Allergy-Free Halloween Candy Round-Up 2015

By Kelley Lindberg

Go Teal! The teal pumpkin means we
have non-food treats available!

Every year I hit the stores looking for Halloween candy, and I share a list of common candies and the allergens they list. This year, I have been burning the candle at both ends and in the middle and haven’t had a chance to do that. But I’m going to post last year’s list, because I don’t usually see much variation year to year, so last year’s list will at least give you a starting point as you help your little trick-or-treaters sort through their candy loot.

If you still need to find candies free from all of the Top 8 allergens or free from corn, Target had a large supply of YumEarth Gummy Bears, Gummy Worms, and Lollipops yesterday when I was there (each $3.14 bag contains 10 individually wrapped packets). Dollar Tree always has a surprising amount of safe “icky” choices, like gummy skeletons and lollipops shaped like skulls, so if you’re looking for something fun and gross to put on top of cupcakes, for example, try Dollar Tree. They also carry the best peanut-free and tree nut-free candy corn I’ve found, from Crystal Bay. (I think Crystal Bay candy corn tastes better than Brach’s, anyway!)

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 may have changed their ingredients and moved to other places in my list from last year -- a good reminder to check old favorites. When in doubt, call the manufacturer for clarification (most list a phone number right on their package).

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!

Corn-free as well as free from Top 8:

YumEarth is at Target, and
this year they're even cheaper!

• Bob’s Sweet Stripes Soft Mint Candies (red & white peppermints) (Sam’s Club)
• Cotton Candy (Parade brand, Sam’s Club, 8 tubs per package)
• Cotton Candy in Candy Corn and Boo-Berry flavors (Dollar Tree)
• Cotton Candy, Hello Kitty (Dollar Tree)
• YumEarth Gummy Bears and Gummy Worms (in Target!)
• YumEarth Organic Pops (in Target!)

Everything from here on down contains corn ingredients:

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

• Baby Bottle Pops (Sam’s Club)
• Betty Crocker Halloween Fruit Snacks
• Bubble Babies Gum Balls (contains coconut, Dollar Tree)
• Candy Jewelry (Dollar Tree)
• Dots
• Dum-Dums
• Giant Lollipop (Dollar Tree)
• Grave Gummies (contains coconut) (Dollar Tree)
• Gummy Body Parts (contains coconut oil) (Dollar Tree – coffins and bags) [Note: 2 years ago, 
• Walmart sold Frankford Candy Body Parts that contained peanuts, nuts, milk, soy, beef, and corn, so read company name and ingredients carefully]
• Gummy Turtle Power Candy Pizza (contains beef gelatin, Dollar Tree)
• Halloween Pops (contain gelatin, Dollar Tree)
• Haribo Gummy Bears (contains coconut)
• Hello Kitty Family Favorites Candy Mix (Dollar Tree)
• Hot Tamales
• Hubba Bubba bubble gum
• Jelly Belly trick-or-treat-sized packets of jelly beans (Target)
• Jolly Rancher
• Life Savers
• Life Savers Lollipops
• Life Savers Gummies (contains gelatin, possibly pork-derived, although I can’t verify)
• Market Pantry Spooky Shapes fruit snacks (Target – contains pork gelatin)
• Mike & Ike
• Pixy Stix, regular and giant (Sam’s Club carries a package of 50 Giant Pixy Stix)
• Push Pops
• Ring Pops
• Skittles
• Skulls & Bones Hard Candy (Dollar Tree)
• Smarties
• Sour Patch Kids (but be careful—the Sour Patch Twists contain wheat, so read labels carefully)
• Spiderman Villains Candy Sticks (contains beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree)
• Spongebob Gummy Krabby Patties (beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree)
• Spooky Lollipop Rings (Dollar Tree)
• Starbursts
• Swedish Fish
• Tic Tacs
• Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers (gummi worms) (Sam’s Club – contains gelatin)

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

• Bon Bon Boom Lollipops (Dollard Tree)
• Cry Baby Extra Sour Bubble Gum (Dollar Tree)
• Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape
• Jolly Rancher Crunch ‘n’ Chew (last year, these had soy listed, but I didn’t find any this year, so I can’t verify ingredients. Call the company at 800-468-1714)
• Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews (last year, these had soy listed, but I didn’t find any this year, so I can’t verify ingredients. Call the company at 800-468-1714)
• Jolly Rancher Lollipops (last year, these had soy listed, but I didn’t find any this year, so I can’t verify ingredients. Call the company at 800-468-1714)
• Laffy Taffy
• Laffy Taffy Ropes (Sam’s Club)
• Lollipop Skulls (Dollar Tree)
• Market Pantry Candy Corn Flavored Kettle-Cooked Popcorn (Target)
• Scary Eyeballs Bubble Gum (Dollar Tree)
• SweeTarts Chews (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)
• Gum: Dentyne, Trident, Orbit, Eclipse, Wrigley’s (Doublemint, Winterfresh, Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, etc.)

