Oct
02

Safe Gluten-Free Halloween Candy!

By Heather · Print This Post Print This Post

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It’s that time of year when the aisles of stores become filled with bags of bite-size candies. Ever since my kids started getting candy from trick-or-treating, I’ve been trying to figure out which candy has gluten and which doesn’t. It was easy in the beginning because they didn’t really get much candy, and I could always just throw it out (or give away to non-celiacs) without them realizing it. Then, I found the list that circulates around the web every year. It’s a list that Melonie Katz and many other parents of celiac children put together. They combined resources to look up ingredients and call companies to get a list of safe and unsafe candies for celiacs. Here is the 2009 GF Candy List .

Then, my kids started having Halloween parties at school, and getting more candy from trick-or-treating. Sometimes, they would get some unusual candies that you only see at Halloween time. They are a little more difficult to look up online. As a result, I just started reading all the packages of candy in stores. I started doing it just casually, out of curiosity. Then, I started to write it down, so I could better remember come Halloween night. Now, I go to several stores (grocery, discount, dollar, etc.) to see what candy our neighbors and classmates might be offering for Halloween treats.

Here is the list I’ve compiled to share with you. The safe candy/treats are determined safe by me based on reading the ingredients, allergy statements, and cross-contamination warnings on the packages of candy I found in the stores in our area. It’s always best if you can check the ingredients of the candy yourself because it can vary if they were packaged or manufactured in different facilities or on different dates. But, if you can’t find it, I hope these lists can offer you some peace of mind. If you have any corrections or additions to make to the list, please put them in the comments so that others may benefit from the information.

