When I first realized I couldn't have cream in my coffee any longer, I scrambled to find the next best thing. I found a coconut creamer at Trader Joe's that was delicious! I thought my problems were solved, but then I learned that it was processed on the same lines as tree nuts. If you are anything like our family, we don't like to bring things in the house that are in a shared facility or lines with our children's allergens. This led me to search for both an alternative milk that I could drink, and one my children could have that was processed on lines not shared by one of their allergens.
Scroll down for the most recent statement I received from each company regarding shared lines/facilities in regards to tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, and egg, but not all of the companies will be listed if I have not heard back. Remember to always check for yourself as manufacturing practices change constantly. However, this should give you a starting point on places to contact for yourself!
The winners:
Coffee Creamer:
1st Place: Chobani Extra Creamy
2nd Place: Ripple Barista
3rd Place: Oatly Barista
Milk:
1st Place: Ripple Original
2nd Place: Chobani Original
3rd Place: Good Karma Original
Runner Up: Oatly
Flavored Milk:
1st Place: Ripple Chocolate
2nd Place: Chobani Vanilla
3rd Place: Ripple Vanilla
Runner Up: Planet Oat Vanilla
Chobani
e-mail received 2/2020
"It’s our top priority to produce and provide foods to fans, like yourself, that are both safe and high quality. All Chobani® products are manufactured in accordance with FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practices (GMPs), FDA’s Hazard Analysis and Risk-Based Preventive Controls for Human Food Rule, and Grade "A" PasteurizedMilkOrdinance regulations. To maintain the hygiene level and sanitary conditions of the processing environment, and to dairy carryover from our dairy based products to our non-dairy products (As examples: Blended Peach to Blended Non-Dairy Slightly Sweet Plain and Chobani® Flip® to Chobani™OatCrunch), our production facilities routinely perform validated cleaning and sanitation programs to remove food residues from production equipment. Adherence to GMPs and the effectiveness of the overall Food Safety Plan are routinely verified with in-process, environmental, and/or finished-product testing programs. Additionally, each product is labeled in accordance with the FoodAllergenLabeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA); which addresses the eight major food allergens –milk, egg, fish, crustacean shell fish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts and soybeans. Should you have any issues or other concerns, we recommend you consult your physician and avoid any products that may be of additional concern.
It's important to note, our Chobani™OatDrinks and Chobani™OatCups are produced on dedicated lines at this time."
Oatly
Taken from Oatly's website 5/2020
"Our products are free from tree nuts, peanuts, dairy, egg, and gluten. We know this because we rigorously test our products at multiple stages of production to ensure there has been no cross-contamination during production or packing. We currently work with a few trusted production facility partners, and while we trust our testing procedures to make sure that our products are free of the top eight allergens, the facilities that we use to make our products do have some of these allergens present.
The facilities that package our 32 oz ambient (shelf-stable) oatmilks also package products that contain dairy, gluten, soy, coconut, almonds, cashews, and macadamia nuts, and these allergens could possibly be present on the same production line as Oatly.
The facilities that package our 64 oz and 32 oz chilled oatmilks also package products that contain dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, coconut, and fish, and these allergens could possibly be present on the same production line as Oatly.
The facility that packages our frozen desserts also packages products that contain dairy, eggs, gluten, soy, coconut, peanuts, almonds, cashews, and chestnuts, and these allergens could possibly be present on the same production line as Oatly.
Eventually, we hope to have our own facility so we can make our oatmilk in an absolutely allergen-free space, but in the meantime, we are committed to rigorous testing so we can be sure that there’s no cross-contamination in our products."
Dream
Received 5/2020
"Thanks for reaching out to Dream. We want you to know that we understand the serious nature of food allergens and we strive to eliminate risk for our consumers. Our allergen control program is the most important aspect to our manufacturing process.
We assure you that all of our manufacturing facilities follow robust allergen control programs that include staff training, segregation of allergen ingredients, production scheduling, and thorough cleaning and sanitation.
Both major and minor ingredients of all products, as well as all processing procedures and equipment, are closely scrutinized.