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

• Red Vines
• Scooby-Doo Sour Straws (beef) (Dollar Tree)
• Sour Punch Twists
• Twizzler’s Pull ‘n’ Peel (these don’t list soy, although regular Twizzlers do, so read carefully)
• Twizzler’s Strawberry Twists (these don’t list soy, although regular Twizzlers do, so read carefully)
• Twizzler’s Rainbow Twists (these don’t list soy, although regular Twizzlers do, so read carefully)

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

• Pop Rocks
• Popping Candy (Dollar Tree)
• Pumpkin Face Bubble Gum in Jar (Target)

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)
• Nerds Ropes(check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment)
• Spree (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment)
• SweeTarts (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)
• SweeTarts Mini (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)
• SweeTart Twists (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)

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
• Sixlets candy-coated chocolate drops
• Tootsie Pops
• Tootsie Rolls
• Tootsie Fruit 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)
• Shockers (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary) (Sam’s Club)
• SweeTarts (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some don’t have wheat warning)

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

• Utz Halloween Pretzel Treats (contains sesame warning, too)

Contains Soy, Milk, and Egg or warnings (but free from other 5 top allergens):

• Sugar Daddies (Dollar Tree)

Non-Candy Ideas (can find packs of individual serving sizes at warehouse stores like Sam’s Club):

• Boom Chicka Pop Sea Salt Popcorn (Target – 16 individual bags per container)
• Chex Mix (contains wheat, soy, and corn)
• David’s Sunflower seeds
• Funyuns Onion Flavored Rings (contains milk, soy, and corn)
• Jack Link’s beef jerky (contains beef, free from Top 8)
• Keebler Crème-Filled Sugar Wafer Cookies (contains soy, wheat, and cornstarch)
• Lay’s Potato Chips (free from Top 8)
• Nabisco Lorna Doone cookies (contains wheat, corn, and soy)
• Oberto Beef Jerky (contains beef, free from the Top 8)
• Oreos (contains soy, wheat, and corn)
• Slim Jim Meat Sticks (contains beef, chicken, soy, wheat, and corn)
• Zoo Animals crackers (Sam’s Club, contains wheat, corn, soy, milk)
• Drinks, like Kool-Aid Jammers or Capri Suns, or sodas in mini-cans – check ingredients

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
• Banana Splits (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains soy and egg, and has factory warning for peanuts, tree nuts, and milk)
• Brachs – everything this manufacturer seems to make has peanut and nut warnings, plus some of the other allergens, depending on the product.
• Columbina candies – all have a factory warning for peanuts, egg, tree nuts, soy, milk, and wheat
• Goetze’s Caramel Creams (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains wheat, milk, and soy.)
• 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.)
• IBC Root Beer Barrels (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Has factory warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy)
• Jawbreakers contain only sucrose, 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
• Mary Janes (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains peanuts and soy, and has factory warning for tree nuts, wheat, milk, and egg)
• Slo Poke (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains soy and milk, and has factory warning for peanuts, tree nuts, and milk)
• Taffy: For the first time this year, there are 2 taffy brands that are nut free. One is made by Taffy Town, and local company, but theirs do contain eggs, milk, and soy. http://www.taffytown.com/ The other is by an online store called Sweet Pete’s http://www.sweetpetescandy.com/search?x=0&y=0&q=taffy , which advertises that their taffy is made in a nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free facility. Other than those two sources, I have not found any other taffy that is nut-free, so assume most taffy in your child’s trick-or-treat bucket contains nut contamination.
• Tiger Pops – packaging lists all allergens
• Warheads – various packaging lists some or all Top 8 allergens in factory warnings

Make This an Allergy-Free Easter

By Kelley Lindberg

Don’t look now, but another food-oriented holiday is coming up this weekend. Yep, it’s time for the Easter Bunny to make his once-yearly hop down the Bunny Trail with baskets full of goodies.

