I was informed by a customer that I had conflicting information between our website and our packaging regarding allergens as it pertains to wheat/gluten. I apologize for this and would like to use this blog post as an opportunity to explain the common allergens and how we make our best effort to prevent them from entering the chocolate.
Nuts: We do not use peanuts. We do not use tree-nuts, with the exception of toasted coconut on occasion to garnish a truffle or put on a chocolate bark as a topping. Coconut should not be present in any of our dark or milk chocolate bars, since it never enters the chocolate grinder or tempering machines. We do not allow peanuts or other tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachio, hazelnut) in our facility - not even for lunch.
We use sacha inchi from Peru (a seed) as a nut alternative in our small 20lb grinder to make a filling for our cuvettes (cups). Sacha Inchi never enters our tempering machines or our large-scale chocolate grinders that we use to make dark and milk chocolate. The 20 lb chocolate grinder that is used for making sacha inchi chocolate is completely cleaned out before another small or test batch of chocolate is made in the same machine.
Milk: We use dairy milk powder and liquid milk in our facility. We reserve one of our large-scale grinders for milk chocolate production. This grinder is located right next to our dark chocolate grinder. Both grinders have a lid on them that leaves about a 3-inch vertical opening between the lid and the drum that holds the chocolate. We do make an effort to separate dark and milk chocolate production by dedicating a tempering machine only to dark chocolate and a grinder only to dark chocolate. Milk powder is a fine particle that could get into the air and circulate in our facility's HVAC system leaving trace amounts of milk even in our dark chocolate. During the daytime while we are working, our chocolate tempering machines have a continuous flow of chocolate that could possibly absorb a fine airborne particle. If you are severely allergic to milk, please refrain from eating our milk or dark chocolate.
Soy: We do not use soy in our facility. All of our chocolate is soy-free.
Wheat/gluten: We do use wheat flour in our facility. About two times per week we make a baked item such as cookies or brownies that use flour containing gluten. Flour is a fine particle that could possibly get into the air and circulate in our facility's HVAC system, leaving trace amounts of wheat/gluten in our dark or milk chocolate. We make efforts to minimize this exposure by covering our mixer with a cloth while mixing cookie dough and by covering our chocolate grinders with lids. The lid on the chocolate grinder leaves about a 3 inch vertical opening between the lid and drum that holds the chocolate. During the daytime while we are working, our chocolate tempering machines have a continuous flow of chocolate that could possibly absorb a fine airborne particle. If you are severely allergic to wheat or gluten, please refrain from eating our dark or milk chocolate.
Eggs: We do use eggs in our facility about two times per week when we make a baked item such as cookies or brownies. Eggs should never contaminate the chocolate, however. If an egg spilled into the chocolate grinder or tempering machine, we would discard all of the chocolate that the egg contaminated.
I hope this clarifies the allergen statements made on our packaging and item descriptions. I take food allergens very seriously and want to ensure you have the information you need to make the proper decision for yourself regarding whether our chocolate is appropriate for you to consume.
Nuts: We do not use peanuts. We do not use tree-nuts, with the exception of toasted coconut on occasion to garnish a truffle or put on a chocolate bark as a topping. Coconut should not be present in any of our dark or milk chocolate bars, since it never enters the chocolate grinder or tempering machines. We do not allow peanuts or other tree nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, pistachio, hazelnut) in our facility - not even for lunch.
We use sacha inchi from Peru (a seed) as a nut alternative in our small 20lb grinder to make a filling for our cuvettes (cups). Sacha Inchi never enters our tempering machines or our large-scale chocolate grinders that we use to make dark and milk chocolate. The 20 lb chocolate grinder that is used for making sacha inchi chocolate is completely cleaned out before another small or test batch of chocolate is made in the same machine.
Milk: We use dairy milk powder and liquid milk in our facility. We reserve one of our large-scale grinders for milk chocolate production. This grinder is located right next to our dark chocolate grinder. Both grinders have a lid on them that leaves about a 3-inch vertical opening between the lid and the drum that holds the chocolate. We do make an effort to separate dark and milk chocolate production by dedicating a tempering machine only to dark chocolate and a grinder only to dark chocolate. Milk powder is a fine particle that could get into the air and circulate in our facility's HVAC system leaving trace amounts of milk even in our dark chocolate. During the daytime while we are working, our chocolate tempering machines have a continuous flow of chocolate that could possibly absorb a fine airborne particle. If you are severely allergic to milk, please refrain from eating our milk or dark chocolate.
Soy: We do not use soy in our facility. All of our chocolate is soy-free.
Wheat/gluten: We do use wheat flour in our facility. About two times per week we make a baked item such as cookies or brownies that use flour containing gluten. Flour is a fine particle that could possibly get into the air and circulate in our facility's HVAC system, leaving trace amounts of wheat/gluten in our dark or milk chocolate. We make efforts to minimize this exposure by covering our mixer with a cloth while mixing cookie dough and by covering our chocolate grinders with lids. The lid on the chocolate grinder leaves about a 3 inch vertical opening between the lid and drum that holds the chocolate. During the daytime while we are working, our chocolate tempering machines have a continuous flow of chocolate that could possibly absorb a fine airborne particle. If you are severely allergic to wheat or gluten, please refrain from eating our dark or milk chocolate.
Eggs: We do use eggs in our facility about two times per week when we make a baked item such as cookies or brownies. Eggs should never contaminate the chocolate, however. If an egg spilled into the chocolate grinder or tempering machine, we would discard all of the chocolate that the egg contaminated.
I hope this clarifies the allergen statements made on our packaging and item descriptions. I take food allergens very seriously and want to ensure you have the information you need to make the proper decision for yourself regarding whether our chocolate is appropriate for you to consume.
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