The summer camp that our daughter is attending this year Camp Riverview for Girls called us to ask about ice cream novelties.  Mayfield Dairy manufactures all of the ice cream novelty products that they purchase.  So the camp called Cindy, my wife, to see if Mayfield Dairy products were peanut and tree nut free.  It was great that they called and Cindy immediately jumped into research mode.

Mayfield is a regional dairy that produces milk and other dairy products for sale in most of the Southeastern United States.  Unfortunately, their website is extremely lacking in information regarding product ingredients or allergens.  In fact, they have no nutritional information on their website at all.  This is an area where they certainly need to improve.  The good news is that they were extremely helpful when Cindy called them.

Here is the slightly edited text of the email that Cindy sent to the Camp Director.

“Mayfield Push Pops are safe!  I spent the last hour on the phone with the two plant quality assurance coordinators of the two plants where Mayfield’s novelty products are made.  It gets a little tricky as in Birmingham they make some products that are safe.  However, if they are low on inventory, they will have their Toledo plant (Frost Bites) produce some products and in some cases those are not made on a dedicated line.  This is what I learned:

In the Birmingham plant the following products are made on a dedicated line where no peanut/nut is ever run:

Jr Bars -These are the one stick novelties as opposed to the two-stick novelties which they call a paddle bar.  These Jr. Bars are as follows:

Brown Cow Jrs. – which is chocolate covered ice cream bars,

Fudge Bar Jrs.

Pop Stix Jrs. – Orange, Cherry and Grape, Sour Pop Jrs.

(NOTE – large two stick “paddle bars” in these same flavors are NOT safe)

Mini Ice Cream Sandwiches – NOT the Regular size

(NOTE that while the Birmingham plant makes a safe regular size ice cream sandwich, in the event they are low on inventory, the Toledo plant takes up the slack and they do not produce these on a dedicated line.  So they cannot guarantee that it is made on a dedicated line.)

Any 3 oz. ice cream cup (not 6 oz.) — They make light  (3% butterfat) in vanilla, chocolate, strawberry and orange sherbet.  Also, safe are the No Sugar Added 3 oz cups.

In the Toledo plant, the following products are made on a dedicated line where no peanut/nut is ever run:

Regular sized Neopolitan Ice Cream Sandwiches are made on a dedicated line (he said the regular sized vanilla is made on a line with Moose Tracks – peanuts/nuts and a butter pecan)

Push Pops Orange Sherbet Pops.

Thanks for calling me.”

If you live in an area where Mayfield products are sold, I hope this will help.  As always, please read the label of everything you buy every time you shop.  The goal is provide you some additional food items to consider.  I hope to update our Safe Food List – Ice Cream Novelties sometime this weekend to incorporate these items.

Do you have any ice cream or ice cream novelties that are peanut and tree nut safe that you enjoy?