Peanut Added to Kids Cereals to Boost Nutritional Content
Food Allergy Mom Colleen R. writes with the following warning:
I want to pass on to others that General Mills is putting peanut flour in some of their cereals - Cocoa Puff Combo’s, Strawberry Chex, and Chocolate Chex. We had a near miss at our house with Cocoa Puff Combo’s, as I just skimmed the ingredients. We have eaten regular Cocoa Puffs and I missed the warning. I contacted General Mills and was basically blown off. I think it’s poor business practise to put one of the top eight children’s allergens in kid’s cereal just to boost the nutritional content. (It’s a kid’s cereal, how much nutrtion do parents really expect!) Thought others would appreciate the head up.
If it’s labeled, clearly the company has done what is required. On the other hand, I will now think twice and probably never buy any type of Rice Chex again for fear of cross contamination. Moms of food allergic children do not need one more thing to wonder about as they send their kids to school in the morning?
What are your thoughts on this?
October 27, 2008 @ 2:51 pm
I think General Mills should re-think this practice, and their attitude toward their customers. Thanks for the tip. I just bought one of the other chex cereals this weekend, but I won’t be buying any more until they change this policy.
October 27, 2008 @ 8:34 pm
AT a minimum,, they should BOLD the nut or peanut ingredients as a courtesy to those with allergies.
October 27, 2008 @ 11:14 pm
I think this is very irresponsible of General Mills. My mother-in-law loves to make Chex Mix snacks during the holidays. We will have to be extremely careful around this now. Thanks for the info!
October 28, 2008 @ 11:00 am
This is reminding me of a few years ago when Kelloggs announced they were making their Poptarts healthier by adding milk. Many of us wrote letters. I even sent a picture of my son surrounded by Poptart boxes we purchased prior to the change. Victory! I received a letter thanking me for my feedback and telling me that they would not add milk to their brown sugar and cinnamon and fruit flavored Poptarts. Maybe we need to start a letter writing campaign to GM. There is no need for peanut flour to be in Strawberry Chex! BTW, it is clearly identified on the label if you were wondering.
Joanne
www.foodallergyassistant.com
foodallergyassistant.blogspot.com
October 28, 2008 @ 12:29 pm
Hi, I am teh Director of Consumer Services at General Mills I saw your comment and wanted to offer some clarification. General Mills does take allergen labeling very seriously. In fact, General Mills staff worked very closely with the FDA to develop their allergen labeling standards because we had already implemented what they hoped to accomplish with their standards.
The cereals you noted do not contain peanut flour as an ingredient. They are labeled as containing peanut ingredients as they are produced on a line that also produces peanut containing products. Therefore, we are being responsible by calling out peanuts in the ingredient panel as a precaution for those who deal with peanut allergies. Rice Chex cereal, on the other hand, is labeled as gluten free because it can be produced in a manner that precludes cross contamination. Please be assured that you can continue to enjoy Chex cereals without concern and that the labeling for all of our products calls out any allergens that may be present.
Thanks,
October 28, 2008 @ 12:41 pm
Hi Jeff,
Please DOUBLE CHECK.
First, the ingredient list for Chocolate Chex, Strawberry Chex and Cocoa Puff Combos lists peanut flour. General Mills must have had a good reason for including peanut there.
In my mind, this means that either peanut IS an ingredient or peanut MAY be an ingredient and either way these cereals would not be considered safe for someone who has a peanut allergy.
You wrote:
If someone has a peanut allergy, they cannot “continue to enjoy” cereals “without concern” when “allegens may be present”
October 28, 2008 @ 1:07 pm
My sister emailed me this. I’m glad I saw it. It’s frustrating that we get to cross off one more thing to our “safe” list. As someone wrote above, we also we make our own chex mix, since we can’t buy it already packaged. Hopefully Crispix hasn’t changed their ingredients or packaging since I’ve last looked.
October 28, 2008 @ 7:46 pm
I’m done with General Mills. Why does everything have to be peanut?
+
October 28, 2008 @ 9:40 pm
I agree. I really like the rice chex. Why do we need to add varieties with peanut so that we have to question all varieties?
No more enjoying Chex for our family.
October 29, 2008 @ 10:03 am
I apologize that I was unclear in my earlier comment.
Each variety of cereal (or any product in the grocery) should be looked at as unique. Rice Chex cereal is made in a facility that does not process peanut ingredients and is, therefore, not labeled as containing peanuts. It is also gluten-free. The Strawberry Chex cereal, while containing Rce Chex cereal as a component, is blended in a facility that also processes products that contain peanut flour. Even though we don’t use peanut as ingredient in Strawberry Chex, we include it on the ingredient list due to the possibility of cross contamination and the severity of peanut allergies. We then highlight peanut as an allergen in bold print at the end of the ingredient information on the package.
My point was, you can confidently continue to enjoy Chex cereal varieties, and others, that do not list peanuts as an allergen on the package. If there is any chance of peanut ingredients being in the package, we will label it accordingly. With all food products, we urge people with food allergies to always read the ingredient label to check for the presence of ingredients that should be avoided.
I hope this is a clearer explanation. Thanks.
November 4, 2008 @ 5:07 pm
Thanks for the explanation, Jeff. I have a peanut-allergic child, and will continue to buy the varieties of Chex that are not made with peanut ingredients.
November 14, 2008 @ 12:07 am
Sorry General Mills-
I’m out too…
which means I wont buy these for anyone in our family.
Hope you get lots of new business with your peanut flavors because you wont get mine.
November 15, 2008 @ 3:30 pm
I dont get the General Mills’ response.
It makes me think that they know their cereals do contain peanut. Either way, they ought to get a peanut and nut free facility. If they can accommodate those who avoid gluten why cant they do the same for those who avoid peanut?
November 16, 2008 @ 10:52 pm
My son has allergies to peanut, milk, egg and has celiac as well. I was so very happy when Rice Chex went gluten free and I called to confirm no chance of cross contamination with foods my son is allergic to. I was assured that there was no possibility of peanut, milk or egg in this product. So I feed it to my son and in fact we eat a lot of this cereal. I was thrilled to find a safe cereal for my son that does not cost 5 or 6 dollars and that the rest of the family likes as well.
Now reading this blog I am second guessing myself. I am going to have to do some more research on this product before I continue to buy it for my family. But, this is another reminder that with food allergies I can never let my guard down and never ever assume. Things change, I know. My main job is to keep my son safe and the fact that General Mills has actually made a gluten free cereal and has responded to this blog and has given me postive food allergy responses in the past is exactly why I am not crossing them off my list yet.
Dealing with food allergies is something that never leaves my mind. I feel I have a pretty good handle on the gluten free foods, but food allergies cause extreme anxiety in me. I will find out where Rice Chex is made and what other foods are produced there as well, and find out where the other Chex cereals are made and post another blog with that info.
November 16, 2008 @ 11:47 pm
I had heard that manufacturers were using peanut flour because it was less expensive than regular flour, not because of nutritional value.
November 17, 2008 @ 10:56 am
I am thinking that if enough people send a letter to General Mills urging them to rethink their idea. perhaps they will respond more appropriately? As large a company as they are, they (I would assume) have a dietician on staff that should be able to give them healthier suggestions that they could use. I agree with the previous comments that allergies are ALWAYS on my mind with my child and no matter what someone else tells me- ultimately, it’s not their child who could possibly die from a small mistake. I think if General Mills is this worried about creating helathier cereals that they should market a better, healthier line in lieu of Coco Puffs, etc. We have enjoyed Rice Chex also but from hearing this, we will be strictly on Erewhorn GF cereals.
November 17, 2008 @ 11:44 am
Thanks Jeff for the response. According to his reply it looks like Rice Chex is made in a peanut free facility and that is what their CS reps indicated to me. I will continue to buy rice chex as it is a ceral we can enjoy with my peanut, egg, dairy and soy alleric son. I am glad they take to time to label correctly. I would rather have a maybe labels and avoid it all toghether than to take a risk.
