Which Is The REAL #1 Peanut-Free Fundraising Chocolate?

You may be surprised to know that most World's Finest® Chocolate products are not only peanut-free, but many are gluten-free and nut-free as  well!  As a peanut-free facility (World's Finest® Chocolate does not manufacture any products on site that include peanuts or traces of peanuts), all of our $1, $2, and most of our $7 items are peanut-free, and several are even gluten- and nut-free, too!  New labeling will be seen in the fall of 2014 to reflect this.

So what about who is #1?  Let's start with the numbers:

World's Finest® Chocolate is the country's #1 fundraising chocolate brand with annual sales that vastly surpass even their closest competitor.  Since 1949, they have raised over $3 BILLION in PROFIT for groups ranging from schools to sports leagues, churches to charities, individuals to entire districts.  So any other company claiming to be the #1 peanut-free fundraising chocolate is suffering from acute wishful thinking!

What does "certified" peanut-free mean?

Being certified is a nice, feel-good touch that some companies like to add to their labeling, but what does it really mean?  To paraphrase what "certified" means in a legal sense and how it pertains to peanut-free, an unbiased agency or company independent of the manufacturer has to thoroughly audit a manufacturer's supply chain and facilities to ensure they are in compliance with a set standard of rules/guidelines that define whatever the sought-after certification is, in this case "peanut-free".  If the auditing agency/company reaches a satisfactory conclusion, they may then attest, or "certify", that the manufacturer in question is peanut-free.

Is being "certified" peanut-free really necessary?

The short answer is:  No.  Most companies claiming the "peanut-free" title do not take the extra step of having their products certified as such.  Why?  Because it is really unnecessary.  In the United States, the Food & Drug Administration oversees foodstuffs and sets forth very stringent rules about product labeling, as is evidenced by the  Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA).

If a company manufactures products with peanuts in them or in a facility that processes peanuts, they must label them as such, otherwise they "may be subject to civil sanctions, criminal penalties, or both under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act if one of its packaged food products does not comply with the FALCPA labeling requirements."  In keeping with that mandate, if a company's products do not contain peanuts and/or are processed in a facility that does not also process peanuts, they may label their products as "peanut-free".

The bottom line.

No matter who the oversight body is, be it the FDA or a company whose business is to certify manufacturers as "peanut-free", the onus of responsibility for reporting accurate claims remains with the manufacturer.

World's Finest Chocolate conducts allergen testing with all of its materials vendors, “swabs” all production lines on a daily basis, and gets results verified by independent labs to ensure their facilities are and remain peanut-free.  Its employees are thoroughly and constantly trained to understand how extremely important this is, and the company maintains a “superior” rating for quality audits from AIB and is SQF Level II certified.

So you can eat your favorite WFC products with confidence knowing that the company is rigorous in its standards and vigilant in its oversight with respect to allergen testing and disclosure.

To find out what the nut factor is for your favorite World's Finest® Chocolate products, visit our World's Finest® Chocolate page.