Allergy-Free Halloween Candy Round-Up 2013, Part 2 (Local Stores)

By Kelley Lindberg

Last week, I shared some online sources for ordering allergen-free Halloween candy. This week, I’ll tell you about the candy I found in stores locally. Believe it or not, there are plenty of choices, no matter what your allergies are. You can use this list to shop for candy, and you can use it on Halloween night to help your little trick-or-treaters sort through their candy loot.

 

Most of the common brands can be found just about anywhere, like grocery stores, Sam’s Club, Costco, Walmart, and Target. (If I only saw a product in one store, I’ll list the store where I found it.) Dollar Tree has a surprising amount of safe “icky” choices, like gummy skeletons and body parts, lollipops shaped like tombstones, and zombie finger-shaped candy, so if you’re looking for something fun and gross to put on top of cupcakes, for example, try Dollar Tree!

 

A BIG WARNING:  CHECK EVERY PIECE, EVERY TIME.

 

Large companies use multiple factories. That means the same candy may be produced in different places, with different allergens present. So CHECK LABELS on every single piece of candy. Wonka is one of the worst companies for producing the same candy in different packages containing different allergen warnings, but they are one of the best at individually labeling their candies so you can verify its safety before every bite. A few candies have changed their ingredients and moved to other places in my list from last year -- a good reminder to even check old favorites.

 

I’ve done my best to give you a representative list of what I found, to help make your candy shopping trip a little easier. But please double-check every label before you purchase, and if in doubt, call the manufacturer for clarification (most list a phone number right on their package).

 

I may have missed something or made mistakes as I scribbled my notes while standing in the aisles. If you find a mistake, let me know. Also, if you find a great source for safe candy, let me know that, too.

 

First I’ll list candies that don’t list corn as an ingredient (because there aren’t very many of them). Then I’ll list the candies and treats that do contain corn, but are free from some or all of the Top 8 allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, soy, wheat, fish, shellfish).

 

By the way, EVERYTHING on this entire list is nut-free and peanut-free. That's where I started, then I broke them down by the other allergens. I hope it helps simplify your Halloween season!

 

Corn-free as well as free from Top 8 (These candies don’t list corn syrup in their ingredients, so they may be safe for corn-allergic kids – please double-check ingredients. Some list dextrose, and that can come from corn, so contact the manufacturer directly if you are allergic to corn):

• Bob’s Sweet Stripes Soft Mint Candies (red & white peppermints) (Sam’s Club, 290 for $6.98)
• Candy Jewelry (Dollar Tree, 16 pcs for $1)
• Cotton Candy (in candy corn and rotten apple flavors) (Dollar Tree, $1/tub)
• Giant Pixy Stix (Sam’s Club, 50 giant stix for $11.78)
• Marshmallow Pop (contains gelatin) (Dollar Tree, $1 ea.)
• Pixie Stix
• Skulls & Bones Hard Candy (Dollar Tree, 11 for $1)
• Smarties

Everything from here on down contains corn ingredients:

Free from Top 8 (Wheat, Peanut, Tree Nut, Milk, Egg, Soy, Fish, Shellfish):

• Betty Crocker Halloween Fruit Snacks
• Bloody Bites (plastic fangs with blood bags of blood-colored liquid candy) (Dollar Tree – 8 for $1)
• Comix Mix Candy Stix (contains beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree – 22 for $1)
• Dots
• Dum-Dums
• Grave Gummies (contains coconut) (Dollar Tree - 12 for $1)
• Gummy Body Parts (contains coconut oil) (Dollar Tree – coffins and bags of 12 for $1) [Note: Last year, Walmart sold Frankford Candy Body Parts that contained peanuts, nuts, milk, soy, beef, and corn, so read company name and ingredients carefully]
• Haribo Gummy Bears (contains coconut)
• Hot Tamales
• Jolly Rancher
• Kellogg’s Fruity Snacks (no longer lists coconut oil as an ingredient!) (Sam’s Club - 24 per box, $7.10)
• Life Savers Big Ring Gummies
• Market Pantry Sour Gummi Worms (Target - single hang-bag)
• Marvel Heroes Candy Sticks (contains beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree - 22 for $1)
• Mike & Ike
• Push Pops
• Ring Pops
• RIP Candy bones inside tombstones (Dollar Tree – 3 for $1)
• Skittles
• Sour Patch Kids
• Spongebob Gummy Krabby Patties (beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree, 8 for $1)
• Spooky Lip Pop (Dollar Tree – $1 each)
• Spooky Lollipop Rings (Dollar Tree – 5 for $1)
• Starbursts
• Swedish Fish
• Zombie Fingers (Dollar Tree – 4 for $1)

Contains Soy or Soy Warning (but free from other 7 top allergens):

• Bubble Gum Tape in plastic pumpkins and ghosts (Dollar Tree - 6 for $1)
• Cry Baby Extra Sour Bubble Gum (Dollar Tree – 21 for $1)
• Jolly Rancher Crunch ‘n’ Chew
• Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews
• Jolly Rancher Lollipops
• Laffy Taffy
• Laffy Taffy Ropes (Sam’s Club – 48 ropes, $9.52)
• Wrigley’s Gum (Doublemint, Winterfresh, Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Spearmint)