For kids with egg allergies, one of the first Easter hurdles is the tradition of dyeing Easter eggs. If you’re wondering what to do, you have lots of options:

• Some people I know let their kids wear kitchen gloves to handle the eggs during the dyeing process. For others, that’s just not worth the risk, so they opt for some of the methods listed below.
• Buy wooden, plastic, ceramic or paper-mache eggs from the craft store, then decorate them using paint, stickers, markers, and glitter.
• Use your favorite safe cookie recipe and some Easter-themed cookie cutters to bake cookies, then decorate them. Wouldn’t you rather eat a cookie than a hard-boiled egg anyway?
• Make Jell-O Jiggler eggs using Easter-shaped molds from the craft store, or make them in a pan and use Easter-shaped cookie cutters to cut out shapes. (See the Jell-O box for the recipe.)
• Make safe chocolate shapes by melting safe chocolate chips and pouring the melted chocolate into Easter-shaped plastic molds (available at craft stores). This website uses non-safe chocolate wafers, but you should be able to substitute safe chocolate chips like Enjoy Life Foods’ chocolate chips instead with similar results. 
• Make hard-candy stained glass Easter eggs with some metal cookie cutters in Easter egg shapes and a bag of safe hard candy. Here is a website with instructions for making hard-candy stained-glass ornaments.
• Try making Easter window clings—just draw your own Easter egg design instead of the rainbow, and you can display a fun Easter egg in your window. 
• Print Easter coloring pages. Low on time, energy, and creativity? No problem. Print some Easter Egg coloring pages from the internet, and let your kids color them while you tackle Easter dinner. Just search for Easter Egg Coloring Pages, and you’ll find more than enough to keep any kid busy for a while.

The next hurdle is finding safe Easter candy. Your best bet for nut-free chocolate bunnies is always Hershey’s, and Target always carries several nut-free Hershey’s candies. The safe bunnies are all 6-inch style (Snapsy, Speedy Bunny, Princess Bunny, and Hollow Bunny), and they all contain milk and soy lecithin, but they are peanut-free and tree-nut free. I also found a package of 6 Hershey’s solid chocolate bunnies that are nut-free and contain only milk and soy lecithin (but avoid the package of 6 “cookies and cream” bunnies – they have additional allergens). Some flavors of Hershey’s kisses are also nut-free, as well as Hershey’s mini foil-wrapped chocolate eggs. But double-check labels – many Hershey’s products have nut warnings, so don’t assume they’re safe until you check. And remember, all Hershey’s chocolate includes milk and soy. Those Cadbury mini eggs are also nut-free, although they contain milk, soy, and corn. But only the mini eggs are nut-free – the larger sizes tend to have nut warnings. Target also has cones of Hershey’s chocolate drops coated in white candy, sold in a cellophane cone (contains milk, corn, and soy lecithin).

Looking for a 6-inch bunny for the basket, but don’t want chocolate? Try a Strawberry or Blue Raspberry gummy bunny, which I found at Target! (Contains soy and gelatin).

Many of our “tried and true” candy manufacturers are jumping on the jelly-bean band wagon, which means more safe jelly beans for our kids. Look for jelly beans from Jolly Rancher (contains soy lecithin), Jelly Belly (contains soy lecithin), Starburst, Life Savers, and Swedish Fish Eggs (I found these at Target). Target also had green “Easter grass candy” from Twizzlers (contains wheat).

And finally, remember that you don’t have to fill those plastic eggs with candy. Kids love to find small novelties like tattoos, money, dice, jacks, army parachute men, Hot Wheels cars, Polly Pockets, bracelets and rings, whistles, bubbles, and other toys in their eggs.

My son’s favorite Easter tradition was when I would type up clues and hide them inside eggs. Each clue led to another egg with another clue, until finally he was led to his basket filled with toys or games. Less candy, more fun!

Easter is a time of traditions, but that does NOT mean you have to stick with the old, dangerous ones. In fact, it’s a wonderful experience to invent brand new traditions for your family that are safe, fun, and meaningful to you. So enjoy your holiday with the people you love best, and say “Hi” to the Easter Bunny for me.

Valentine’s Candy for Lovers with Food Allergies!

By Kelley Lindberg

Here it comes… another candy-oriented holiday. Since the day after Christmas, the grocery stores have been stocking all things pink and red, in anticipation of Valentine’s Day. It's still a month away, so that means there's time to plan ahead for a safe Valentine's Day.

Gimbal's heart-shaped jelly beans were a huge
hit with the teenage crowd at my house!

The go-to gift is often candy – especially chocolate and those little conversation hearts (you know, the chalky little hearts with words stamped on them). But if you or your sweetie has food allergies, candy may not be an easy choice. After all, nothing says “I love you” like anaphylactic shock, right? While you can sometimes find allergy-safe chocolate online and in stores, most is simply a no-no. And those conversation hearts? Both Brach’s and Necco’s hearts carry allergen warnings for milk, egg, wheat, peanut, tree nuts, and soy, so they’re just not an option for most allergic folks.

And it’s not just receiving candy that’s a problem. What if you think you’re being romantic and you give your non-allergic sweetie some traditional Valentine’s candy, and then she wants to kiss you, and you just happen to be allergic to an ingredient in that chocolate? “Will you be my Valentine? Great, now whatever you do, don’t kiss me,” isn’t really the kind of dialogue romantic movies are known for, is it?

