14 “safe” Halloween candies for kids with allergies
Halloween. Going door-to-door in costumes and getting a handful of candy at each stop.
What could be better?
Well, if your child has a food allergy, it can actually be pretty scary. Many, if not most, of the Halloween candies handed out contain nuts, wheat, milk, egg whites, and/or soy – or are packaged in a factory on equipment that processes nuts, milk, egg, and/or soy. So moms of boys and girls with allergies spend the night on high alert.
As a mom, I hadn’t given much thought to the type of Halloween candy I handed out until about three years ago when two of my nieces were diagnosed with severe peanut allergies. And it’s become an issue I’m increasingly aware of since my oldest son’s four best buddies all have nut allergies, ranging from mild to severe. Both of my boys also have children in their classes who have gluten and egg allergies.
The bottom line is: given the prevalence of food allergies, we all have, in my humble opinion, a moral imperative to provide at least some Halloween candy options that are safe for those boys and girls with food allergies.
In that spirit, I went on a hunt for popular candies that are free from the top 8 food allergens (wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, fish and shellfish). Here are 14 candies that do not contain the most common allergens. But, as always, please double-check the ingredients. This list is meant to be a guide only.
Keep in mind, kids with severe allergies can have a reaction to the mere presence of an allergen. So if you are going to be handing out “regular” candy in addition to the allergy-safe kind, it is best to keep those in a separate bin. For example, my nieces both can go into anaphylaxis if a bowl of peanuts is in a room. I can only imagine what would happen if I mixed their “safe” Halloween candy with regular candy, like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
I’m not going to take that chance. And you shouldn’t either.
What kind of Halloween candy do you hand out at your house?
