Our readers will recall an article we published in May, 2014 entitled “Much Ado About Oreos“. Mondelēz International, the firm that owns the Nabisco brand and manufactures Oreos, was about to market a special edition Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Oreo, causing much worry within the peanut-allergic community. We reached out to Mondelez asking about the manufacture of their traditional Oreo line.
At that time, we received a call back from Laurie Guzzinati, Regional Director, Corporate & Government Affairs, North America for Mondelēz International, who was kind enough to call me to discuss the manufacture of Oreos. Here was my summary of the conversation that appeared in the 2014 article:
- The Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Oreo is a limited edition with a limited run. They are manufactured at a single plant in Canada;
- The plain varieties of Oreos are made in a number of facilities throughout North America. While these facilities are not guaranteed to be peanut and tree nut free, the lines are dedicated, do not process peanuts or tree nuts, and special care is taken to limit opportunities for cross-contamination;
- Mondelez recognizes the importance of Oreos to the allergic community and I was assured they would not jeopardize that trust.
A number of you have contacted us in the past few months asking whether we had received a more recent update from Mondelez regarding the manufacture of Oreos. Based on your feedback, we decided it was high time to reach out again to Ms Guzzinati’s office to confirm. Specifically, I asked the following:
Please let me know whether the assertion we printed in that article is still holds true today:
The plain varieties of Oreos are made in a number of facilities throughout North America. While these facilities are not guaranteed to be peanut and tree nut free, the lines are dedicated, do not process peanuts or tree nuts, and special care is taken to limit opportunities for cross-contamination;
Yesterday, we received the following reply from Kimberly Fontes, Senior Manager, Communications North America Mondelēz Global LLC:
Hi Dave,
Thanks for your note. I’m part of Laurie’s team.Yes, the statement [above] is still accurate.
Best,
Kim
So to summarize, based on this response from the company, we confirm that the Original and Double Stuf varieties of Oreos listed in the Safe Snack Guide are indeed still manufactured on dedicated peanut and tree nut-free lines in multiple facilities where peanuts and tree nuts may be processed.
Once again, our thanks to Ms Guzzinati and Ms Fontes of Mondelez for their prompt response to our query.
They have too much money to not be better…I don’t give them dollars except through Enjoy Life Foods. There are better cookies with better ingredients. I try to avoid Mondelez when possible. They aren’t even trying to be better facility free could happen just doesnt.
Has Snack Safely investigated the other varieties of Oreos such as the mint creme, chocolate berry creme, golden, or chocolate creme?
Yes, we have. Mondelez will only confirm that the varieties we mention in the article are made on dedicated lines.
What about the above to Mexico? Are any Oreos still safe?
You folks DO realize they make more than just oreo cookies, right? Seems to me they do pretty good at limiting cross-contamination so that everyone can enjoy Oreo cookies, but some folks will still find a reason to complain “because they have money”.
As far as Frito-Lay goes, they are correct. They make other flavored chips that are powdered. This dust WILL be in the air, there is nothing they can do about it. It wasn’t a flippant response, it was a honest response.
Most Peanut Free Schools follow this Snack Safely list, but this does not cover for cross contamination and many parents/teachers will feel that those who don’t want to use shared lines for products are annoying. Can you help with this? I would really appreciate to see a list of safe snacks that are from peanut free facilities if that is possible, ty
I just learned, after my son had a reaction, that Oreos are produced on lines that also produce dairy products. They do not list this in a voluntary statement, such as, “May contain dairy.” Instead, they indicate it, on the front of the package, with a D after the Kosher symbol (“U” in a circle). So the company has decided to label this product for religious clarity (laudable), but not for allergy clarity (unacceptable). Not being kosher, or even of the Jewish faith, this D on the label was secret code to me. I am glad those with peanut/tree nut allergies can eat these without concern, but I feel their labeling practices are duplicitous and the whole Mondelez group no longer deserves our patronage.