Goldfish…Safe For Nut Allergic Kids??

I keep a close eye on news of allergen-related recalls or product changes that could affect kids with food allergies, so when I happened to see an article on Goldfish, I quickly clicked through to see what the latest was on this popular kid-friendly snack.

As many of you may already know, the Goldfish brand includes both crackers and a sweet product known as Goldfish Grahams. Thanks to the dedicated team of researchers over at Snack Safely, we now know that these products, although under the same brand name, are not manufactured in the same facilities.

Snack Safely was able to get in touch with Ellen Passero, the Manager of Quality and Consumer Affairs for Goldfish, who passed along some information that we at AllerMates were not aware of previously. Goldfish Grahams, those sweet treats we mentioned earlier, are NOT made on dedicated peanut and tree nut free lines, and therefore could be dangerous for kids with peanut or nut allergies. Goldfish crackers are made on dedicated peanut and tree nut free lines, however there is a possibility that they are also made in facilities that process these allergens. Here is Goldfish’s partial statement to Snack Safely regarding the safety of these snacks:

Your question of which varieties are produced in facilities that do not process peanuts or tree nuts is a little less straightforward.  We produce a wide range of cookie, cracker and bread products at multiple facilities, and the mix of products produced at each facility shifts with demand. That means, at any given time there may be products being made in a facility that is not processing any nuts at the time, but that same product may also be produced in another facility that is processing tree nuts.  However, even within the same facility, we are conscious of allergens and have strict procedures to manage the presence of allergens.  We work closely with organizations like FAAN and FARP in order to understand how we can best manage the risk of allergens while respecting the needs of all consumers. Additionally, it is worth repeating, regardless of if Goldfish crackers are or aren’t being made in a facility that processes tree nuts, Goldfish cracker are always produced on lines that do not process peanuts or tree nuts.

Bottom line: Goldfish crackers could be made alongside other products that contain tree nuts and peanuts, meaning there is a high possibility of cross-contamination that could cause an allergic reaction in kids with peanut or nut allergies. We just so happened to touch upon this issue of whether kids with food allergies should only consume foods from dedicated facilities after reading about the tragic death of a peanut allergic man. But now that we’re faced with this debate of dedicated facility or not once again, we wanted to hear your opinion. What do you think? Should kids with food allergies only eat foods that are manufactured in dedicated facilities? Are Goldfish safe since they’re produced on lines that are peanut and nut free or is that not enough?

xo

Iris

Iris Shamus Wife, mother to three awesome kids and founder/CEO of AllerMates. Based in New York, Iris and her team create helpful content, answer emails, ship their products and obsess every day about keeping kids safe.