Nestl Rowntree says a new children's product being launched this spring will be nut-free, following strenuous efforts to create a nut-free zone in one of its factories.

But the confectioner is resisting calls by a York allergy campaign group to put a "nut free" label on this, or any other product which carries no risk for nut allergy sufferers.

It says shoppers can rest assured that if there's any risk of nut contamination, there will be a warning on the label.

Members of the York Allergy Support Group recently met a Nestl representative to discuss their concerns about chocolates containing nut traces, which could cause dangerous anaphylactic shock for people with severe nut allergies.

The group's concerns were heightened last year when the Evening Press revealed that Nestl's new mini Smarties, unlike traditional Smarties, could contain nut traces.

Members feared their children might buy the mini-Smarties thinking they were nut free, because other Smarties had always been OK. The firm said then that the mini-Smartie packets contained a nut trace warning, and people should always check the label when new products were launched, even when they were variants on a traditional theme.

Allergy group spokeswoman Jayne Dwyer said members were frustrated because so many of Nestl and other manufacturers' products bore a "may contain nuts" warning.

She said they told Nestl's representative that they felt manufacturers were adopting a defensive labelling policy to "cover themselves," and should adopt a more positive approach to labelling, such as printing a nut free guarantee when they were certain there were no nuts.

"Members talked of their disappointment and disillusion at trying to shop and facing the statement on most products," she said. "Members also spoke of a lack of confidence in products bearing no message at all. Some did not think that the exclusion of a warning gave any guarantees."

But a Nestl spokesman said: "All Nestl products that do not carry a nut trace warning are nut trace free and suitable for everyone to eat, therefore we do not plan to add a "nut trace free" notice to labels.

"A list of all Nestl products suitable for those with nut allergies is available from our consumer services department."

He said that the new children's product, a variant of a popular children's confectionery product which has not yet been identified, would be nut free after the company had made strenuous efforts to create a nut-free zone at the factory where it was made. "As a result, all the major products in this range will continue to be nut trace free."

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