Please note that we have removed two product lines from the Safe Snack Guide due to changes in manufacture:
- Sensible Portions (Garden Veggie Straws, Garden Veggie Chips)
- Garden of Eatin’ Tortilla Chips (all varieties)
These brands are owned by the Hain-Celestial Group which manufactures many products in the same facility. Their customer service supervisor could not say for sure whether the products were currently manufactured on lines that also process peanuts or tree nuts, but that these allergens were indeed processed in the same facility. (Note that Hain-Celestial does not participate in our Manufacturer Partnership.)
We are removing these items from the Safe Snack Guide as a precaution and strongly urge you to discard your current copy of the Guide and download the latest revision:
Click here for the latest revision of the Safe Snack Guide
Special thanks to Miriah and Jessica who contacted us after speaking to Hain-Celestial customer service regarding Veggie Straws.
Our first inquiry to their customer service department resulted in this stock response:
Thank you for taking the time to contact us regarding our Sensible Portions® Straws. Please accept our apologies for the delay in our reply.
The Hain Celestial Group’s labeling declares major allergens (peanuts, soybeans, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, and wheat) and we follow the U.S. FDA’s regulations. We recognize the serious nature of the allergen issue and we strive to minimize risk.
Both major and minor ingredients of all products, as well as all processing procedures and equipment, are closely scrutinized and all potential allergen issues as determined by the Hain Celestial Group are declared on our labeling.
We assure you that strict manufacturing processes and procedures are in place and that all of our manufacturing facilities follow rigid allergen control programs that include staff training, segregation of allergen ingredients, production scheduling, and thorough cleaning and sanitation.
As one of our valued customers, your satisfaction is very important to us and we will share your comments with our Leadership Team. If we can be of further assistance, please feel free to contact us at 1-800-434-4246, Monday through Friday from 9AM – 7PM Eastern Time.
After subsequent calls to their customer service line, we were connected with George, who was kind enough to respond to our direct questions.
Note that we removed Terra Chips from the Guide last December because Hain-Celestial would not (or could not) provide us with information other than “check the label; we warn for major allergens”. We appreciate the honest response provided by George, but wish this information would have been provided in their first response.
Once again, we thank our readers and subscribers for their diligence and feedback which helps us keep the Safe Snack Guide up-to-date between product surveys. If you have not subscribed to our mailing list for updates and product advisories, we suggest you do so by completing the form in the right sidebar.
most if the food in the list is bad for kids! filled with GMO’s, HFCS and sugar. I sympathize a great deal but at the same time i cannot help but wonder, why so many allergies? soon there are going to be cubby holesin the cafeteria so everyone can be quarantined off. isn’t “why” a good questiin here, could it be all the genteticallly modified foods, the glyphosate, pestcides and chemicals in the very food we are feeding our children? food for thought
Thank you SO much for these updates. Lots of children and adults in our school, eat these products. Very helpful to our school, where we have many people with allergies. Thank you!
Oddly enough I contacted Hain Celestial regarding Veggie Straws yesterday and was given the same response by their representative, whose name I did not note. During the course of the conversation, she happen to give the example that the company, while practicing safe manufacturing procedures, could not guarantee that an employee had just eaten a PBJ or Almond butter sandwich for lunch and therefore “potentially release airborne protein particles”. She was very adamant that the company could not give a 100% guarantee of the product being peanut, and tree nut safe. As I relayed to her yesterday, I am “scratching another one off the list”. Thank you for reporting this to your members.
After receiving the Snack Safely update this morning about the removal of Sensible Portions veggie snacks, I decided to call the company to get more info. I’ve been feeding my PN/TN allergic daughter these for ages. Well…all I have to say is I’m pretty DISGUSTED!!! The company chose to LEAVE OUT ALLERGENS in the facility because they decided as a company the allergens weren’t “dominate” enough in the facility. SEARIOUSLY?!?!! So peanuts and tree nuts are in the facility, but THE HAIN CELESTIAL GROUP decided to leave it off their “manufactured in a facility” statement. How can a company be allowed to do this? I’m beyond disappointed and disgusted.