Earlier thread. I just tested postive (skin test) for peanut allergy today, so I must avoid peanuts. I love chocolate though. I’m well aware, that many chocolate companies use the same equipment for non-peanut products that they do for peanut products, so they cannot insure their non-peanut products have no peanut protein in them. Does anyone know of safe brands of chocolate that I could eat and not have fear? 
There must be some out there, surely? :eek: 
I’m not alone! (“Welcome!” doesn’t quite work for me here.) I find it helpful to read the labels first and, if a guest or in a restaurant etc., to ask. Whatever one likes to say about the quality of chocolates, I eat Hershey’s bars and survive. (I mention this in the nanosecond before someone posts the link to the list of safe chocolates.) You can too.
How terrible for you. I begged for death, just so I wouldn’t have to remember the experience. 
I get the feeling manufacturers of almost every foodstuff are just slapping a ‘may contain nut traces’ disclaimer on their packaging regardless of whether there is any possibility of contamination - just because it costs them nothing much to do so, and, I suppose, offers some kind of blanket security against freak accidents or unclear blame. Everything has the warning on it now.
Well, Hershey’s isn’t as bad as that really cheap Easter chocolate, Palmers, is it? THAT stuff is NASTY! At least Hershey’s is recognizably chocolate, and pretty consistent.
Are you willing to look outside the US? As far as chocolate bars go that are the inexpensive,ubiquitous type in Canada Nestle manufacturers some of their chocolate bars in a nut-free plant. These include KitKat bars, Aero bars, Smarties (which I believe are a different product altogether in the US - in Canada as in the UK they are candy coated chooclates kind of like M&Ms). A few years ago, Nestle announced its intent to move away from a nut-free guarantee, and the feedback from parents who had children with nut allergies and/or have children who attend schools with peanut bans convinced Nestle to change their mind.
ANY chocolate company who works to keep peanuts seperate from non-peanut products. Thank you for the heads up on the Canadian Nestle. 
The Canadian Mars bar is also peanut free. I’m pretty sure Quaker doesn’t make chocolate bars, but their Chewy granola bars (some with chocolate) also come in nut-free versions… also in Canada (http://www.quakerchewy.ca/FAQ.asp).
This website might be useful to you…
… though a quick look suggests it’s mostly a Canadian site!
Apparently us Canadians are taking this very seriously 
I must be a very stupid person but I have a question.
You love chocolate, that would seem to indicate that you have consumed a considerable quantity of (NON SAFE PEANUT TRACES PRODUCT) chocolate. How has that not killed you or made you seriously ill?
Is it just me or is almost EVERY ONE allergic to something now?
Oh that sounded quite cranky, sorry. I’m a kindergarten teacher and allergies seem to be in vogue. I’m wondering if actual allergies are becoming more common or if we are looking for them more rigourously.
I seriously doubt many “allergies” I have to deal with, though I deal with each and every one seriously and as advised by parents. In the last six months I have had one nut allergy and two dairy allergies cancelled by parents.
My thoughts are exactly the same. Obviously I don’t know the details of the OP’s case but I’d wager that a lot of these “allergy tests” are pure bunk. Yes, a growing number of people are allergic to peanuts, but if you need a skin test to find out then you’re really not that allergic…
I believe many people are confused about ithe differences between intolerances and allergies.
If I eat THING A my tummy sometimes gets squiffy, I get little bit itchy.
If I eat THING B my airway closes and I die if the epipen is not used fast enough.
People seem eager to proclaim themselves allergic and even more eager to proclaim their children allergic.
As a kid I did the whole skin test thing (I was a sneeze machine!) I was tested for 20 things and I had a reaction to, was “allergic” to 18 of them. Well I have either outgrown them or realised sneezing is something that happens sometimes. One of the things I was “allergic” too was my rabbit…yes he made me itch but I loved him more than I minded the itch. I had him for years, funnily enough bunnies don’t make me itch anymore.
Jeez people! Sometimes food, air, pets might make you itch, sneeze etc it isn’t the end of the world nor does it make you ALLERGIC!
I don’t mean to denegrate anyone with an actual severe allergy…I just seem to know 100’s of people who are denegrating you with their intolerances.
Really? What’s the medical definition of allergy/allergic? While I agree, there are varying degrees of reactions, isn’t it still an allergy if you only get itchy eyes from it?
An allergy is a ‘hypersensitive’ immune response to some substance that is not in itself an infectious agent or threat to the exposed creature.
And I agree with the sentiment - not all allergies are life-threatening or very serious. That doesn’t keep them from being allergies. (This from someone who tested about as high as possible on the skin tests to dust and dust mites. Yet if you saw how often I actually wiped down my bookshelves… 
)
Prolonged exposure to allergens can reduce or eliminate sensitivity, which is how immunotherapy works.
