommend consumers call our Consumer Relations Team toll-free at 1-888-645-3453.