Hello,
Thank you for taking the time to contact us at Organic Valley.
We certainly understand the challenges folks face in finding safe and nutritious products, especially when allergens are a concern. We take this concern quite seriously and always strive to bring our consumers the best quality products.
First, all ingredients used to make our products are listed on the product labels. Our product labels comply with food labeling laws requiring ingredients that contain the major food allergens to be clearly listed on the label. (For more information on allergen labeling laws: https://www.fda.gov/food/food-labeling-nutrition/food-allergies .) For example, our Pasteurized Heavy Whipping Cream ingredient list states: Organic Grade A Cream (Milk) - milk is the allergen that not everyone would recognize in cream.
Because our farms are located across the country, we co-partner with multiple productions plants in various regions. None of our processing/co-processing locations are certified allergen free and most are not certified as gluten free. The plants may possibly be processing other foods with ingredients that include peanuts and/or tree nuts. However, we/they have stringent cross-contamination control measures in place. Each production facility practices a complete clean-up prior to organic processing, and all of our plants have Standard Operating Procedures and Good Manufacturing Practices they follow to avoid cross-contamination with other product ingredients. These procedures include the following:
• Ingredients: We ensure quality and purity before use.
• Storage: All ingredients are carefully labeled and segregated in storage.
• Production Scheduling: Non-allergenic products are run before allergen-containing products
• Cleaning: The equipment is thoroughly washed between production runs. If a product with one or more of the FDA recognized allergens (milk, egg, soy, fish, peanut, tree nut, wheat, crustacean shellfish, and sesame) is run, the rinse water is then tested for residual allergen proteins. No further processing will take place until the test results are negative.
• Product testing: Finished product is randomly tested by a third party to confirm programs in place are adequate and no cross-contamination of allergens has occurred.
I hope you feel Organic Valley is a trusted source of safe, nutritious products for your family.
If I can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Kind Regards,
Jamie H
Consumer Relations Associate
Organic Valley | Organic Prairie | Mighty Organic