I was horribly allergic to dogs until we got a dog. Within a couple years, little to no sensitivity. Within a year of going to college (and not living with my dog anymore) my sensitivity returned.
Allergic to cats? Dating a Doper for a couple years will cure you. 
I worked in a plant that produced both peanut and non-peanut products on the same line. Their cleaning procedure included testing several places on the line for allergens after cleaning the line. If they found traces, the line had to be cleaned again. My guess is that most US companies have similar procedures.
They have to cover their butts with the disclaimers, but (except for extremely severe allergics) the products are probably safe.
Pardon me, I’ll believe the DOCTOR who told me I am ALLERGIC. He is an allergist, who has practiced for years. And, you cannot build a tolerance for peanuts. In fact, the more you expose yourself to them, the worse your reactions become. As I said, right now it is “only” tummy upset, but if I keep eating them, it could be the hospital or morgue. Read picnurse’s recent topic, if you don’t believe me.
The test, again was the skin test. Here are the number ratios I had, and please note, that though the numbers would seem to indicate an allergy (things with a wheal of 4 or more) to more than what I listed, I only gave you what the allergist said I had an allergy to. (Based not only on the skin tests, but on an interview as to what times of year, and in what situations I would have the worst allergies.) This is going to be long, it was 51 things they tested me for. Note, that I had no reaction to the control, and did have a reaction to the Universal Histamine. If I hadn’t, the test results wouldn’t have been reliable.
ul Histamine Wheal 5 Flare 30[/ul]
[ul]Control Wheal - Flare - [/ul]
Molds
[ul]Alternaria Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Aspergillus Mix Wheal 4 Flare 5[/ul]
[ul]Cladosporium (Hormodendrum) Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Curvularia Wheal 4 Flare 20[/ul]
[ul]Epicoccum Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Helminthosporium (Drechslera) Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Monila Sitophilia Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Nigrospora Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Penicillium Mix Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Puccinia Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Ustilago Wheal 5 Flare 8[/ul]
Trees
[ul]Birch Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Cedar Wheal 4 Flare 4 [/ul]
[ul]Cottonwood Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Elm Mix Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Hackberry Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Hickory Wheal 4 Flare 4 [/ul]
[ul]Maple Mix Wheal 4 Flare 20 [/ul]
[ul]Oak Mix Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Pecan Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Pine Mix Wheal 3 Flare 4 [/ul]
[ul]Sweet Gum Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
Grasses
[ul]Alfalfa Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Bermunda Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Bluestem Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Johnson Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]June-Kentucky Blue Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Meadow Fescue Wheal 2 Flare 3 [/ul]
[ul]Timonthy Wheal 2 Flare 2[/ul]
Weeds
[ul]Burweed Marshelder Wheal 2 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Cockleburr Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Goldenrod Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Kochia/Fire Bush Wheal - Flare -[/ul]
[ul]Lamb’s Quarter Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Rough Pigweed Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Sagebrush Mix Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Spiny Pigweed Wheal 2 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Western Water Hemp Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
Ragweeds
[ul]False Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
[ul]Giant Wheal 2 Flare 2[/ul]
[ul]Short Wheal 4 Flare 12[/ul]
[ul]Western Wheal 3 Flare 7[/ul]
[ul]Western Giant Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
Misc.
[ul]Cat Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Cockroach Wheal - Flare - [/ul]
[ul]Dog Wheal 3 Flare 3[/ul]
[ul]Housedust mite Wheal 4 Flare 4[/ul]
Other
[ul]Peanuts Wheal 5 Flare 5[/ul]
I believe so, yes. Normal people with normal immune systems don’t react, is how the allergist explained it to me. There are varying degrees of allergic reaction.
Pure dumb Russian Roulette blind LUCK, that’s how. I did get the trots all my life from eating peanut butter. I just thought it could be like prunes, if you eat too much peanut butter, it’ll loosen you right up. Turns out, they aren’t, and that is a symptom of a peanut allergy. Been this way my whole life. This last time I took more notice though, cause I had bad gut cramps, and the trots, and was SICK for two days afterwards, slept most of it.
Here is the post with the description of my reaction written shortly after it happened. This wasn’t a “oh, my eyes are itchy” thing with the peanuts.
:dubious:
Wanna bet?
A patient died right in front of me, after eating shrimp. Prior to that ingestion, shrimp always made him itch, sneeze, and flush, but it had never killed him before!
But he became a pulseless non-breather (i.e. ‘dead’) as I was examining him.
I didn’t let him stay dead, but if he’d pulled this anywhere except in front of a doctor with an IV already running to shoot him up with IV epinephrine and resuscitation equipment right there, he would have remained dead.
Trivial allergies can become life-threatening allergies with little warning.
So please stop making unfounded assertions in GQ, please.
You too, Colophon. Skin testing and RAST testing are quite legitimate, and cornerstones of the specialty of allergy/immunology.