BIRTHDAY CAKE - nearly all commercially baked goods are off limits when you have nut allergies. However, Pepperidge Farm frozen cakes are presently NUT-FREE and not made on a shared mfg line. Available at your grocery freezer, they thaw in 20-60 mins... on the drive to the birthday party! Of course, we still must make sure the hands and eating surfaces are washed down.
PIZZA PARTY - most deluxe pizza places make something with pesto in their ovens. That makes most pizza off limits. What to do when your kid is going to a party where everyone is eating pizza? I go to Costco (only from the snack bar), Little Caesar, Papa John's, Domino's or bring Totino's, Lou Malnati's, or DiGiorno. I no longer call Dominos. I call one close to the party location, confirm they aren't baking any promo items with nuts, place an order for delivery (if they deliver) to the party address and let the host know. Again, we still make sure the hands and eating surfaces are washed down. ***Lately, Domino's has been unsafe after the introduction of baked sandwiches with sauce. Domino's corporate office told me that they cannot represent the sauces are safe.
CRACKERS, CHIPS, PRETZELS, CEAREALS - what I can say here is that Snyders' products are NOT SAFE. However, most made for kids brands (e.g. Gerber) are nut-free, but always check the labels. Ritz Crackers, Pirate's Booty, Crispix, Cheese-Its, Goldfish, Ritz Originals, Sun Chips, Cape Cod Chips, Rolled Gold Pretzels, Back to Nature Original/Apple/Blueberry Granola are presently nut-free.
***Organic does not mean safe. Annie's brand are not nut-free. Amy's brand is generally not nut-free. Barbara's brand may be peanut free but is not tree-nut free.
CANDY - this is a real danger zone for nut allergy sufferers. There's Vermont Nut Free Candies, but also, from most grocery or drug store candy aisles: Dum Dum Lollipops, Skittles, Lifesaver Gummies (not Gummy Bears!), Sweet Tarts, Trader Joe's Fruit Leathers are NUT-FREE. Chocolates, in general, are off limits because they are made on the same equipment as nut-containing foods. I have found that regular sized, silver foil wrapped Hershey's Kisses are safe.
ICE CREAM - another danger zone for nut allergy sufferers. Opt for Popsicles brand when you can (I have found most are safe), and read the label first. Most frozen treat makers have a flavor with nuts in it that is made on the same line as the flavors/items without nuts. Even italian ice mfrs use nuts. I have found Breyers Vanilla is essentially NUT-FREE. Unilever told me that they break down their equipment and thoroughly wash and test it for traces of nuts between batches. That's as safe as I have found, in the mainstream, and its a big company that cannot afford to be sued for false labeling. Their labels do not include nuts in their allergy statement, thereby representing through silence that there are not traces of nuts in their vanilla ice cream or frozen yogurt. I am still very leery of even Breyers Vanilla ice cream though, and prefer to go with popsicles. Also, Annette's Homemade Italian Ice (Armitage@Bissell) can dish up NUT-FREE, no cross-contamination servings. They have several regular customers with nut allergies and segregate their safe italian ices in a separate freezer, and use scoops that are specially identified for the non-nut containers.
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