Contains Wheat or Wheat warning (but free from other 7 top allergens):

• Scooby-Doo Sour Straws (beef) (Dollar Tree – 10 for $1)
• Sour Punch Straws (Sam’s Club, 24 for $10.98)

Contains Milk or Milk warning (but free from other 7 top allergens):

• Pop Rocks
• Popping Candy (Dollar Tree - 25 pouches for $1)
• Ring Pops (Sam’s Club - 40 for $9.98)

Contains Egg or Egg warning (but free from other 7 top allergens):

• Bottlecaps (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some have wheat warning)
• Gobstoppers (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment)
• Nerds (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some have wheat warning)
• SweeTarts (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some have wheat warning)

Contains Soy and Wheat or warnings (but free from other 6 top allergens):

• Airheads
• Twizzlers

Contains Milk and Soy or warnings (but free from other 6 top allergens):

• Charms Blow Pops
• Double Bubble gum (check every individual Double Bubble candy label because ingredients vary by assortment and store)
• Hershey’s Chocolate bars, the 1.55 ounce size ONLY (the S’mores size) (all other sizes contain nut warnings)
• Kraft Caramels
• Sugar Daddies (Dollar Tree – 10 for $1)
• Tootsie Pops
• Tootsie Rolls

Contains Wheat and Egg or warnings (but free from other 6 top allergens):

• Bottlecaps (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some don’t have wheat warning)
• Nerds (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some don’t have wheat warning)
• Nerds Ropes (Sam’s Club - 24 for $13.18)
• Shockers (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary) (Sam’s Club – 24 for $13.18)
• SweeTarts (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some don’t have wheat warning)

Non-Candy Ideas:

• Chex Mix, contains wheat, soy, and corn (Sam’s Club, 36 bags for $9.78)
• Corn Nuts Ranch Flavor, contains corn but free from Big 8 (Sam’s Club – 18 for $8.12)
• David’s Sunflower seeds (Sam’s Club, 60 bags in a bucket, $14.01)
• Funyuns Onion Flavored Rings, contains milk, soy, and corn (Sam’s Club – 50 pouches for $11.98)
• Keebler Crème-Filled Sugar Wafer Cookies, 24 packs of 10 cookies each, contains soy, wheat, and cornstarch (Sam’s Club - $8.48)
• Lay’s Potato Chips, free from Top 8 (Sam’s Club, 50 pouches for $11.98)
• Oberto Beef Jerky (Sam’s Club, 30 individually wrapped sticks for $9.64)
• Oreos, regular size, 30 packs of 6 cookies each, contains soy, wheat, and corn (Sam’s Club – $9.56)
• Slim Jim Meat Sticks, contains beef, chicken, soy, wheat, and corn (Sam’s Club – 100 individually wrapped for $16.64)
• Zoo Animals crackers, contains wheat, corn, soy, milk (Sam’s Club, 36 bags for $7.48)
• Drinks, like Kool-Aid Jammers or Capri Suns, or sodas in mini-cans – check ingredients

Non-Food Ideas:

Don’t forget, you don’t have to hand out candy to your trick-or-treaters. Walmart, Target, Dollar Tree, and party stores like Zurchers, as well as Oriental Trading Company’s website have plenty of Halloween-themed novelties you can hand out, such as:

• Bat or Spider Rings
• Plastic bugs and creepy crawlies
• Halloween bouncy balls
• Vampire teeth
• Halloween-colored bracelets
• Halloween pencils or erasers
• Glow Sticks or bracelets
• Drinking Straws with Halloween figures on them

Watch Out for These:

The following candies may land in your child’s trick-or-treat bags, and they may not have ingredients labels, so watch out for them:

• Bazooka Gum-Filled Pops – lists only corn, but comes in an assortment listing all allergens in a factory warning
• Columbina candies – all have a factory warning for peanuts, egg, tree nuts, soy, milk, and wheat
• Hershey’s: All mini and fun-sized Hershey’s chocolates contain nut warnings and should be avoided. Plain milk-chocolate and dark-chocolate Hershey’s kisses are nut-free, but contain milk. Most flavored Hershey’s kisses (caramel, cherry-filled, etc.) list nut contamination. The only nut-free size of Hershey bars is the 1.55 ounce size (the type commonly sold alongside graham crackers and marshmallows for S’Mores.)
• Jawbreakers contain only sucrose (doesn’t list corn), but packaged in an assortment that lists all the allergens in a factory warning
• Lemonheads contain only corn, but are usually found in assortment bags that include warnings for all the allergens on the overall packaging
• Taffy: I have not found any taffy that is nut-free, so assume all taffy contains nut contamination.Tiger Pops – packaging lists all allergens
• Warheads – various packaging lists some or all Top 8 allergens in factory warnings