December 15, 2008 @ 10:28 pm
I noticed peanut flour as the last ingredient in Booberry, not that I’d buy this regularly for my PA daughter, but I was hoping to share some of my childhood memories with her. I don’t understand the point - if it’s the last ingredient, it’s the smallest percentage, so what would be the big deal in just dropping it? It wasn’t a x-contamination warning.
January 17, 2009 @ 6:22 am
I have allergies to all kinds of nuts I was tested for, as well as corn, among other allergies. Corn is never listed on ingredient labels. It makes it difficult for me to know what is and isn’t safe. I agree the labels need to be more clear and that I wish products that don’t contain peanuts would simply be made in separate facilities so the many people with allergies could still enjoy a bowl of cereal safely. I know I will personally never be able to eat most cereals because of the corn, but I hope my comment at least aids in the effort to make them safer for others.
March 16, 2009 @ 3:52 pm
[…] While these new cereal options are great for the gluten-free crowd, people with other food allergies beware! Strawberry Chex and Cinnamon Chex list soy, milk and peanut on their labels. Back in October of 2008 when Allergy Moms’ Gina Clowes wrote about General Mills putting peanut flour in their cereals, the Director of Consumer Affairs for General Mills responded with: “Each variety of cereal (or any product in the grocery) should be looked at as unique. Rice Chex cereal is made in a facility that does not process peanut ingredients and is, therefore, not labeled as containing peanuts. It is also gluten-free. The Strawberry Chex cereal, while containing Rce Chex cereal as a component, is blended in a facility that also processes products that contain peanut flour. Even though we don't use peanut as ingredient in Strawberry Chex, we include it on the ingredient list due to the possibility of cross contamination and the severity of peanut allergies. We then highlight peanut as an allergen in bold print at the end of the ingredient information on the package. […]
April 7, 2009 @ 2:30 pm
Personally, I am ECSTATIC about there being peanut flour in some of your cereals. I have a tree-nut allergy child who is coming up negative in peanuts now, and I am looking for foods to have himeat with peanut flour.
Parents, GM is doing what they should be, and in fact are being *extremely* careful. There are still Chex options for nut free cereals. Just don’t eat the others rather than ban the whole company!
I am an allergy parent, and thank you GM for making a food with peanut flour. Having my child eat this is actually HELPING him.
May 5, 2009 @ 10:45 am
This morning my peanut/tree nut allergic son opened a brand new box of Lucky Charms. We’ve eaten this cereal for years. Upon him finishing his bowl of cereal, a hive developed on his face. It was treatable with Benadryl and hopefully won’t return. I called General Mills to tell them, and what I found out made me really mad. They will list the top 8 allergens on the label as an ingredient if there is even the slightest possibility that one of them could be in there (cross contamination included).
They don’t, however, list if the product was “made in a facility where peanuts/tree nuts are present”. I questioned them further because I wanted clarification and she again indicated that even if a product is made in a facility where the allergens are present — if they do not share the same manufactoring equipment they do not label the product to indicate that it was “made in a facility”. I told them that I thought it was very irresponsible of them and that until they changed their practices, they’ve lost a customer in me. I’m not willing to gamble with my child’s life.
I just wanted to pass that information along to everyone — I trusted them for years. Now that I know this, I can’t say that the trust is still there.
May 20, 2009 @ 12:06 am
To list peanut as an ingredient when it is NOT an ingredient is to state a falsehood. General Mills should state that the cereal is produced on equipment that handles products containing peanuts. This is why we need clear, federal regulation of these statements. If someone wants to make sure their child who has outgrown a peanut-allergy consumes small amounts of peanut regularly, they might purchase this product believing it contained peanut when, in fact, it did not. This sort of labelling that General Mills is using is “cover your ass” labelling that is definitely not helpful for the food allergic community.