Conguitos and other chocolate/ Conguitos y otros chocolates

This popular candy (I post the picture so you will recognize it, though it is offensive-- let me just say that this is the updated, "politically correct" version of the packaging, and leave it at that) is chocolate covered peanuts. They have a white chocolate version as well.

Not, of course, that a peanut-allergic person would be likely to purchase candy without carefully checking the label (and incidentally, none of the regularly-available brands of chocolate sold here are free of nut traces, though many may only have almond or hazelnut traces,) but it's good to be aware of it if other people around you are eating them or if your PA toddler encounters the abandoned wrapper at a park etc.


Then there is this chocolate, which contains ground hazelnuts even in the plain milk chocolate form.

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Cuelgo esta foto de un dulce popular (Conguitos) que se compone de cacahuetes cubiertos de chocolate (también hay una versión en chocolate blanco.) Aunque la gente con alergía al cacahuete no suele comprar dulces sin leer el etiquetado, es posible que alguien a tu lado los come (como nos pasó en nuestro vuelo a EEUU) o que un niño alérgico encuentre el papel abandonado en el parque, etc.

También avisar que los chocolates Milka contienen avellana molida, aún en la versión normal de chocolate con leche.

Ice cream/ helados

I received a reply from Frigo, but it really wasn't very helpful. I had asked if any of their products were made in nut-free facilities, and they sent me a pretty generic response about how they comply with labelling requirements (these do not require labelling for traces) and to check the ingredient lists on the individual package since it is the most up-to-date information. And they say that they have "carried out an analysis of risks and critical control points and have implemented preventive measures to avoid cross-contamination." Whatever that means.

I have read in an allergy forum that Frigo pie and Frigo Magnum Blanco do not contain traces of nuts, but since they don't label for traces and I haven't talked to an actual representative of the company, I can't vouch for this.

The Nestle website indicates that they label their ice cream products for traces, and the Hello Kitty ice cream (which is clearly marketed to girls and is gluten-free) is labelled as not having traces of nuts.

As for us, we brought an ice cream maker back from the US and hope to try it out soon!

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Tengo la respuesta de Frigo, y lo pego aquí:

En referencia a su amable petición le informamos, que de acuerdo con la Legislación vigente y la Normativa interna sobre Seguridad del Consumidor de Unilever, cuando un producto contiene los alérgenos marcados por la legislación (Cereales que contengan gluten, crustáceos, huevos, cacahuetes, pescado, frutos de cáscara, soja, leche, apio, mostaza, sésamo, anhídrido sulfuroso y sulfitos. Y todos sus derivados) están mencionados en la lista de ingredientes con la palabra "alérgeno en cuestión" , aunque el alérgeno forme parte de un ingrediente minoritario, como un aroma,etc.

También le indicamos que de acuerdo a la normativa anteriormente mencionada, en nuestra compañía, hemos realizado el análisis de peligros y puntos críticos de control y tenemos implantadas medidas preventivas para evitar contactos cruzados.

Para comprobar si puede consumir el producto, le remitimos a que se lea detenidamente la lista de ingredientes.

Preferimos este mecanismo a las listas detalladas de los productos que contienen /no contienen el alérgeno ya que las formulaciones están sujetas a cambios y por lo tanto la información que es válida en este momento puede no serlo en el futuro. La manera más segura es consultar la lista de ingredientes pues cualquier cambio que se realice será reflejada en ésta.

Quedamos a su entera disposición en caso de necesitar cualquier información o aclaración.

Atentamente,

Unilever España, S.A.
Servicio de Atención al Consumidor

Les había preguntado de forma específica si alguno de sus productos se hace en una fábrica que no procesa frutos secos ni cachuete, pero la respuesta que dan es la genérica para todas las consultas de alergías y al respecto de eso solo mencionan la parte en negrita sobre "medidas preventidas para evitar contactos cruzados."