And then there’s the whole school Valentine exchange thing, where all the kids take in Valentine’s cards to drop in each other’s elaborately decorated Valentine holders, and parents seem to just love all the little candy add-ons. But if you know a kid in your classroom has allergies, what can you do to keep that child safe while still making your own child’s Valentines a little extra-special?

Well, first off, if you’re the super-ambitious type, you could make your own Homemade Conversation Hearts, using this recipe that calls for unflavored gelatin, light corn syrup and confectioner’s sugar, plus food colorings and food coloring markers.

Yeah, okay, now that we’ve all had a good laugh (I mean, really, who has time for THAT?), let’s look at some other options:

• Heart-shaped jelly beans, anyone? Gimbal’s Fine Candies has some really tasty heart-shaped jelly beans in a huge variety of flavors. I had a half-dozen teenagers in my kitchen the other day, and I set out bowls of Gimbal’s Cherry Lovers (9 different cherry flavors!), Sour Lovers (12 sour flavors, coated with sugar like gum drops or Sour Patch Kids), and Cinnamon Lovers (red-hot cinnamon goodness!). As you can imagine, all 3 bags disappeared in a heartbeat (ha! pun intended). My favorite is the Cherry Lovers, but judging by how fast the bowl emptied, the teens’ favorite was the Sour Lovers (“These are way better than Sour Patch Kids” was the final verdict), with the other two varieties coming in close behind. The best thing about Gimbal’s Fine Candies is that
  
  they’re allergy free and proud of it! Their candy is produced in an allergy-free factory, and all of their packaging says: “Peanut free, tree nut free, dairy free, gluten free, soy free, and egg free.” They’re also Kosher pareve. (If you think living with food allergies is complicated, try living with food allergies and keeping kosher, too.) Read Gimbal’s Allergy Statement here. These are so much better than those chalky conversation hearts, it’s ridiculous.
• Peanut Free Planet : One of my favorite online grocery stores for allergy-aware treats, Peanut Free Planet offers candy from many allergy-friendly brands. They also carry candy from Canadian manufacturers, who manage to make nut-free versions of popular chocolate candy bars that you just can’t find from American factories (my son’s favorites are the nut-free Kit-Kat bars and the Wagon Wheels, both made in Canada).
• Local grocery stores have options, too: Every year, I manage to find a few Valentine’s candy options that are free from the Big 8. Look for hard candy lollipops, and candies from those reliable standbys like Starburst, Skittles, and Jolly Rancher. I generally have the best luck finding safe candy at Dollar Tree, followed by Smith’s (Kroger brand is getting better and better at safe manufacturing), and Target. On the other hand, I have a much harder time finding safe candy at Walmart.
• Non-food treats: For school, of course, I highly recommend avoiding food altogether. The last thing any of those kids need, allergies or not, is more candy. So hit the party aisle at your local discount store or dollar store, order from www.OrientalTrading.com, or check out these adorable ideas from www.PopSugar.com’s “The 48 Best Noncandy Valentine Ideas for Kids.” (Just remember, Play-Doh contains wheat, so it’s not safe for wheat/gluten-allergic kids.)

Whatever you choose to do for Valentine's Day, I hope it's a day full of love, hugs, and lots of giggles. 

Allergy-Safe Trick-or-Treating Tips

By Kelley Lindberg

It's all about the adventure, not the candy!

Trick-or-treating can be one of the scariest aspects of Halloween for parents of food-allergic children. But for the kids, it’s one of the most fun parts. So what should the parent of a food-allergic child do? For most of us, our first instinct is to keep them home, period. But our second instinct is often to find safe ways to help our child experience life the way “normal” kids do, rather than letting food allergies define or limit them.

So is it possible to make trick-or-treating a safer activity? You bet.

First, remember that for kids, while they get excited about all the candy, it’s really the adventure of dressing up and going door-to-door that’s important. So help them focus on the “adventure” part of the night, not the candy, and realize that you CAN make trick-or-treating safe.

Here are some tips for safe trick-or-treating:

Tip #1: No nibbling until you're home!

Before going out, remind everyone that no one eats anything until everyone gets home and the parent reads the label on every piece of candy. That way, no one is eating unidentified foods and having a reaction while you’re out in the dark a block away from home. Make sure the kids agree, understand, and agree again. No one sneaks anything (not even Dad).

Tip #2: Wear gloves.

If your child is super-sensitive to an ingredient, have them wear gloves with their costume, so that any allergenic candy that touches their hand on the way into the bag doesn’t cause a skin reaction. Toss the glove in the wash or in the trash when you get home.