Gluten-Free (Safe) Candy and Treats

  • 3 Musketeers fun size
  • 3 Musketeers Mint with dark chocolate
  • Act II Popcorn Balls
  • Albert’s Gummy Eyeballs
  • Albert’s Iced Halloween pops (lollipops)
  • Almond Joy fun size bars
  • Baby Ruth fun size
  • Bazooka Big Mix (includes bubble gum, bubble gum filled candy, candy chews, and bubble gum filled lollipops)
  • Betty Crocker Fruit by the Foot Wicked Webs Berry Wave mini feet
  • Betty Crocker Halloween fruit flavored snacks – “Gluten Free”
  • Bit•O•Honey
  • Butterfinger fun size
  • Big Blow bubblegum
  • Black Forest Gummy Tarantulas
  • Black Forest Gummy Fun Bugs Juicy Oozers
  • Bubbly lollipop + gum
  • Candy Checkers (made for Target)
  • Caramel Apple Pops (lollipops made by Tootsie Roll)
  • Charleston Chew fun size
  • Charms Blow Pops
  • Charms Candy Carnival Package (Blow Pops, Sugar Babies, Zip a Dee mini pops, Sugar Daddy, Pops, Sugar Mama Caramel, Tear Jerkers sour bubble gum, Blow Pop Bubble Gum)
  • Charms Fluffy Stuff Spider Web cotton candy
  • Chewy Lemonheads and Friends
  • Child’s Play
  • Colombina Scary Eyeballs bubblegum
  • Colombina Fizzy Pops
  • Comix Mix Candy Sticks (Tom and Jerry, Flintstones, Scooby Doo, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Popeye) – “Gluten Free”
  • Cracker Jack caramel coated popcorn and peanuts
  • Disney Halloween Candy Mix (jelly beans, gummies, candy bracelets and candy characters from Cars, Tinkerbell and Toy Story)
  • Dove pieces (Dark Chocolate, Milk Chocolate, Peanut Butter Milk Chocolate, Caramel Milk Chocolate)
  • Dots Gumdrops – including Candy Corn Dots (candy corn flavored), Ghost Dots (assorted fruit flavored), and Bat Dots (blood orange flavored)
  • Dubble Bubble bubblegum
  • Dum Dum Lollipops (including Shrek Pops) – “This product does not contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat or gluten. It has been manufactured on dedicated equipment.”
  • Dum Dum Chewy Pops – “This product does not contain peanuts, tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat or gluten. It has been manufactured on dedicated equipment.”
  • Farley’s Kiddie Mix (includes Smarties, SweetTarts, Now and Later, Jaw Breakers, Super Bubble and Lolli-pops)
  • Ferrara Pan Caramels
  • Ferrara Pan Lemonhead & Friends candy mix (includes Applehead, Cherryhead, Grapehead, Chewy Lemonhead & Friends, Chewy Atomic Fireball, and Red Hots)
  • Florida’s Natural Healthy Treats Nuggets, Sour String, Fruit Stiks – “Gluten Free”
  • Fright Fingers Popcorn Kit
  • Frankford’s Bugs Gummy Candy
  • Frankford’s Gummy Body Parts
  • Frankford’s Marshmallow Pals
  • Game Night boxes of candy game pieces (includes Operation, Sorry!, Monopoly, Life, and Clue)
  • Grave Gummies (Yummy Gummies)
  • Gummy Pirate Choppers
  • Heath milk chocolate English toffee bar snack size
  • Hershey’s Bliss (Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Milk Chocolate with Meltaway Center, White Chocolate with Meltaway Center, Milk Chocolate with Raspberry Meltaway Center, Dark Chocolate)
  • Hershey’s Kisses (Candy Corn flavored candy, Caramel, Caramel Apple flavored filling, Milk Chocolate, Chocolate Meltaway, Pumpkin Spice, Hugs, Hugs & Kisses, Cherry Cordial Creme, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Special Dark)
  • Hershey’s Milk Chocolate snack size bars
  • Hershey’s Milk Chocolate with Almonds snack size bars
  • Hershey’s Mr. Goodbar fun size
  • Hershey’s Nuggets (Milk Chocolate, Milk Chocolate with Almonds, Milk Chocolate with Toffee and Almonds, Special Dark, Special Dark with Almonds)
  • Hot Tamales – “Gluten Free”
  • Humphrey Popcorn Balls
  • Jolly Rancher hard candy and Doubles Candy
  • Jolly Rancher lollipops and sticks
  • Jr. Mints fun size
  • Jujyfruits
  • Kellogg’s Spongebob Squarepants fruit flavored snacks
  • Kraft Jet-Puffed Boo Mallows marshmallows
  • Lemonheads
  • LiveSavers Gummies
  • M&M’s (original, peanut, peanut butter)
  • Mallo Cup
  • Marvel Heroes Candy Sticks (Hulk, Spiderman, Wolverine) – “Gluten Free.”
  • Melster Peanut Butter Kisses
  • Milk Duds
  • Mike and Ike – “Gluten Free”
  • Mini Mentos
  • Mini Sour Dudes Straws
  • Monstaz Pops (jack-o-lantern lollipops)
  • Monster Hunt plastic monster eggs filled with candy bones, skulls and pumpkins (made for Target)
  • Mounds dark chocolate fun size bars
  • Mr. Goodbar
  • Necco’s Sky Bar 4 in 1 chocolate bar
  • Nestle Milk Chocolate fun size bars
  • Nestle Raisinets (milk chocolate) fun size
  • Now and Later
  • Operation Gummy Candy
  • Palmer Peanut Butter Cups
  • Pay Day peanut caramel bar snack size
  • Peanut M&M’s
  • Pearson’s Bun candy -  maple and roasted peanuts
  • Peeps Jack-o-lanterns, Ghosts and Chocolate Mousse Cats – “Gluten Free”
  • Pez candy – “Gluten Free”
  • Pop Rocks
  • Rain•Blo Bubble Gum Eyes of Terror
  • Raisinets
  • Reese’s Fast Break candy bars and snack size
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups snack size and miniatures
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins
  • Reese’s Pieces
  • Reese’s Select Peanut Butter Cremes
  • Reese’s Select Clusters
  • Reese’s Whipps
  • Rolo chocolate covered carmels
  • Sixlets
  • Skeleton Pops (lollipops)
  • Skittles fun size – “Gluten Free”
  • Skittles Crazy Cores fun size – “Gluten Free”
  • Skittles Sour fun size – “Gluten Free”
  • Smarties (this is the small candies sold in rolls, not Nestle’s chocolate candies) – “Contains none of the following: gluten (from wheat, barley, oats and rye), milk, egg, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, wheat, peanuts, or soy beans.”
  • Snickers fun size and mini’s
  • Snickers Fudge bar mini’s
  • Sour Patch
  • Starburst Fruit Chews fun size – “Gluten Free”
  • Starburst Gummibursts and Sour Gummibursts – “Gluten Free”
  • Sugar Babies
  • Sugar Daddy Caramel Pops
  • Super Bubble bubble gum
  • Swedish Fish treat size
  • Sweethearts conversation hearts Forbidden Fruits (candy packaging of The Twilight Saga, New Moon the movie)
  • Sweet’s Candy Corn Taffy – “This product is Gluten Free”
  • Tootsie Pops (original and miniatures)
  • Tootsie Rolls midgies and snack bars
  • Transformers Candy Mix (gummy shields, fruit chews, candy shields, gum rocks)
  • Warheads (Extreme Sour hard candy and Sour QBZ chewy cubes)
  • Wonka Chocolate Laffy Taffy
  • Wonka Giant Chewy Nerds Jelly Beans
  • Wonka Giant Pixy Stix
  • Wonka Laffy Taffy Ropes
  • Wonka Mix-Ups
  • Wonka Monster Mix-Ups (SweetTarts Skulls and Bones, Spooky Nerds, Howlin’ Laffy Taffy)
  • Wonka Nerds (cross contamination warning on the Spooky Nerds orange and fruit punch flavors)
  • Wonka Pixy Stix
  • Wonka SweetTarts
  • Wonka SweetTarts Boo Bag Mix (SweetTart Chews were OK, but other packages in the bag were labeled with a cross-contamination warning. See list below.)
  • X-scream Mouth Morphers Fruit Gushers – “Gluten Free”
  • York Peppermint Patties Pumpkins
  • Zed Candy Skulls and Bones (fruit flavored hard candy)

