Kids Food Allergies Blog

I’m addicted to ice cream. Always have been, always will be.

There is a caveat. I only eat ice cream that tastes great. And let’s face it, most dairy-free ice creams aren’t so great.

There are three brands of dairy-free ice cream that I just love. In ranked order of preference: Temptation Vegan Ice Cream, Klein’s Kosher, and Tofutti.

My daughter likes Tofutti — especially their Marry Me Bars and Tofutti Cuties. But I don’t buy these often, since I saw that Tofutti also makes Peanut Butter Ice Cream, and Tofutti Cuties with peanut butter ice cream in the middle. The cross-contamination risk seems too high.

Klein’s Kosher is also great — but some of its flavors have nut disclaimer labels. (While I haven’t seen that they make peanut butter ice cream, I have seen butter pecan and pistachio flavors.) A little less risky for the severely peanut-allergic, but still not completely safe either.

In addition to superior taste — Temptation Vegan Ice Cream stands out because it is made on dedicated vegan equipment in a dairy-free, egg-free, peanut-free, tree-nut free facility. You can’t get any safer than that for a food allergic child.

Now for some terrible news.

At my local Whole Foods today (in Falls Church, VA), I noticed a “clearance/discontinued” tag on all flavors of Temptation Vegan Ice Cream. I marched to customer service, in total disbelief, and asked to talk with a manager. They told me that Chicago Soydairy, the maker of Temptation Vegan Ice Cream was going out of business.

WHAT?

Say it ain’t so! I can’t believe this is true. I thought the company was growing — not going out of business — since they just came out with a new product line in late February, Teese Vegan Cheese. (I would love to try it, but it is only being sold to restaurants.)

If anyone can confirm or deny this rumor, please let me know before I run out and buy another freezer to accommodate the stock of every Whole Foods in the metropolitan DC area.