Tip #3: Only eat candy with labels!

Unlabeled candy is assumed to be unsafe. Period. The only exceptions are brand-name candies that you are already very familiar with and know are safe. (For example, I know Starbursts and Skittles are okay for my son, so I’ll let him keep those.) If there is a type of candy that he’s particularly interested in, I might promise to look for it at the store the next day, and read the ingredients there. But it goes into a separate container until we’ve seen it at the store and verified its safety. See my post from Oct 20, “Allergy-Free Halloween Candy Round-Up 2014, Part 2 (Local Stores),” for a list of many Halloween candies and their ingredients – it might help you sort through what isn’t safe.

Tip #4: Plan a few “safe houses.”

A day or two before Halloween, try setting up a network of “safe houses”—families in your neighborhood who will agree to have some “safe” candy or non-food treats to give to your child. (You can even give them the safe treats to give to your child!) Most neighbors would be more than happy to accommodate your child if they know ahead of time. No one wants to think they’re ruining a child’s big night. You’d be surprised how willing most people are to help. And with this year’s Teal Pumpkin Project going strong, look for those teal pumpkins that indicate they have non-food treats available. See FARE’s website for more info about the Teal Pumpkin Project.  

Tip #5: Take epinephrine autoinjectors with you.

Not only do you need to make sure you’ve got your EpiPens or Auvi-Qs immediately available for obvious reasons, but making sure your child realizes he has to have them with him while trick-or-treating may remind him of how important it is not to cheat and sneak a bite of candy before you get home and read the label.

Tip #6: Make a plan for unsafe candy ahead of time.

Before you head out on your adventure (preferably several days before, so that the kids aren’t overly excited and can actually hear you), talk about what you’re going to do with any unsafe candy when the night is over. Here are some ideas:

• Go trick-or-treating with a friend or sibling, and at the end of the night, sort through both kids’ candy together, making two piles—a “safe” pile for the allergic kid, and another pile for the non-allergic kid. If they both know about this plan beforehand, they are usually more than willing to do this. (My son used to trick-or-treat with a friend who had braces—there were plenty of candies the friend couldn’t eat because of the braces, and plenty that my son couldn’t eat because of allergies, and it’s amazing how generous they both were about handing over “safe for you” loot.)
• Buy a bag of safe candy ahead of time, and at the end of the night, let your child “trade” you for all the unsafe candy he brought home.
• A big trend this year is “Switch Witches.” While many people have purchased an “official” Switch Witch book and doll, you can use your own witch doll or rely on those invisible Switch Witches (who hang out with the Tooth Fairy when the Halloween season is over). On Halloween night while the kids are sleeping, kids set out their candy stash for the Switch Witch, who takes it away and leaves a fun gift in return.
• “Buy” the unsafe candy from your child, but establish a price ahead of time, such as a nickel a piece, a dollar a pound, or the whole kit and caboodle for a new DVD, a new toy, a trip to the movies, a night out with Dad, a visit to the dollar store, or other such treat.
• Look for a dentist or other business in your area that buys candy from kids on the day after Halloween. You can search the internet to find one in your area. The website Halloween Candy Buy Back lets you type in your zip code and find dentists who have registered for the buy-back program in your area. The kids get money, and dentists often donate the candy to places like children’s hospitals or soldiers serving overseas.
• Let the child “donate” the unsafe candy to Mom or Dad, so they can take it to work and share it with their coworkers.
• Let the child donate the unsafe candy to a local women’s shelter, food bank, homeless shelter, or family of a soldier. Or send your candy to Operation Gratitude, an organization that will send your candy to our soldiers for you (just send it to them before November 15). Soldiers always seem to appreciate candy that they can share with friends or give to children in war zones.

Got any more trick-or-treating tips? Post a comment and share! Whatever your family chooses to do for Halloween this year, I hope it’s spooktacular!

Allergy-Free Halloween Candy Round-Up 2014, Part 2 (Local Stores)

By Kelley Lindberg

(Update 10/21/14: I added SurfSweets gummy candies/fruit snacks, which are free from the Top 8 plus sesame and sulfites, and can be found at Harmon's, Whole Foods, and online. Love 'em!)

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. 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 lollipops shaped like skulls, 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 check old favorites. When in doubt, call the manufacturer for clarification (most list a phone number right on their package).

If I missed something or made mistakes as I scribbled my notes while standing in the aisles, let me know.

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:

• Bob’s Sweet Stripes Soft Mint Candies (red & white peppermints) (Sam’s Club)
• Cotton Candy (Parade brand, Sam’s Club, 8 tubs per package)
• Cotton Candy in Candy Corn and Boo-Berry flavors (Dollar Tree)
• Cotton Candy, Hello Kitty (Dollar Tree)
• YumEarth Gummy Bears (in Target!)
• YumEarth Organic Pops (in Target!)