.

Unsafe Candy and Treats (may contain gluten)

  • 100 Grand – contains barley malt
  • Air Heads – “Manufactured in a facility that processes wheat flour.”
  • Brach’s Autumn Mix – “Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Brach’s Candy Corn – “Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Brach’s Caramel Candy Corn – “Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Brach’s Mellowcreme Pumpkins – “Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Brach’s Milk Maid Caramel Apple Candy Corn – “Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Chex Mix – contains wheat
  • Chuckles Ju Jubes – “Packed on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, and/or soy protein.”
  • Clark Bar Wicked Mix (includes mini Clark, Dark Clark, Clark Coconut and Clark Peanut Butter Crunch) – contains malt flavoring, peanuts, milk, soy, wheat and barley. “Processed in a facility that also processes eggs and tree nuts.”
  • Farley’s Chewy Mix (includes Caramel Creams, Bit-O-Honey, Slo Poke and Assorted Toffees) – contains wheat flour
  • Farley’s Harvest Mix and Candy Corn – “Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Goetze’s Caramel Creams – contains wheat flour
  • Good & Plenty – Thanks to Alice for alerting us to the change. My research found that this product was previously gluten-free, but was changed in 2008. You may still find some that are gluten-free in discount stores. However, any that were produced in 2009 contain wheat.
  • Hershey’s Cookies & Creme snack size bars – contains wheat flour
  • Hershey’s Kisses Cookies and Creme – contains wheat flour
  • Hershey’s miniatures – “May contain wheat.”
  • Hershey’s Take 5 Bar – contains wheat flour
  • Keebler Gripz Chips Deluxe cookies – contains wheat flour
  • Kit Kat snack size – contains wheat flour
  • Lindt milk chocolate with smooth filling truffle balls with jack-o-lantern wrapping – contains barley malt powder
  • Milky Way fun size and mini’s – contains malted barley
  • Mini Oreo packs – contains wheat flour
  • Nestle Crunch fun size – contains barley malt; “Made on equipment that also processes peanuts, nuts and wheat
  • Nestle Crunch Crisp – contains wheat flour and barley malt
  • Palmer Bag of Boo’s fudge bars – “Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts, wheat, and tree nuts”
  • Palmer Double Crisp Googly Eyes – contains barley malt; “Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts, wheat, and tree nuts”
  • Palmer Double Crisp Monster Munny – contains barley malt; “Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts, wheat, and tree nuts”
  • Palmer Fright Bites (vampire teeth) – “Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts, wheat, and tree nuts”
  • Palmer Ghostly Goodies – contains barley malt; “Manufactured on equipment which also processes peanuts, wheat, and tree nuts”
  • Palmer Tricky Treats (mix of Googly Eyes, Boneheads, and Pumpkin Patch chocolate candies) – “Manufactured on equipment which also processes wheat, peanut butter and tree nuts.”
  • Pepperidge Farm Goldfish cheddar crackers – contains wheat flour
  • Quaker Chewy Fright Night Chocolate Chip granola bars – contains rolled oats, malted barley, whole grain rolled wheat, whole wheat flour
  • Reese’s Sticks wafer bars – contains wheat flour
  • Rice Krispies Treats mini squares – contains malt flavoring
  • Ritz Bits peanut butter sandwiches – contains wheat flour
  • Russel Stover’s Assorted Chocolates – “Products have been produced on shared equipment with peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and wheat.”
  • Spongebob Squarepants Gummy Krabby Patties – “Manufactured in a facility that processes peanuts, almonds, wheat, and eggs.”
  • Snyder’s Pretzel snack sacks – contains wheat flour
  • Stauffer’s Animal Crackers – contains wheat flour
  • Teddy Grahams packs – contains wheat flour
  • Trolli gummy candy Sour Frite Crawlers“Packaged on equipment that also packages products containing traces of milk, egg, wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and/or soy protein.”
  • Twix fun size – contains wheat flour
  • Twizzlers – contains wheat flour
  • Utz Halloween Pretzel treats – contains wheat flour and malt syrup (derived from barley)
  • Whoppers – contains barley malt and wheat flour
  • Wonka Spooky Nerds orange and fruit punch flavors – “Made in a facility that also processes wheat and egg.”
  • Wonka SweetTarts Boo Bag – (Packages of SweetTarts, SweetTarts Twist and Mini Chewy SweetTarts were labeled with “Made in a facility that also processes egg and wheat.”)

