I always feel sorry for the kids who have dietary restrictions or allergies that keep them from the annual day when they are given permission to gorge on as much candy as their little hands can shove into their mouths. There are only so many carnival mini toys, erasers, glow bracelets and stickers that one child can find exciting in their bags before the disappointment starts to set in and they lose the childhood joy of dressing up for Halloween.
Thankfully candy manufacturers care about their bottom line and have made a better effort to label their packages so that parents can safely let their gluten intolerant kids collect all the candy they can grab in a couple of hours in the neighborhood and, when it comes to sort it, they can even eat a lot of it now!
In an October 2015 article featured in About Health, Celiac Disease & Gluten Sensitivity Expert Jane Anderson compiled an updated list of candies that are safe for gluten intolerant kids (and their parents) to enjoy this Halloween:
- M&M’s (all EXCEPT for pretzel-flavored M&M’s). Note that some special flavors have a risk of gluten cross-contamination because they’re made in facilities that also use gluten-containing ingredients — for example, in October 2015 the Pumpkin Spice M&Ms available in some stores are labeled “may contain traces of wheat”) NOTE: plain M&Ms (in any color) actually meet the more stringent standards for gluten-free certification, which require the products to contain less than 10 parts per million of gluten.
- 3 Musketeers Bars (all flavors)
- Milky Way Midnight Bar (not the original Milky Way Bar)
- Milky Way Caramel Bar
- Dove Chocolate products (all flavors EXCEPT for milk chocolate cinnamon graham/cookies and cream)
- Snickers Bars (all flavors)
- Munch Nut Bar (the customer service representative urges consumers to check the labels on this one)
- Almond Joy (all)
- Mounds (all)
- Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Kisses
- Hershey’s Filled Chocolate Kisses (only caramel and cherry cordial creme, NOT Hugs, Special Dark, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, or Cookies & Cream)
- Hershey’s Nuggets (milk chocolate, milk chocolate with almonds, special dark chocolate with almonds, and extra creamy milk chocolate with toffee and almonds)
- Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar, only in the 1.55 oz. size
- Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds Bar, only in the 1.45 oz. size
- Hershey’s Air Delight
- Hershey’s Milk Duds
- Heath Bars
- Payday
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (all except for seasonal shaped items, such as Valentine’s hearts)
- Reese’s Pieces (all except for Reese’s Pieces Eggs)
- Rolo Caramels in Milk Chocolate (all except for Minis)
- Skor
- Skor Toffee Bar
- York Peppermint Pattie (all except for York Pieces, York Minis and York Shapes)
- Baby Ruth
- Bit-O-Honey
- Butterfinger Bar (original flavor only, NOT giant bar, Crisp, Stixx, Snakerz, Medallions, Jingles, Hearts or Pumpkins)
- Nestle Milk Chocolate
- Goobers
- Nips (including both regular and sugar-free)
- Oh Henry!
- Raisinets (including Cherry, Cranberry, and Dark Chocolate flavors)
- Sno-Caps
- Wonka Pixy Sticks
- LaffyTaffy (including LaffyTaffy Rope and FruitartsChews)
- Wonka Lik-M-Aid Fun Dip
- Smarties
- Tootsie Roll (All products)
***Disclaimer – Because the same product can be produced and packaged in many different manufacturing facilities for the same company (creating the possibility of cross-contamination), always check the packaging and ingredients before consuming any candy, even if it does appear on this list
If you experience any reactions to products listed here, that display the GF symbol or statement on the packaging contact the manufacturers listed at the numbers on the linked PDF.
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