Everything from here on down contains corn ingredients:

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

• Baby Bottle Pops (Sam’s Club)
• Betty Crocker Halloween Fruit Snacks
• Bubble Babies Gum Balls (contains coconut, Dollar Tree)
• Candy Jewelry (Dollar Tree)
• Dots
• Dum-Dums
• Giant Lollipop (Dollar Tree)
  
• Grave Gummies (contains coconut) (Dollar Tree)
• Gummy Body Parts (contains coconut oil) (Dollar Tree – coffins and bags) [Note: 2 years ago, 
• Walmart sold Frankford Candy Body Parts that contained peanuts, nuts, milk, soy, beef, and corn, so read company name and ingredients carefully]
• Gummy Turtle Power Candy Pizza (contains beef gelatin, Dollar Tree)
• Halloween Pops (contain gelatin, Dollar Tree)
• Haribo Gummy Bears (contains coconut)
• Hello Kitty Family Favorites Candy Mix (Dollar Tree)
• Hot Tamales
• Hubba Bubba bubble gum
• Jelly Belly trick-or-treat-sized packets of jelly beans (Target)
• Jolly Rancher
• Life Savers
• Life Savers Lollipops
• Life Savers Gummies (contains gelatin, possibly pork-derived, although I can’t verify)
• Market Pantry Spooky Shapes fruit snacks (Target – contains pork gelatin)
• Mike & Ike
• Pixy Stix, regular and giant (Sam’s Club carries a package of 50 Giant Pixy Stix)
• Push Pops
• Ring Pops
• Skittles
• Skulls & Bones Hard Candy (Dollar Tree)
• Smarties
• Sour Patch Kids (but be careful—the Sour Patch Twists contain wheat, so read labels carefully)
• Spiderman Villains Candy Sticks (contains beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree)
• Spongebob Gummy Krabby Patties (beef gelatin) (Dollar Tree)
• Spooky Lollipop Rings (Dollar Tree)
• Starbursts
• SurfSweets gummy worms, gummy spooky spiders, jelly beans (Harmon's, Whole Foods)
• Swedish Fish
• Tic Tacs
• Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers (gummi worms) (Sam’s Club – contains gelatin)

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

• Bon Bon Boom Lollipops (Dollard Tree)
• Cry Baby Extra Sour Bubble Gum (Dollar Tree)
• Hubba Bubba Bubble Tape
• Jolly Rancher Crunch ‘n’ Chew (last year, these had soy listed, but I didn’t find any this year, so I can’t verify ingredients. Call the company at 800-468-1714)
• Jolly Rancher Fruit Chews (last year, these had soy listed, but I didn’t find any this year, so I can’t verify ingredients. Call the company at 800-468-1714)
• Jolly Rancher Lollipops (last year, these had soy listed, but I didn’t find any this year, so I can’t verify ingredients. Call the company at 800-468-1714)
• Laffy Taffy
• Laffy Taffy Ropes (Sam’s Club)
• Lollipop Skulls (Dollar Tree)
• Market Pantry Candy Corn Flavored Kettle-Cooked Popcorn (Target)
• Scary Eyeballs Bubble Gum (Dollar Tree)
• SweeTarts Chews (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)
• Gum: Dentyne, Trident, Orbit, Eclipse, Wrigley’s (Doublemint, Winterfresh, Big Red, Juicy Fruit, Spearmint, etc.)

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

• Red Vines
• Scooby-Doo Sour Straws (beef) (Dollar Tree)
• Sour Punch Twists
• Twizzler’s Pull ‘n’ Peel (these don’t list soy, although regular Twizzlers do, so read carefully)
• Twizzler’s Strawberry Twists (these don’t list soy, although regular Twizzlers do, so read carefully)
• Twizzler’s Rainbow Twists (these don’t list soy, although regular Twizzlers do, so read carefully)

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

• Pop Rocks
• Popping Candy (Dollar Tree)
• Pumpkin Face Bubble Gum in Jar (Target)

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)
• Nerds Ropes(check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment)
• Spree (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment)
• SweeTarts (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)
• SweeTarts Mini (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)
• SweeTart Twists (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment, and SweeTarts GUMMIES contain a warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy, and wheat!!!)

