• Dedicated Facility
• Carefully-Sourced Ingredients
• Strict Manufacturing Processes and Controls
• Special Protective Packaging
One Last Thought
(Because your safety is important to us)
Dedicated Facility
No one uses our bakery except for Egg-Free Epicurean. With the exception of Egg-Free Epicurean staff, no one enters our facility unless they have our permission and our supervision at all times. If anyone does receive permission to enter our facility, there are steps they must take (such as wearing a jacket, hair net, gloves, and shoe covers which we provide) to protect the allergen-free nature of the facility.
Furthermore, we are not a retail facility. Our bakery is not open to the public. (But, of course, we would be happy to ship our bakery-fresh desserts directly to your door:
Egg-Free, Peanut-Free, Tree Nut-Free Goodies)
No food is brought into the bakery except for our carefully-sourced ingredients. Employees eat outside the building and may not consume egg, peanut or tree nut products on the facility grounds – not even outside the building.
No one uses our bakery except for Egg-Free Epicurean. With the exception of Egg-Free Epicurean staff, no one enters our facility unless they have our permission and our supervision at all times. If anyone does receive permission to enter our facility, there are steps they must take (such as wearing a jacket, hair net, gloves, and shoe covers which we provide) to protect the allergen-free nature of the facility.
Furthermore, we are not a retail facility. Our bakery is not open to the public. (But, of course, we would be happy to ship our bakery-fresh desserts directly to your door:
Egg-Free, Peanut-Free, Tree Nut-Free Goodies)
No food is brought into the bakery except for our carefully-sourced ingredients. Employees eat outside the building and may not consume egg, peanut or tree nut products on the facility grounds – not even outside the building.
Carefully Sourced Ingredients
We source all of our ingredients from food manufacturers who understand the seriousness of food allergies. If you scan our ingredient lists, you’ll find that most of our ingredients are rather “raw” such as unbleached flour, butter, granulated sugar, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and other similarly basic ingredients. We have carefully chosen every ingredient supplier with our allergic customers’ safety in mind. While it is unlikely that any of these ingredients would have exposure to eggs, peanuts or tree nuts, we test them both on-site and with ELISA testing at a special lab to make sure.
We use a few other ingredients that are somewhat more complex such as semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder and marshmallows. Again, we have carefully selected these suppliers and have discussed their manufacturing process with them to assure ourselves that their products are safe. These manufacturers go above and beyond what is required by FALCPA and adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (discussed in Checklist Item #7). We have confidence that their products are safe for use in our bakery. Nevertheless, we test on-site and off-site using ELISA testing to go one step further in protecting you.
We source all of our ingredients from food manufacturers who understand the seriousness of food allergies. If you scan our ingredient lists, you’ll find that most of our ingredients are rather “raw” such as unbleached flour, butter, granulated sugar, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and other similarly basic ingredients. We have carefully chosen every ingredient supplier with our allergic customers’ safety in mind. While it is unlikely that any of these ingredients would have exposure to eggs, peanuts or tree nuts, we test them both on-site and with ELISA testing at a special lab to make sure.
We use a few other ingredients that are somewhat more complex such as semi-sweet chocolate chips, cocoa powder and marshmallows. Again, we have carefully selected these suppliers and have discussed their manufacturing process with them to assure ourselves that their products are safe. These manufacturers go above and beyond what is required by FALCPA and adhere to Good Manufacturing Practices (discussed in Checklist Item #7). We have confidence that their products are safe for use in our bakery. Nevertheless, we test on-site and off-site using ELISA testing to go one step further in protecting you.
Strict Manufacturing Processes and Controls
Everyone who works at Egg-Free Epicurean, even the cleaning crew, has received training to preserve the egg-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free nature of our facility. We have strict guidelines about the clothing worn by our staff when they are inside the bakery. We have strict guidelines about what foods can and cannot be consumed by staff when they are at work, and no food other than our carefully sourced ingredients is allowed inside the bakery.
We also follow Good Manufacturing Practices (discussed in Checklist Item #7) and test food contact surfaces regularly to ensure they are free of contaminants.
