Nuts And Seeds- Blue Diamond, Diamond Foods (Inc. Emerald Nuts), David

[Em314]

Recently started looking into what nuts and seeds might be safe for me to eat.  Already established that Planter's nuts (made by Kraft) have labeling that I trust, and I seem to be tolerating Planter's nuts quite well.  I sent out queries to a few additional common companies.  Here are their replies, for those who might also benefit from this info.  I'm going to see if I can get Blue Diamond to give me some more info re: their actual *almonds,* not just their nut thins, and if I get a reply I'll post it here as well.

DIAMOND FOODS- EMERALD OF CALIFORNIA, DIAMOND OF CALIFORNIA

February 22, 2013

Dear Em314,

Thank you for your recent e-mail concerning gluten in Diamond Foods products.

Diamond of California Culinary Nuts do not contain gluten.

The Emerald of California product line is produced and packaged at the Diamond Foods processing facilities. Some of the Emerald snack nut products contain gluten. They are as follows.

Emerald Honey Roasted Peanuts
Emerald Dry Roasted Walnuts
Emerald Wasabi Dry Roasted Peanuts
Emerald BBQ Dry Roasted Peanuts
Emerald Chipotle Dry Roasted Peanuts
Emerald Berry Blend Trail Mix
Emerald Breakfast Blend Trail Mix
Emerald Tropical Blend Trail Mix
Emerald Chocolate Cherry Trail Mix
Emerald S'mores Trail Mix
Emerald Sweet and Salty Mixed Nuts - Original Blend
Emerald Sweet and Salty Mixed Nuts - Dark Chocolate and Peanut Butter Blend

Diamond adheres to superior Good Food Manufacturing Practices, and all processing lines are thoroughly cleaned between packaging runs of the different Emerald products which greatly lessen the chance that any of our non-gluten products come into contact with gluten products.

We appreciate your interest in our products.

Sincerely,

Donna Samelson
Manager Consumer Affairs

BLUE DIAMOND

February 22, 2013

Dear Em314,

Thank you for contacting Blue Diamond Growers with your product inquiry.

Blue Diamond Nut-Thins and Nut-Chips are made with all gluten free ingredients.

Nut Thins are produced in a facility that also produces wheat products; in making Nut Thins, stringent Good Manufacturing Practices are utilized, including thorough cleaning of production lines to reduce the risk of cross contamination with wheat products.

Routine testing is done within our production process to ensure that the gluten levels do not exceed the CODEX standards of less than 20ppm.

Should you have any additional questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

Jean Johnson
Assistant Consumer Advocate
BLUE DIAMOND GROWERS
800-987-2329; toll free
e-mail: customerservice@bdgrowers.com

DAVID SEEDS (product of ConAgra)

Hello Em314,

Thank you for your email concerning our DAVID Seeds.

We understand how important it is for people who have been medically diagnosed with gluten sensitivity to obtain accurate information about our food to help plan their meals and diets. And we continue to look for ways to meet the dietary needs of our consumers.

Since wheat is a major food allergen, if it is used in the product it would be listed in the contains statement following the ingredients list. The flour used in many of our products is wheat flour and you should avoid these products if you have gluten sensitivities. If any ingredient in the product includes rye or barley, it will be listed in parentheses immediately following the ingredient. Oats do not contain gluten, but they frequently have been exposed to wheat or barley and are not recommended for celiac patients. If Natural Flavors, Artificial Flavors, or Spices listed in the ingredients list contain wheat, rye or barley, these ingredients would be listed in parenthesis immediately following the ingredient. Some fermented or distilled products such as vinegar may be derived from wheat. Most of the vinegar in our products is distilled and through the distilling process protein gluten is removed.

Starting January of 2012, we began producing the following brands validated as gluten-free with gluten-free printed on their labels:
-Cocoa: Swiss Miss all varieties
-Egg Beaters: all varieties
-Hunts Tomatoes (excluding Tomato Sauces, Tomato Paste, Pasta Sauces and Ketchup)
-Orville Redenbacher's: all Ready to Eat varieties
-Pudding: Swiss Miss & Snack Pack, excludes those containing Tapioca

Below is a list of some of our other products that do not contain added gluten*
Category/Brand/Items
-PAM Cooking Spray: all varieties except PAM Baking
-Hebrew National: all items except Franks in a Blanket
-Wesson oils: all varieties
-Peter Pan Peanut Butter: all varieties
-Popcorn: Act II microwave, Orville Redenbacher jar and microwave, excluding Crunch n Munch and Poppycock
-Spreads: Parkay, Blue Bonnet, Fleischmann's and Move Over Butter
-David Seeds: all varieties
-Hunts Tomato Sauces (excluding pasta sauces)
-Hunts Tomato Paste
-Ketchup: Hunt's all varieties
-Reddi-Wip: all varieties
-Ro*Tel Tomatoes (excluding sauces)
*These items have been identified as not containing gluten. They are not currently routinely tested to affirm they contain less than 20ppm gluten for a 'gluten-free' claim.

A “Contains” statement will always be listed below the ingredient list if the product contains any of the top allergens. A “May Contains” statement will be rarely used due to our strong manufacturing processes. We complete thorough cleaning when changing from allergen-containing to non-allergen-containing products. After cleaning, we conduct inspections to verify that it has been effective.

We always advise consumers who may have sensitivities to recheck the ingredient list on each package. Products are oftentimes reformulated and the ingredients may change. If you have additional questions about your personal dietary needs, please consult your doctor or a registered dietitian.

I hope you have a great day!

Michelle
Consumer Affairs Representative
ConAgra Foods

[Em314]

(didn't want this to get lost in my own original OP):  Anyone have any thoughts re: the responses?  Anyone have any experiences, good or bad, with these products?  Would you try/eat them?

 

I feel like they're probably safe and the responses are carefully worded as CYA rather than a general lack of safety, but I'm also hesitant to risk accidentally glutening myself.

[Adalaide]

Before I had to give up nuts, I had quite a thing for the nut thin crackers. They are quite good and caused me no problems. I also explicitly trust ConAgra and their labeling policies, as I think you will find most do. There are companies such as ConAgra that are "safe" companies which have labeling practices and manufacturing practices that are in line with being able to walk into a grocery store, pick up a can/box/jar, read the label and say yes/no to a product.

 

As someone very wise once said to me "the world is a shared facility." At first I was like GAH!!!!!! Why would someone DO THAT TO ME?! Since that nugget of wisdom though I have managed to be a little more chillaxed though. It is true, and barring going back in time and erasing gluten from the history of the world (can we do that?) it is something we have to live with as part of our daily lives.

 

I do still contact every company that isn't a "safe" company about every product before I purchase it. (I have a lot of time on my hands.) I'm not saying just relax and just go buy stuff and whatever, but I am saying that although these companies are just out to make money (duh, they're companies and that is the point) they won't make money by lying to the gluten free community about the safety of their products. When they are saying they do everything to ensure that these products are safe for us, they truly mean it, because their bottom line relies on the ever growing gluten free community continuing to purchase their products.

[Em314]

Dear Em314,

Most of our almonds are wheat & gluten free. The ones you will want to avoid are the following:
o AVOID BOLD Wasabi & Soy Sauce (wheat is in the seasonings and is listed on the label)
o AVOID - Jordan Almonds

Good Manufacturing Practices are utilized, including thorough cleaning of production lines to reduce the risk of cross contamination with Wheat products.

Sincerely,

Jean Johnson
Assistant Consumer Advocate
BLUE DIAMOND GROWERS
800-987-2329; toll free
e-mail: customerservice@bdgrowers.com