Talking Allergies

Yesterday I called Post to inquire about Honey Shreddies and Shreddies because I noticed there are also Shreddies with Pecans and Shreddies with Almonds yet there are no May Contain warnings on the other shreddies. The rep told me that the regular and honey Shreddies May Contain Almond and Pecan as they are on the same line. The rep didn't even understand May contain and told me "But they aren't in the cereal."

I then realized that we have Post Alphabits at home and it says "May contain wheat."

Called today and was told firstly that Shreddies May contain Almond, Pecan and Walnut (yesterday did not say walnut). I asked about consistency in labelling and after a long wait on hold she told me that they are trying to figure out how they are handling the labelling.

I appreciate that May Contains is not required by law but most of the big companies do it and do it well. In contrast to Post, I called Quaker and their rep was fabulous and assured me they always label for May Contains.

When a product did not have May Contains I would sometimes look at another product from the same company and erroneously assume that if they label one product for May Contains they would label all like that. Makes me physically ill to know that they only label SOME for May Contains!!!

And people wonder why we have to be so vigilant?

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

WOW!! Thank you for posting this. We buy Shreddies ALL THE TIME!!! They are always in our house, and I am shocked to learn that they are a "May Contain" for these tree nuts. Our son isn't a fan of Shreddies, so he doesn't eat them very often, but I eat them ALL THE TIME and don't think twice about handling his food afterwards. No more, now that I know this. Good thing our allergic on-line community shares things we learn for the benefit of all of us. Thank you for sharing this surprising news.

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

Walooet, that's concerning info.

Did they mention if those hyper-instensive washes are done between lines?

Was it just a junior customer rep you spoke to, or someone higher up the food chain?

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin

I spoke with two different reps; one on Monday and one on Tuesday. The first knew little.

Since I was in the grocery store at the time I did not ask as many questions as I would if calling from home. I am going to send them an e-mail and ask more specific questions.

With "May Contains" there is such a range - it could be on the line that is then cleaned extremely well or it could be on the adjacent line running simultaneously or many other variations!

What frustrates me is the inconsistency of information on their packages and also from the reps (the first only mentioned two tree nuts, the second said three tree nuts).

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

For my daily call to Post, I asked about why one type would have May Contain and one would not. Essentially I was looking for them to explain it before I asked about their cleaning procedures. The response was that "We don't have to put it on the box." and that since she was in the US she did not know Canadian laws. That still does not explain it. She offered to get back to me but I chose to send an email to customersfirst@postfoods.com Still chuckle when reading that email address...

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Precautionary statements are still voluntary in Canada. I have a call out to the government about that...

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

I understand it's not law but wish Post would just be consistent - either use them or don't use them!

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Their initial answer is that Alphabits is made in the US and therefore follows FDA requirement for May Contains labelling. The Shreddies are made in Canada and since no law for May Contains they do not put them on.

I said that when standing in a grocery store in Canada I have no idea if the product was made in US or Canada. I explained how the inconsistency is difficult for those with allergies.

My questions are being forwarded to marketing. And forgot to ask about the cleaning.

Post has now lost my business. And Shreddies was my favourite cereal.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Two weeks later and I still have not heard back from Post - they have my phone number and email. My husband better enjoy his last box of AlphaBits because I am not supporting their company.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

What law would that be? The FDA has no law requiring "may contain" labelling.

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings

Exactly! The customer service reps at Post were frustrating --- one did not even understand May contains.

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me: allergic to crustaceans plus environmental
teenager: allergic to hazelnuts, some other foods and environmental

Nothing is more annoying than people trying telling you they fallow the law when there is no law!
I have argued with companies before when they insist that they complay with precautionary label laws...

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb