I attend a lot of Gluten and/or Allergy Free Expos and every time I go, either as a vendor or as a consumer, I always get something good out of attending. Here’s why you should consider attending one in your area:
1. You’re Newly Diagnosed: Overwhelmed, having a hard time knowing what’s correct information on the internet or where you should start? Expos always have a roster of great speakers who can help demystify the new world you’re entering whether with information or wonderful recipes to try. Try to attend as many talks as you can to get a superb overview of how you can take your next step.
2. You Were Diagnosed Ages Ago: You too should try to attend as many talks as you can at the show. There have been so many studies of late with Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance and food allergies that you just may learn something new.
3. Taste Does Count: There are samples galore at these shows, it’s actually a good idea to come with an empty stomach or you’ll be full really fast. I heard a child say to her parent, “I can eat EVERYTHING here?” with wonderment. It just doesn’t get much better than that. And whether you’re newly diagnosed or old hat, you’ll be surprised at how good specialty diet food is these days and just how much variety is out there.
4. Discover a Small or Local Food Processor: Big grocery stores are getting so much better about offering gluten free and allergy friendly foods and that makes it easier to get your groceries done in one place. Yet at the same time, they all carry mostly the same items and those are the bigger names in the special diet world. At a trade show you’ll find smaller processors with innovative offerings and wonderful local restaurants and bakeries that have delights you just won’t find in your large grocery store.
5. You’ll Be Surrounded by People Just Like You! Really, imagine a world where everybody “Gets It”. Every booth you go to, all of the speakers, all of the people around you are experiencing the same issues that you do. You can strike up a conversation with any friendly stranger and discover that you’re not alone. Priceless!
You might be asking how you’ll know the difference between the old packaging and the new. The answer is really simple: smiles and love.
Yes, smiles and love straight from our family to yours. The new packaging front has 2 new icons on it that you haven’t seen before: a green happy face and a dedicated facility red heart. Like this:
On the back of the packaging under the ingredients, you will see a new statement reading:
These delicious products are produced/packaged for you in our own dedicated facility that is free of the most common food allergens (peanut, tree nuts, dairy, egg, soy, wheat, sesame, shellfish, fish, and mustard), gluten, preservatives, colors, artificial flavors, and genetically modified ingredients.
In Canada, if the item has pure oats in it, it will say CF, Celiac Friendly instead. And, of course, have French writing as well.
Any questions? Please give us a call toll free at 1-866-714-5411.
After many months of planning and action, we are in the final phase of our soy elimination: packaging phase out. What this means is that there are no longer any products for sale in the Nonuttin’ online store that contain soy yet you will still see that products have the old packaging that has soy warnings on it (contains soy lecithin for chocolate items, may contain soy for those without chocolate). This will continue for some time while we run out the packaging we purchased before the soy phase out; some products with up to one year of packaging remaining.
If you are purchasing from our online store, all items are soy free and produced in our top 11 food allergen free dedicated facility, even if you see soy on the package. Any product in your home or on store shelves dated before June 1 is NOT soy free.
If you have a soy allergy or intolerance and have absolutely any questions, please don’t hesitate to give us a call toll free at 1-866-714-5411
I am very pleased to announce that we are removing soy from the Nonuttin’ facility.
Soy has been very helpful for many food allergic consumers as a high protein replacement for nuts. However, many customers have contacted us or spoken to us at trade shows about their increasing allergies or intolerance to soy. Soy is known to be cross-reactive for those with peanut allergies and Celiac Disease.
After carefully reviewing these requests and scouring the planet high and low for high quality ingredient replacements, the decision was made to transition away from soybeans and soy lecithin.
Throughout March, we will continue to package the soybean based Energy Explosion trail mix in both 30 g snack packs and black zip top pouches.
April 1, 2012, we will begin our transition by removing the dry roasted soybeans from our production floor. All Energy Explosion trail mix finished packages will remain in our facility and be sold on a first come, first served basis until all stock is depleted.
Once the production facility has all soybeans removed, soy allergen testing protocols will be implemented so that some Nonuttin’ products will have the May contain: soy absent from their labels.
Soy lecithin will remain in the facility (present in our chocolate chips and chunks) until we finish using the packaging that indicates contains or may contain: soy. While soy lecithin is suitable for many with soy allergies, it is not guaranteed risk free and it is prudent to continue labelling all products that are on lines with chocolate until the change is complete.
I expect that the finished transition to a completely soy free facility will be completed in 2013 and we will keep you up to date when that final date is determined.
Our staff thanks you in advance for your patience with the transition. We’re very excited to become free of ALL of the top 10 food allergens!
