Update on the Manufacture of Goldfish with Respect to Peanuts and Tree Nuts

Hot on the heels of our update regarding the manufacture of Oreo cookies, the following post was brought to our attention in the Peanut Allergy and Anaphylaxis Awareness group on Facebook (which we highly recommend):

My son’s daycare just got notice from their food distributor that they have to stop giving the kids Goldfish crackers because their processing facility has changed and they are using shared lines not safe for pn/tn.

“Pn/tn” here refers to peanut and tree nut allergy.

Needless to say, this caused much consternation as we reported in June that Goldfish Crackers are made on dedicated peanut and tree nut-free lines.

We committed to contacting Pepperidge Farm for clarity and reached out to Ellen Passero, Manager Quality and Consumer Affairs for the firm. Ms Passero was kind enough to provide us with the following details regarding Goldfish manufacture last June:

Regarding your question about which varieties of Goldfish are RELIABLY made on lines that do not also process peanuts and tree nuts, I can confirm that all varieties of our Goldfish crackers are made on lines that do not process peanuts or tree nuts. We are known by many consumers to be peanut/tree nut free and we are proud that we can provide that assurance. This has been our practice for many, many years.

Conversely, our Goldfish Graham cookies are processed on lines that also process other cookies, some of which contain tree nuts. We are specific in our communication at our call center to separate the crackers from the cookies for this very reason. Of note, these cookie lines are subject to strict procedures regarding cleaning between runs in accordance with good manufacturing practices.

Your question of which varieties are produced in facilities that do not process peanuts or tree nuts is a little less straightforward. We produce a wide range of cookie, cracker and bread products at multiple facilities, and the mix of products produced at each facility shifts with demand. That means, at any given time there may be products being made in a facility that is not processing any nuts at the time, but that same product may also be produced in another facility that is processing tree nuts. However, even within the same facility, we are conscious of allergens and have strict procedures to manage the presence of allergens. We work closely with organizations like FAAN and FARP in order to understand how we can best manage the risk of allergens while respecting the needs of all consumers. Additionally, it is worth repeating, regardless of if Goldfish crackers are or aren’t being made in a facility that processes tree nuts, Goldfish cracker are always produced on lines that do not process peanuts or tree nuts.

We provided Ms Passero with a copy of her statement and asked her a simple question: Has anything changed?

She sent us the following reply:

Thanks for reaching out directly for a response.  I can confirm that the statement [below] still applies today.  I am not sure how the mis-communication may have occurred, and so I am happy to be able to confirm the statement and provide that assurance to your readers.

So to summarize:

• Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Crackers are confirmed to be manufactured on peanut and tree nut-free lines. However, they may be made in facilities that process these allergens.
• Pepperidge Farm Goldfish Grahams are not made on dedicated lines.

Once again, we sincerely thank Ms Passero for her prompt response.