Everyone who works at Egg-Free Epicurean, even the cleaning crew, has received training to preserve the egg-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free nature of our facility. We have strict guidelines about the clothing worn by our staff when they are inside the bakery. We have strict guidelines about what foods can and cannot be consumed by staff when they are at work, and no food other than our carefully sourced ingredients is allowed inside the bakery.
We also follow Good Manufacturing Practices (discussed in Checklist Item #7) and test food contact surfaces regularly to ensure they are free of contaminants.
Special Protective Packaging
Our product packaging is designed to keep our product’s flavor in and everything else out. By combining a special material with modified atmosphere packaging, our product bags help to maintain the egg-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free nature of our desserts even if you find them at your local bakery or coffee shop*. Some have expressed concern that our packages are a bit difficult to open. Believe it or not, this is one of the many ways we strive to keep our customers safe. The package simply cannot be opened and resealed without it being obvious. In fact, you might have to cut the package open. This package
design is intentional: No matter where you buy our products, you can rest assured that it was
sealed at our dedicated facility and not touched again until you open the package to enjoy the bakery-fresh treat.
Our product packaging is designed to keep our product’s flavor in and everything else out. By combining a special material with modified atmosphere packaging, our product bags help to maintain the egg-free, peanut-free, tree nut-free nature of our desserts even if you find them at your local bakery or coffee shop*. Some have expressed concern that our packages are a bit difficult to open. Believe it or not, this is one of the many ways we strive to keep our customers safe. The package simply cannot be opened and resealed without it being obvious. In fact, you might have to cut the package open. This package
design is intentional: No matter where you buy our products, you can rest assured that it was
sealed at our dedicated facility and not touched again until you open the package to enjoy the bakery-fresh treat.
* Retailers who carry our products are required to place them on a shelf or counter top outside of the case where they display unpackaged baked goods. This helps to decrease the likelihood that the outside of our package comes in contact with one of the allergens we are trying to avoid.
* If you happen to find our products inside a bakery case with other unpackaged baked goods, we suggest that you either don’t buy our product at that retailer, or wash the outside of the package with soap before consuming the product. Please assume that the outside of the package has been exposed to your allergens. Also, feel free to buy our products on our website and have them shipped directly to your home.
One Last Thought
At Egg-Free Epicurean, we know first-hand how serious food allergies are, and we have gone to great lengths to make sure that our customers are safe. Our food-allergic child safely eats everything we bake at our facility; we would never sell you something that we wouldn’t give our own child.
However, as we discussed on the first page of this section, there is no way that any food manufacturer can guarantee you that you won’t have an allergic reaction. Food allergies are very complicated and each individual’s sensitivity to their allergens is as unique as is that person. There is no such thing as a test for zero presence of an allergen; therefore, it’s not possible to issue a guarantee. We use one of the most sensitive tests available to keep our customers safe, but a food-allergic consumer can never be too careful.
No matter what you eat, if you have food allergies, you must always be prepared for the unexpected. Please be sure to read Food Allergy Checklist: 12. Be Prepared for A Food Allergic Reaction for more information. Please read through each item in our Food Allergy Checklist for the Newly Diagnosed, even if it has been years since your diagnosis. There are many food safety topics discussed on those pages of our website.
At Egg-Free Epicurean, we know first-hand how serious food allergies are, and we have gone to great lengths to make sure that our customers are safe. Our food-allergic child safely eats everything we bake at our facility; we would never sell you something that we wouldn’t give our own child.
However, as we discussed on the first page of this section, there is no way that any food manufacturer can guarantee you that you won’t have an allergic reaction. Food allergies are very complicated and each individual’s sensitivity to their allergens is as unique as is that person. There is no such thing as a test for zero presence of an allergen; therefore, it’s not possible to issue a guarantee. We use one of the most sensitive tests available to keep our customers safe, but a food-allergic consumer can never be too careful.
No matter what you eat, if you have food allergies, you must always be prepared for the unexpected. Please be sure to read Food Allergy Checklist: 12. Be Prepared for A Food Allergic Reaction for more information. Please read through each item in our Food Allergy Checklist for the Newly Diagnosed, even if it has been years since your diagnosis. There are many food safety topics discussed on those pages of our website.
