Comments on: Stem Ginger Cookies (Sunstart)

By: tina

tina — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 01:20:50 +0000

Thank you so much for posting this article and for posting the email about the dairy inquiry. I was about to email them myself to ask about the dairy content of their shortbread cookies. My son is allergic to a lot of stuff and he loves these cookies. I am just glad that there is a bakery out there that makes a delicious cookie that he is able to enjoy. Thank you again for the review. The cookies are delicious

By: admin

admin — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 22:23:24 +0000

Hi Grant, thanks so much for your comments and your reports.

I also spoke with Sunstart at the Expo West convention in mid-March. I met them last year too and got the samples. I asked about the dairy and they said it was listed as having dairy (without it being in the ingredients) due to cross-contamination on shared equipment. He didn’t say anything about it being in the flour mix, though it may all just be about contamination.

They’ve revamped their cookies and I got a new box to try. Posting a new review is on my to-do list. The primary change is the size. Appearently people thought the old cookies were too big(?).

I’m happy to say the taste and texture seem to be unchanged. But the other thing is the new box (and this is just for Ginger; I haven’t seen the others) says “dairy free.” So it seems they’ve solved the cross contamination problem. Or so I hope. I tolerate traces of dairy so can’t tell if there are any. I gave some samples to friends and will get their feedback.

Cyndi

By: Grant

Grant — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 20:05:43 +0000

I just found the list of ingredients for the Chocolate Chip Orange Cookies which contain milk powder. I’m assuming that the equipment is shared with the other cookies so the trace amount is from this cross contamination. I will see what the rep has to say.

Sunstart Chocolate Chip Orange Cookies.

Ingredients: Vegetable margarine (vegetable oil, water, salt, emulsifier: polyglycerol esters of fatty acids, colors: annatto, curcumin, flavoring), desiccated coconut (15%), gluten free flour (maize starch, whey powder, potato starch, soya flour, milk powder, glucose, salt, stabilizer: hydroxypropyl methy cellulose), choclate chips (12%) (sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, skimmed milk powder, cocoa powder, emulsifier: soya lecithin, salt, flavoring), sugar, millet, brown rice flakes, natural orange flavor.

By: Grant

Grant — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 19:58:32 +0000

I spoke with a rep at Sunstart Bakery about the “contains milk” on the label. She emailed me this response:

Hello,

Per your question re ‘dairy’ listed- we do so as a precaution .

1. There are trace amounts of skimmed milk powder in the flour mix, so we say contains milk as a precaution, although the amounts of ceasin and lactose are minimal

2. Soya flour is when the Soya beans are dehulled and their oil extracted before being ground into flour. its basically a process of removing the oil and refining into flour.

The amounts of casein and lactose are minimal.

We will have new products without any traces in near future.

I have email her to ask whether this contains traces of milk because the equipment is shared with another product that contains skimmed milk powder or that it an actually ingredient used to make the flour mix. I will post the response I get.