Quality Street and Roses are freely passed around, Christmas pudding is brought to the table and the smell of stuffing fills the air. Nut allergy sufferers must be careful at Christmas.
There is great demand for chocolate this time of year, and people often try new brands or flavours. The ingredients of the chocolates are on the wrapper or box, but nut allergy sufferers might find food packaging unclear and this is a problem when buying at Christmas.
Below are some examples:
Unclear Packaging: May Contain Traces of Nuts
No Nuts, but Cannot Guarantee Nut-Free
Factory Nuts: How Does this Affect the Product?
Why Manufacturers Use Unclear Food Packaging Text
These messages are frustrating when you see no nuts in the ingredients, and make you wary about nuts being in the product when you are probably safe to eat it.
The reason manufacturers do not state their products are nut-free perhaps lies with the complex nature of some allergies, where people have reactions without touching or even consuming a nut.
Claire Dunne, medic at Cardiff University School of Medicine, said: “With more serious allergies people are allergic to particles of nuts in the air, and they have a reaction to it. It depends where mast cells are activated, in one place or everywhere in the body.”
In theory, there could be no nuts in the ingredients or in the manufacturing area, but nut particles could get into the product via the air. Unlikely, but a possibility, so manufacturers avoid saying their products are nut-free.
There are exceptions, three of which are from chocolate manufacturers you might not have heard of. One pledges nuts ‘definitely should not’ be in their ingredients, and two promise nut-free products.
Celtic Chocolates: Nine Tenths of the Way to a Promise
Celtic Chocolates, an Irish company west of Dublin, makes ‘nut-free’ products but falls short of stating it unequivocally. The ‘Nut Policy’ section on their website reads:
“We do not use nuts in the factory and none of our ingredients contain nuts. We prohibit staff from consuming nuts in the canteen or bringing nuts on site and conduct spot checks to make sure this rule is adhered to.”
So far so good, but then comes a qualification:
“It is our understanding that it is not possible to sustain a claim of ‘nut free’ in the same way as we do dairy/gluten/wheat free as the possibility of accidental contamination by airborne nut particles throughout the supply chain would have to be eliminated.”
In other words, you are safe to eat their products but they don’t state it in case there is an unlikely incident of air contamination. Nuts are simply not mentioned on the packaging of their FreeFrom chocolate bar range.
Nuts Not Mentioned on Bar
Celtic Chocolates: Bar from FreeFrom Range
Take nothing away from Celtic Chocolates though. Their Nut Policy is clear, and what they are conveying, without quite saying it, is their products are nut-free. In Cardiff city centre, you can find them at two Holland and Barrett stores indicated on the map:
Plamil and Kinnerton: Nut-Free Promises
Plamil and Kinnerton are slightly more definitive in their claims. Plamil state on their FreeFrom chocolate packets: “Always made at our place where no nuts are ever used.”
They are less direct on their website in explaining their nut-specific allergy claims, but do state “Allergy management is at the heart of how we make our product”. They list nuts as one of the allergens this applies to. But to see ‘no nuts’ on the packaging is refreshing.
Plamil: No Nuts are Ever Used
Chocolate: Bar from Plamil Range
Kinnerton write on their products: “Made with the Nut Safety Promise”, which, if you look on the allergen information on their website, is very similar to that of Celtic Chocolates. They also say it is “absolutely stronger” than May Contain labels, giving a detailed explanation of how they physically separate nuts through segregated warehouses, staff clothing and mould washing units.
They do maintain: “There are no promises in life”, but they have had no incidents of allergic reactions since this segregation began in 1999.
Kinnerton Helping People
I contacted Kinnerton and spoke to Morganna James, who said she would ask the appropriate people to provide information about how their nut policy helps people. She replied: “It offers a peace of mind and this certainly comes through when we speak to nut allergy sufferers.
Nut Safety Promise: Kinnerton’s Packaging Label
“We are currently looking into how the importance of having the nut safety promise on our products motivates both nut allergy sufferers and non-nut allergy sufferers.
“People with young children who suffer from Nut allergies are always relieved to discover that Kinnerton and reassured by the Nut Safety promise.”
So, if you want to buy chocolate for someone with a nut allergy this Christmas, choose Plamil, Kinnerton or Celtic Chocolates. Again, head to Holland and Barrett for Plamil, while Kinnerton products are widely available.
In the interviews below, Cardiff residents Morgan and Henry speak about food packaging from different perspectives. Henry has a nut allergy while Morgan has Type 1 Diabetes. They talk about their allergies, their diets and their experiences of using ingredients on food packaging.
[Morgan]
[Henry]
Nut Allergy Questions 