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
• Sixlets candy-coated chocolate drops
• Tootsie Pops
• Tootsie Rolls
• Tootsie Fruit 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)
• Shockers (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary) (Sam’s Club)
• SweeTarts (check every individual Wonka candy label because ingredients vary by assortment – some don’t have wheat warning)

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

• Utz Halloween Pretzel Treats (contains sesame warning, too)

Contains Soy, Milk, and Egg or warnings (but free from other 5 top allergens):

• Sugar Daddies (Dollar Tree)

Non-Candy Ideas (can find packs of individual serving sizes at warehouse stores like Sam’s Club):

• Boom Chicka Pop Sea Salt Popcorn (Target – 16 individual bags per container)
• Chex Mix (contains wheat, soy, and corn)
• David’s Sunflower seeds
• Funyuns Onion Flavored Rings (contains milk, soy, and corn)
• Jack Link’s beef jerky (contains beef, free from Top 8)
• Keebler Crème-Filled Sugar Wafer Cookies (contains soy, wheat, and cornstarch)
• Lay’s Potato Chips (free from Top 8)
• Nabisco Lorna Doone cookies (contains wheat, corn, and soy)
• Oberto Beef Jerky (contains beef, free from the Top 8)
• Oreos (contains soy, wheat, and corn)
• Slim Jim Meat Sticks (contains beef, chicken, soy, wheat, and corn)
• Zoo Animals crackers (Sam’s Club, contains wheat, corn, soy, milk)
• 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
• Tattoos
• Coins
• Friendship Bracelets

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
• Banana Splits (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains soy and egg, and has factory warning for peanuts, tree nuts, and milk)
• Columbina candies – all have a factory warning for peanuts, egg, tree nuts, soy, milk, and wheat
• Goetze’s Caramel Creams (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains wheat, milk, and soy.)
• 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.)
• IBC Root Beer Barrels (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Has factory warning for peanuts, tree nuts, milk, soy)
• Jawbreakers contain only sucrose, 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
• Mary Janes (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains peanuts and soy, and has factory warning for tree nuts, wheat, milk, and egg)
• Slo Poke (sold at Sam’s Club in an assortment. Contains soy and milk, and has factory warning for peanuts, tree nuts, and milk)
• Taffy: For the first time this year, there are 2 taffy brands that are nut free. One is made by Taffy Town, and local company, but theirs do contain eggs, milk, and soy. The other is by an online store called Sweet Pete’s, which advertises that their taffy is made in a nut-free, dairy-free, and gluten-free facility. Other than those two sources, I have not found any other taffy that is nut-free, so assume most taffy in your child’s trick-or-treat bucket contains nut contamination.
• Tiger Pops – packaging lists all allergens
• Warheads – various packaging lists some or all Top 8 allergens in factory warnings

Allergy-Free Halloween Candy Round-Up 2014, Part 1 (Online Sources)

By Kelley Lindberg

(Update 10/21/14: Added TruJoy website.)

It’s time for my annual Allergy-Free Halloween Candy Round-Up!

Edible Gummy Brains from Indie Candy

Parents of food-allergic kids worry more about Halloween than just about any other holiday. Many are tempted to skip trick-or-treating all together, but I think there are many ways to make it a safe and fun activity. So for the next 3 weeks, my blog will focus on how to make Halloween and trick-or-treating a happy holiday for your children. This week, I’ll talk about online sources for allergy-safe candy and FARE’s Teal Pumpkin Project. Next week, I’ll write about safe candy I find in local stores. Then on the 27th, I’ll post tips for safe trick-or-treating (and what to do with all that non-safe candy they bring home).

First, though, let’s talk about the Teal Pumpkin Project: FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) is encouraging us to hand out non-food treats this year (or at least make some non-food treats available in addition to candy) to make trick-or-treating more fun for food-allergic kids—as well as kids with diabetes, kids who are fighting obesity, kids with religious dietary restrictions, kids whose parents are sick of paying dentist bills, etc.! You paint a pumpkin teal and put it on your porch, download a free sign from FARE explaining that you have non-food treats available, and then you make kids happy when they come to your door! Super easy, super fun, super awesome! Visit FARE’s Teal Pumpkin Project for details. 

More brains! Find this lollipop and more
at the Natural Candy Store

If you decide you want to get some Halloween candy for your kidlets anyway, I’ve been doing some research for you. Most of the candies I’ve been finding locally contain corn syrup and food colorings, if those are your issues, your best bet may be to order your candy online. If that’s the case, you’ll want to order candy this week so that it arrives in plenty of time for Halloween parties and trick-or-treating. Online sources are also great for finding allergy-free chocolate, as well as unusual treats, like allergy-free brain-shaped lollipops, and of course, those non-food treats! That’s why this week I’ll write about some online sources that offer great allergy-free Halloween goodies.

