Today's Monday Review is brought to you by GoPicnic, a company specializing in ready-made snackbox meals.
In 2005, GoPicnic provided shelf-stable meals to a major US airline. Since then, they have expanded and now offer over 25 different meal and snack options for adults and kids, including vegetarian, gluten-free and kosher alternatives.
All GoPicnic snackboxes are peanut free. Their MightyMunch kids meals are tree-nut free too. Plus, if you like to avoid trans fat, high fructose corn syrup and MSG, GoPicnic doesn't add any of those either. Complete ingredient information is available on their boxes and website. Read carefully as some products are manufactured on the same line, or produced in a facility, that processes top allergens.
I really appreciate that these meals don't require heating or refrigeration. You simply open the box, use the enclosed plastic utensils, and eat. They even provide a wet-wipe for easy clean-up. What a perfect solution for a quick school lunch, a field trip day or a visit to grandma's. As you prepare to travel, how convenient it would be to order several snackboxes and have them shipped directly to your destination. No more worrying about what to feed your food allergic child when you first arrive. Wouldn't it be great if GoPicnic had a food allergy line of snackboxes? I'd love to see a few kids meals that are free of dairy and egg, as well as peanuts and tree nuts.
I tried Safari Munch, Sports Munch and Go Trek. The meals are well-balanced and I like the variety in the boxes - 5 or 6 foods for each meal.
Snackboxes are priced as low as $2.99 (most kids meals are $4.99). As a bonus to Food Allergy Assistant readers, GoPicnic will give a 25% discount for your first order. Just use coupon code "GPTHANKS".
Check out GoPicnic's complete line of products.
Check out my website for more information: www.foodallergyassistant.com
2 comments:
I think the GoPicnic Meals are a great idea. I thought they were very tasty too! While they don't contain peanuts or tree nuts, some of the items in the meals are manufactured in a facility that processes peanut and/or tree nuts, as you mentioned. The GoPicnic folks have been careful to mention this info on their website, so it's easy to decide if the meals are in one's comfort level or not.
I am concerned, however, about their announcement today that their meals are 100% peanut free. 100% implies there are not even trace amounts and this may not be the case. I wrote to GoPicnic to express my concern about this. I am pasting a chunk of my email below:
"I was very surprised to receive an email from GoPicnic stating that GoPicnic Meals are 100% peanut-free. I just peeked at the GoPicnic Kids Meals on your web site and saw that 4 still list foods made in a facility that processes peanuts. As you know, when a food is manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts, there is often a chance of cross-contamination, particularly if the foods are made on the same machines or in the same room as peanut-containing foods. That risk is great enough so that our allergist has advised us not to feed my peanut allergic son foods manufactured in a facility which processes peanuts.
Given the chance of cross-contamination, I am curious to know how are you able to market those meals as 100% peanut-free? Are they tested for peanut allergen by a lab? The 100% peanut-free claim concerns me since there is a chance someone with a peanut allergy might rely on the "100% peanut-free" claim, and unknowingly be exposed to trace amounts of peanut allergen since there are items in some meals which are manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts. "
Thanks Jennifer B. You raise a great point. In my correspondence with GoPicnic, I encouraged them to create a line of meals for those with food allergies. Their snackboxes contain products from many different food manufacturers. They would need to get clarification from each manufacturer about the ingredients in the product, as well as the entire manufacturing facility, so they can accurately report on their labels.
Thanks you for taking the time to write to them. Please let us know what response you get. It is up to all of us to communicate with food manufacturers about the information we need in order to make safe choices for our families. For example, It is not okay to say 100% peanut free and then include a statement like "produced in a facility that handles peanuts". We deserve better clarification.
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