Have a Safe and Happy Gluten-Free Halloween!

Categories : Candy, Product Advisory

13 Comments

1

I don’t have kids but love that you do this for them. It’s fabulous and so helpful!

2

I know this list took a lot of time and work to put together, but it is a fantastic resource for teachers, friends and families of kids who have celiac or other food allergies that require them to live gluten-free.

Great work!

3

[...] goodies. I made my trek to the stores last week to check out the Halloween candy and posted a list of gluten-free candy. This week, I’m going to the pumpkin farm where my daughter and I will eat apples and kettle [...]

4

Great lists! This will really help moms too.

5

[...] dinner. If you’re sorting out the gluten-free candy tonight and need some help, check out the gluten-free candy list I [...]

6

Good and Plenty is NOT gluten free! Wheat is the 3rd ingredient – sugar, corn syrup, WHEAT FLOUR! Almost all licorice contains wheat flour. Please take this off your list!

7

[...] Celiac Family: “Safe Gluten-Free Halloween Candy“ [...]

8

Thanks for putting this together! What a great list. I just found out that one of the girls we invited to our Halloween party has Celiac’s disease. I plan on printing this list (both lists acutally) just to have on hand. Hopefully her mom will feel a little better about leaving her with us too!!

9

Gina – I’m happy I could help! How great of you to be concerned about your celiac guests.

10

The team at myGlutenFacts.com have developed the most comprehensive 2009 GF Candy List (over 1700 candies sold in the USA & Canada).

You can browse through the list by category, brand, GF Status or even by keyword. Every product has a dated GF Statement and GF Meter ranking, so you can easily tell which products are made in a gluten free facility.

It’s ideal to go through those bags of candy since it only takes a few seconds to get the information you need.

11

Thank you so much for this list! It is very helpful to me. I have to try and track down everything! My daughter is allergic to peanuts, soy & eggs so Halloween is a scary time of year for us in more than one way! Thanks again!

13

[...] drops, M&Ms, candy-canes, and some holiday-shaped marshmallows. Of course, you can use whatever gluten-free candy you have [...]

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