§  Indie Candy:  This site is a great place to go for all-natural candy with no dyes or any of the Top 8 allergens at all! Most of their candy also appears to be corn-free, too. They have a large selection of confections including gorgeous crystal lollipops, chocolate, and gummis, all in fun Halloween shapes, and you can search by your specific allergy needs. You can even get a "lifesize edible gummy brain" (in your choice of alien or human). Too gruesome? Check out their beautiful Candy Apples, too!

Allergy-free licorice can be hard to
find. But these Scottie dogs from
Gimbal's Fine Candies are safe
and adorable!

§  Gimbal’s Fine Candies: They offer jelly beans in 41 flavors, as well as fiery LavaBalls and licorice Scottie Dogs, all free from the Top 8 allergens. While they do contain some corn products, they contain NO high-fructose corn syrup!

§  Natural Candy Store:  Looking for lollipops shaped like brains, bats, or jack-o-lanterns? Found them! This site focuses on natural ingredients, but they also let you search for candy that’s free from all Top 8 allergens. Even better, you can search for candy free from single allergens, like milk or soy. They carry hard candy, Glee gum, Enjoy Life chocolate, organic chocolate syrup, breath mints, and licorice, among others! You can also search by Feingold-safe candy and other special diets.

§  YumEarth.  Formerly called Yummy Earth, but now called YumEarth, this company makes candies (lollipops, drops, gummy bears, gummy worms, and fruit snacks) that are free from the Top 8, and they use natural colorings and flavorings. Some of their candies are also corn-free, kosher parve, and vegan (but not all, so check the list carefully). You can buy them online at www.YummyEarth.com and on Amazon. They may also be available at a store near you—check the list of YumEarth retailers to see.

§  TruJoy Sweets.  They offer 3 candies that are corn free as well as free from the Top 8: a chocolate chewy candy, a fruit-flavored chewy candy, and candy canes (remember, Christmas is just around the corner!). They're organic, gluten-free, kosher, and vegan, and they don't use artificial colors or flavors.

§  Peanut Free Planet:  This allergy-friendly grocery site sells a ton of different candy from lots of different manufacturers, including Vermont Nut Free, Enjoy Life Foods, and Amanda’s Own. You’ll find chocolate, jelly beans, and all sorts of allergen-friendly groceries. They also sell KitKats, Mars bars, and Nestle Aero Milk chocolate bars that are made in a Canadian factory, and therefore nut-free (unlike their American versions). They also carry nut-free candy corn from A and J Bakery (but it contains egg whites and soy), as well as Surf Sweets jelly beans and spooky spider gummies, which are organic, natural, gluten-free, and free from the Top 8 allergens.

§  Amanda’s Own Confections:  They offer chocolate in some fun Halloween shapes, as well as jelly beans and other candies, all dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, gluten-free, sesame-free, and soy-free (except for the sunflower cups)! The jelly beans contain a corn product, but the chocolate does not. In fact, their chocolate ingredients are simply cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, and cocoa butter. (They also have turkey and scarecrow chocolate lollipops, as well as chocolate acorns and leaves, if you’re thinking ahead to Thanksgiving.)

§  Divvies:  Nut-free, dairy-free, and egg-free chocolate ghosts, chocolate bats, jelly beans, gummy stars, and chocolate chips! (Chocolate contains soya lecithin.) Check out their chocolate dinosaur, too. It might not be Halloweenish, but it would be great for a birthday party or stocking stuffer. And new this year is their gourmet popcorn in 3 flavors.

§  Vermont Nut Free:  Their chocolates are peanut-free and nut-free, but they do have milk and egg warnings on them. Their huge selection of nut-free chocolates includes caramel- and marshmallow-filled pumpkins, chocolate-covered marshmallows on a stick, pretzel caramel bark, and foil-wrapped chocolate shapes (like bats, witches, and ghosts). They also sell skippers, which are similar to M&Ms, but nut-free, of course.

§  Chocolate Emporium:  Read the ingredients carefully on this website, but they do offer a lot of allergen-friendly goodies. All Halloween items are dairy-free, nut-free, gluten-free, and certified parve by the Star-K. Call before you order to ensure you get what you need.

Find tons of non-food options at
Oriental Trading Co.

§  Oriental Trading Co.:  Remember, trick-or-treats bags don’t have to be filled with candy. Oriental Trading Company offers a bazillion (I counted them) super-cheap novelty toys, many that you can buy in quantities of 50, 144, or more. I have filled countless pinatas and goodie bags with Oriental Trading novelties over the years, and I love ‘em. If you need non-food novelties in a hurry, you can often find similar (or sometimes identical) items at dollar stores, discount stores, craft stores (like Michael’s), and party stores (like Zurchers).

If you know of a great online source for allergy-free candies, post it in the Comments. And remember, next week I’ll post a list of what I found in local stores and where I found it, so check back next Monday.