If you’re looking for a tough challenge, mosey down the candy aisle at your local grocery store or pharmacy and try to find candies (especially chocolates) that don’t contain peanuts. Even candy bars that contain no discernable peanuts may have labels that warn people with peanut allergies to avoid them with messages like “May contain peanuts,” “Traces of peanuts,” and “Produced in a facility that uses peanuts.”

Candies produced by major manufacturers are almost always a safe choice, as long as the label does not list peanut as one of its ingredients. By being a diligent, vigilant label reader, you can consume these candies with a very low risk of reaction.

The most suspect candies fall into one of the following categories:

Candy from smaller manufacturers: Watch out for smaller manufacturers who don’t follow strict labeling guidelines or don’t label their candy.

Unlabeled candies and other goodies: For example, you’d have a tough time finding a safe candy in a fudge or candy shop… or in a gift box from a fudge or candy shop.

Cross contaminated candies and other goodies, especially from candy or fudge shops: Even if a small candy or fudge shop does not mention peanut on a label, most of these shops have far too much peanut around to successfully prevent cross contamination. I would be very nervous, for example, eating a box of chocolate fudge or chocolate covered cherries, even if the ingredient list contains no hint of peanut.

Stick with candies from major manufacturers, and eat those only after carefully studying the label each time you get them. Another alternative is to purchase candy from one of the guaranteed nut-free candy and baked good manufacturers that have popped up in the last few years. Check out:

• Vermont Nut Free Chocolates (www.vermontnutfree.com)
• Kellie’s Candies Nut-Free Confections (nutfreecandy.com)
• Rebecca’s Nut Free (rebeccasnutfree.com)
• Nothin’ Nutty (nothinnutty.com)

Related posts:

1. Peanut Allergy : Finding peanuts in ice creams and tasty toppings
2. Peanut allergy : Peanut’s favorite hideouts
3. Peanut Allergy : Steering Clear of the Other Nuts
4. Peanut Allergy : Choosing a peanut-lite restaurant
5. Peanut Allergy : Deconstructing cookies