We recommend you refer to the packaging of the individual products for allergen information. By law, we declare all 8 major US food allergens (peanuts, soybeans, milk, eggs, fish, crustaceans, tree nuts, and wheat) on our packaging."
Califa Farms
Received 12/2019
"Thanks for contacting Califia. Our PET plastic bottle products (such as our Unsweetened Oatmilk) are made in a facility that processes tree nuts, and our laminated carton products (such as our Oat Barista Blend) are processed in a facility that processes dairy, tree nuts and peanuts. Califia Farms has Food Safety protocols in place to eliminate the risk for peanut cross-contamination at our production facilities, and our almond and other tree nut (cashew, macadamia, and coconut) suppliers have exclusively tree nut processes.
Califia Farms has a thorough allergen program in place that is properly validated and verified by independent third-party analysis. All equipment is tested following cleaning using methods and procedures that are approved for use in food plants to verify allergen status."
Trader Joe's Oat Milk SKU 65333
Received 12/2019
"There are no peanuts in the facility. There are eggs, dairy and tree nuts in the facility and on shared equipment."
Ripple
12/2019
"Ripple bottled milk shares production lines with products containing tree nuts, soy and dairy. There are NO peanuts in our bottled milk facilities.
Ripple Kids Packs (shelf stable 8oz servings) are made in a facility that DOES contain peanuts, but does not share production lines with peanuts. The Kids Pack shares production lines with products containing tree nuts, soy and dairy.
Ripple Half and Half shares production lines with products containing tree nuts, soy and dairy."
However, Ripple does have excellent allergen control. Please look at their website for more info: https://www.ripplefoods.com/faqs/allergens/
Owyn
1/2020
"Thanks so much for reaching out to us with your questions about OWYN. We at OWYN completely understand the need to know about the products we consume and the ingredients contained in them. It is a massive part of our passion for creating a protein solution that is clean, delicious, and functional.
We appreciate that you reached out to us to allow us the opportunity to provide clarification for you! Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us if you have any follow up questions after reading through our note to you.
While OWYN products are not manufactured in an allergen free facility, we are dedicated to making products with ingredients free from the top 8 allergens. In fact, OWYN is the first brand to be recognized by FARE (Food Allergy & Research Education) with a national partnership.
Our team has thoroughly reviewed and exceeded all industry-standard due diligence in maintaining a product that is free from the top 8 allergens. This means that strict guidelines and testing protocols are used in every step of the OWYN process, from the individual ingredients, to the manufacturing line, to the finished drink in your hand! The individual ingredients and the production line are all tested for the top 8 allergens. In addition, the finished product is tested with stringent protocols in place to ensure it is free from the top 8 allergens.
So we can certainly tell you that the OWYN products are free from nuts, tree nuts, soy, dairy, gluten, fish, shellfish, and eggs. We want to make sure we have put your mind at ease since providing a delicious protein solution that is free from the top 8 allergens is a major passion of ours, and we want to instill confidence in our customers.
Hope this information helps!
Please let us know if you have any follow up questions. We’re here to help and we want to make sure you have the answers you need.
Thanks again!"
Planet Oat
Received 5/2020
"Thank you for contacting us regarding Planet Oat Oatmilk.
While Planet Oat Oat milk is nut-free, Planet Oat is made in a facility that is not nut-free.
Planet Oat recognizes the concerns of our consumers related to the potential presence of undeclared allergens in food products. Planet Oat does NOT have dedicated lines for manufacturing and packaging most allergen containing products. Due to the known hazards that undeclared allergens pose to our consumers with food allergies, we have fully implementedallergencontrol programs at all of our manufacturing facilities to prevent cross contamination. These include: employee training, ingredient and product segregation, processing and packaging controls, labeling reviews, and verification/ validation programs.
In all facilities theallergencontrol programs have been reviewed and confirmed to meet and/or exceed industry standards and expectations by recognized third party auditing firms. All recognized food allergens contained in any of our products as per formulation are clearly identified in the ingredient declaration located on the lid, side or back panel of the package.
*** Please note - the facility where Planet Oat Oatmilk is processed also processes products containing other allergens such as milk, eggs, and tree nuts."
