Children's Allergies

I've been under the impression that all mainstream chocolate candy was off limits for PA kids. But is this really true? It hasn't been an issue before because my son is only 3 but now that he's in daycare, he's heard of chocolate from the other kids and is already talking about eating it for Halloween. I think someone in the Halloween Q&A mentioned giving plain M&M's to a PA kid. Is that OK? I thought they were for sure off limits so maybe I misread the post.

TIA!!

       
 

That depends on your comfort zone.  I have a tight comfort zone because my daughter has reacted to teeny amounts (less than a dab on someone's hand who gave her a fresh banana).  Plain M&M's are run on the same equipment and are labelled as a may contains. 

Hershey's labels for cross-contamination/same facility very well.  If a candy is made in the same factory as nut products, it will be labelled.

I don't know of any fun size chocolate (that I'm aware of) that is safe for PA.  I have read the labels on every bag I have seen. 

Most Hershey's Kisses are safe.  Please check the labels for any warnings; but I saw caramel Kisses and candy corn Kisses at the grocery store today, and both were safe for PA.  (I'm defining safe as no "may contains", "made in the same facility" etc since studies show that these products can contain enough of the allergen to trigger a rxn.)   Again, please check the label for every variety because they do make a couple of nut varieties.

In the regular size bars, Hershey's milk chocolate is safe.  Unfortunately, the fun size bars are not.    I'm not sure if any of the other regular size Hershey's  candies are safe.  I know KitKat and Twix are not.

Maybe you can trade the little bars for one regular size Hershey's milk chocolate bar or Kisses?

Amanda's Own (http://www.amandasown.com) is free of milk and nuts.  Vermont Nut Free (http://www.vermontnutfree.com) is free of nuts.  Both companies make their candies in a dedicated nut free facility and were started by parents with FA kids.

Anne

Edited to correct typo

I didn't think of Tootsie.  (I was thinking regular chocolate bars.)  All Tootsie products/flavors are safe - the company doesn't use any nuts in any products.

Do any of your products contain peanuts or nuts?

At this time, all of our confections are completely peanut, tree nut and nut product free. We have no peanut or tree nut products in any of our facilities.

These are all their products:  http://www.tootsie.com/products.php

Tootise rolls/pops contain milk,  for anyone else dealing with MA. 

Anne 

My 12 yo PA son does occasionally eat M&Ms with his epipen nearby. It's risky, though, because there is a may contain statement on the label. One summer a few years ago, he got an M&M to his mouth and felt a tingling in his lips, then immediately threw the bag away and washed his mouth because he "knew" they were unsafe.  He also eats Nestle Crunch, but really, none of those things are truly safe. I don't think it's quite as bad as Russian roulette, but I know we are taking a risk by allowing him to eat this stuff occasionally.

I try to buy Skippers, which is a better tasting version of M&Ms made by Vermont Nut Free. They are wicked expensive though, and not readily available except thru specialty shops and internet order.

If your son really wants chocolate at Halloween, Ghirardelli chocolate chips are easy to find and have no warning on the label.