EASTER

With Easter around the corner, you are going to see that finding candies for someone with common food allergies is going to be hard. A lot of holidays have candy associated with them. Candy companies know this and go into overdrive when holidays are approaching. Most candies are processed in the same facilities as each other making it so that cross contamination is a bigger threat. But, it depends on the brand and facility made in. Last year, I bought my kids Peeps for their Easter baskets. I saw pink and read it, it was safe. So, I found the blue and bought it too. When I got home I realized that the blue Peeps actually were made on shared equipment with nuts. Then when going back to the store I noticed that I could find SOME yellow ones that did not have the warning. So, it varies. I tend to stick mostly to candy that is year round and not found in the holiday section of the store. Of course, I venture over to pick through and find what I can but I can find some of the same things but safe in the normal candy section.

Another thing that can be hard is the Easter eggs. If you have your own Easter egg hunt you can control the candies being put into the eggs. It is best to start with fresh new eggs that have never been used to avoid contamination. If you are going to another hunt, it can be difficult because there will most likely be chocolate. Yes, you could let them find the eggs but just taking out the chocolate may not be a great idea. Typically easter candy is covered in foil and not sealed. The best option in that situation would be to either be sure that there will be safe candy or bring some to trade out for. That is what we do for Halloween. We separate the safe from the unsafe or unsure. Then we let them replace it with allergen free candy that we had bought ahead of time. I also hand out candy that is the BIG 8 free every year.

If you have any questions or would like some more pointers, please let me know!