Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips

Enjoy Life Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips -- 10 oz Each / Pack of 12The company claims these to be corn-free, but too many reactions have been reported.  This will be taken off the corn-free list on the next update.

Do use caution with this product.

9 comments:

Cami said...

My nephew is very corn sensitive and broke out in hives when I made him cookies with this ingredient. I didn't personally react, but he is very, very sensitive to corn.

MS said...

I wondered about these. I didn't feel well after eating them with So Delicious brand ice cream - which doesn't make me sick if I eat it by itself.

(I also can't eat Enjoy Life cookies of any kind without getting a killer headache or feeling ill afterwards. I don't know what ingredient that's related to, though)

Joel Warady said...

As you know, people react different ways to different ingredients. Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips have absolutely no corn in the product whatsoever. It is pure chocolate,. with very clean ingredients. With respect to our cookies, again there is absolutely no corn in the products. ALL of our products are both gluten free, and free of the 8 common allergens. You might have had a reaction to another one of our ingredients, but we can assure you that it was not due to corn.

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Joel Warady
Chief Sales & Marketing Officer
Enjoy Life Foods
@enjoylifecmo

V said...

Joel - Thank you for taking the time to post on the blog.

Unfortunately, there just have been too many reactions among the corn allergic for this product to be considered safe for those with a sensitive corn allergy.

There are a lot of ways corn can sneak into products. Cross-contamination, packaging, cross-contamination of ingredients before you even get them.

Unfortunately until this product proves to be safe through human testing, we won't be putting it back on the list.

Violets said...

To clarify, I believe the company means that there is no corn PROTEIN left in the ingredients used in Enjoy Life products.
For those with typical IgE allergies, the main culprit is the protein found in the food. However, some unfortunate souls have discovered that corn 'allergies' are often reactions to something that happens when corn is processed. The cookies do have xanthan gum, a corn derivative. The chocolate only became problematic over the last year...I wonder if it could be a cleaning agent? Or maybe one of the companies providing ingredients changed something? At any rate, when multiple people begin reacting to a food that was previously safe; their common allergens are corn derivatives; and there have been recent changes to the product (new packaging and an expanded product line) it's hard to believe that it's really just a new allergy.

In a nutshell; you know your sensitivity level. If you are just reactive to the protein, Enjoy Life is perfect. If you react to even minute amounts of corn derivatives, use caution and be aware of potential reports of reactions.

Jaymi Kauffman said...

After having a reaction to Enjoy Life Chocolate Chips, I called them and was told that while none of the ingredients are from corn they do sometimes use corn on their lines. They said it would be trace amounts but it is used. They also told me they cannot avoid every allergen. They avoid the top 8 which does not include corn.

Violets said...

:-( Thanks for posting the info Jaymie. I was hoping EL would figure it out and fix the problem...they were so great about our plight in the past.
But...I have much more respect for a company that is 100% forthright in the risks of CC than one who...well, doesn't.

Unknown said...

But your vanilla is derived from corn (as I have been told by your company) and those with sensitive reactions can react to that as my 3 year old daughter did. If you look on your companies page it states that your vanilla is derived from corn and while there is technically no proteins those who are very sensitive may react. I caution you to make sure you understand these allergies before you respond. Corn is a very hidden product as many ingredients in the United States are derived from corn. True there is no corn starch or corn syrup but for those who struggle with a corn allergy those ingredients are just the tip of the iceberg. There ARE ingredients in your chocolate chips that ARE derived from corn. Maybe not all will react but those who are very sensitive can and may.

A said...

But they're dusted in cornstarch so .you lie .