En foros de alérgicos he visto que algunas personas con alérgia a los frutos secos sí que recomiendan Frigo pies como seguro y alguien ha mencionado Frigo Magnum Blanco, y en otros sitios he visto lo de Calippo, pero yo personalmente no tengo datos más concretos.

El sitio web de Nestlé helados dice que etiquetan trazas, y tienen un helado sin gluten, Hello Kitty, que tampoco tiene trazas de frutos secos.

Por nuestra parte, hemos traído una máquina de hacer helados de EEUU y esperamos estrenarlo pronto!

Horchata-- what is a tiger nut, anyway? /Horchata--- ¿qué exactamente es una chufa?

Summer in Spain means the arrival of horchata, a creamy, delicious drink made from ground tiger nuts. I was going to post a warning about how this drink is not the same as the horchata made in Mexico and Mexican restaurants, which is rice-based, but then I did a bit of research and discovered that the main component is not a nut at all but the tuber of a tropical plant. My PA son has had some of this drink with no problem (obviously each person is different, but that has been our experience.)

However, I did see that there is a version made with hazlenuts (avellana), which I suspect is not very common, but you can always ask to make sure that you are getting horchata de chufas.

One thing to watch out for is anything that has the word "turrón." This is an almond-based candy that is a popular flavor in ice creams and other desserts. Speaking of ice cream, from what I hear, the only safe packaged ice cream-type treat for PA here is Calippo made by Frigo. I have contacted the company to double-check and I will post the response when I get it.

And as always, I'd love to hear from anyone dealing with peanut/ tree nut allergies here in Spain or elsewhere!

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Iba a avisar sobre la horchata, ya que la versión de aquí no es de arroz como en latinoamérica sino de chufas, los cuales se denominan "tiger nuts" en inglés, o "nueces de tigre." Sin embargo, he averiguado que la chufa es un tubérculo, y no un fruto seco, y por lo tanto se puede tomar, y de hecho mi hijo alérgico lo ha probabdo sin problema (claro, cada person es distinta, pero eso ha sido nuestra experiencia.)

También he oído sobre los helados que el único seguro para esta alérgia (en cuanto a los productos comerciales más habituales) es el Calippo de Frigo. He enviado un correo a la companía para comprobarlo, y avisaré de la respuesta cuando la reciba.

Y como siempre, me encantaría contactar con otros que viven con la alergía a cacahuete/ frutos secos aquí en España!

Still here / Todavía aquí

Well, we survived our first post-diagnosis trip to the Land of Peanut Butter (aka the USA). No reactions, despite a trip to a (minor league) ballpark and a fellow airplane passenger eating Conguitos (chocolate-covered peanuts) in the next row. We discovered the delight that is Sunbutter (sunflower seed butter) and found a variety of safe snack foods, thanks to helpful lists from websites and blogs.

I'd love to find a safe source for sunbutter here, but I suspect that if indeed a version is available, that it is probably made by a company that does nut butters, since PA is not really on the radar and demand for a nut-free peanut butter substitute is probably pretty nonexistent. But, I will look just in case.

I did miss being able to enjoy my favorite gourmet coffee flavors, since they all involve nuts (my absolute favorite: Southern Pecan, from Green Mountain Coffee, but I am also partial to Rainforest Nut and anything with almond.) Luckily there are other flavors to compensate.

I was able to pick up a whole pile of books and materials on peanut allergy, including the flashcards Beyond a Peanut, designed to help educate preschoolers and caregivers about peanut allergy. I asked the creator of these cards if they were planning to release a version in Spanish, and she told me that they would love to be able to do it and were looking into the possibility, but it probably wasn't imminent (paraphrasing here-- I can't find her actual response.) In any case, they are a great resource, and like the children's books I ordered, could still be used here in Spain with a DIY translation.

I will continue to post relevant information when I can, though we are about to head out to el pueblo for another mini vacation, so it may be awhile!