Sweethearts Candy Blog's

OK, I do appreciate companies that label possible food allergens, but I'm starting to get suspicious about some of them.

Here's what set me off most recently: I received a bunch of BBQ spices from a popular gourmet food/cookware retailer as a gift last weekend. Each spice blend was emblazoned with a label claiming that it was processed on equipment that had previously come into contact with ALL of the "top 8" food allergens.

This same store sells colored sugars (for decorating cakes and cookies) that are also labeled as coming into contact with ALL top 8 food allergens.

Call me crazy but since when does colored sugar get processed on the same equipment as shellfish???

I think you probably know where I'm going with this. Fearing liability, certain companies are now proclaiming that all of their food products contain every top food allergen in an attempt to scare off allergic consumers. In other words, they are not reporting responsibly or truthfully on the contents of their foods. They are including allergy labels only to exclude allergic consumers. They don't wanna get sued, people, and so they're taking it to the extreme.

In a response to one of my previous posts, one mom said a similar situation happened to her at Olive Garden restaurants--they claimed that all of their food may contain peanuts. Unlikely??? You bet. But there it is. Who among us wants to take the risk? Still, I think we're being taken for a ride.

I've got an e-mail into the gourmet retailer quizzing them on their allergy labels. I'll let you know what they say.

Frustrating! We don't want to be uninformed about potential allergens but some of these places are taking it too far. And it feels discriminatory to me.