After July 31, 2019, all products produced in Guittard’s manufacturing sites in Burlingame and Fairfield, California, will receive this nut-free recognition, the company said in a release.
“At Guittard, we’re constantly striving to produce the best quality chocolate,” said president and CEO Gary Guittard. “This touches every level of what we do – from partnering with cacao farmers at origin to pushing innovation at our manufacturing facility to celebrating our chef and retail customers. “Being tree nut free represents our ongoing commitment to improving our product by making it as allergen-friendly as possible.”
Under its ‘Cultivate Better’ initiative, Guittard’s sites are also certified free from peanuts, soy and gluten. (Rather than soy lecithin, Guittard employs a small amount of sunflower lecithin where necessary.) As one of the founding members of the World Cocoa Foundation, the 151-year-old company also sources beans certified by the Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade International.
For consumers, this announcement means that Guittard baking chips, organic baking wafers, baking bars and cocoa powders are fully nut-free. The company’s wholesale and professional lines will also benefit from this nut-free reality.
Busy and growing
Guittard has been busy in the past few years, adding products and upping its commitment to sustainability both environmentally and socially.
In 2013, it made its Fair Trade baking bars – long available in its professional line – available to consumers. Two years later, Guittard introduced a line of artisan chocolate bars, and in 2017 added Fair Trade baking chips to its consumer portfolio.
A year ago, the company expanded its distribution site in Fairfield, California to include production. Guittard built the site in 2001 about 60 miles north of Burlingame next to San Francisco – to include production.
“Foresight and thoughtful planning is how the company has managed to thrive and continue creating jobs here in Northern California in 2018,” Guittard said at the time. “That the long-anticipated launch of chocolate production in Fairfield also coincides with our 150th anniversary is sweet serendipity.”
