Kinnerton was established in 1976 as a company specialising in children’s character confectionery. It was named after Kinnerton Street in London, where our founder, Clive Beecham lived. Our ‘Nut Safe’ journey began in 1999 when Clive decided the business would invest £1 million to put nut segregation in place in the Kinnerton factory in Fakenham, Norfolk. This meant that a designated nut free manufacturing facility was created, with stringent controls and procedures to keep nuts out.
Thanks to Clive’s extraordinary vision to make chocolate safer for children with nut allergies, the ‘Nut Safe Promise’ has become a cornerstone of the Kinnerton brand values.
After 20 years, we are proud to still be one of the only confectionery companies that can make this promise to consumers.
Within our Norfolk manufacturing site we have a nut and a non nut manufacturing unit. Our ‘Nut safety Promise’ is our commitment to nut allergic consumers that we do everything we possibly can to prevent non nut products being contaminated with nuts. This includes the close management of our raw materials, the segregation of our factory, control of people, equipment, tools and materials and the verification of these controls through a nut surveillance testing programme. In the years since Kinnerton first segregated its production facilities in 1999, we have produced well in excess of 1 billion packs of chocolate based around our nut segregated facilities and we have never had a verified nut incident. More details of our segregation procedures can be found here.
In recent years there have been huge advances in the science of allergen testing and levels of nut protein can be detected to very small amounts – less than 1ppm (parts per million), this is the equivalent to say one small drop of milk in over 100 pints. They are not however finite tests. It would be impossible for Kinnerton to test every product manufactured and whilst we handle nuts on the same manufacturing site we feel we are unable to use the term ‘nut free.’ We are extremely confident that the controls we have in place enable our Kinnerton Branded products to be eaten safely by Nut allergy sufferers.
Following Consumer Research we have given our Kinnerton products a new look but you can be assured that they continue to be ‘Nut Safe.’ We hope that our new packaging is much more recognisable and will make it easier to recognise Kinnerton product on shelf. Click here to get further information about our Nut safety Promise.
We still manufacture our Kinnerton branded products under our Nut Safe Promise controls, we have simply updated our packaging with a new look. All Kinnerton Branded products carry a ’Nut Safe’ declaration and are suitable for Nut Allergy Sufferers.
We have launched our new ‘Milkier’ recipe for our Christmas 2019 products and so you might notice that these products will have a ‘MILKIER RECIPE’ logo added to the front of the packaging! We still use exactly the same controls and procedures to ensure our products are suitable for nut allergy sufferers, our recipe just has more milk making it more creamy and delicious! The new ‘Milkier’ recipe will be available in all our formats in 2020.
‘Milkier’ means that we have used more milk to make our chocolate have an even creamier taste. The new ‘Milkier’ recipe will be available in all our formats in 2020.
Our new recipe has more milk powder and less sugar than the old recipe for a milkier taste! The new ‘Milkier’ recipe will be available in all our formats in 2020.
Yes, our new ‘Milkier’ recipe has 10% less sugar than our previous recipe. We have launched our new ‘Milkier’ recipe for our Christmas 2019 products and will be available in all our formats in 2020.
Yes, we still use exactly the same controls and procedures to ensure our products are suitable for nut allergy sufferers, our recipe just has more milk making it more creamy and delicious!
It is common practice in the chocolate industry to substitute cocoa butter with a variety of vegetable oils. The EU regulates the type and quantity of vegetable oils that can be used. Shea nut oil is one of the allowed vegetable oils. A maximum of 5% of CBE’s (Cocoa Butter Equivalents) can be used in the chocolate recipe. The other approved vegetable oils are Illipe. Borneo tallow or Tengkawang Palm oil Sal Kokum gurgi Mango Kernel.
Shea nut oil is similar in functionality to cocoa butter and therefore is a good substitute for cocoa butter.
Shea nut oil is one of 6 vegetable oils that are permitted in chocolate. In order to have a year round supply of chocolate to make our delicious products we need to be able to use shea oil.
EU regulations were updated in 1999 to specify the inclusion of up to 5% CBE vegetable oils (Cocoa Butter Equivalents). Shea nut oil or shea nut butter as it is sometimes called has always been included in the list of approved vegetable oils. The Kinnerton chocolate recipe has included vegetable oils for over 5 years.
Shea nuts are obtained from the shea tree that is indigenous to many parts of Africa. The shea nut is the seed of the fruit of the shea tree. The fruit portion is typically removed to retrieve the hard-shelled nut. Shea nut is a very oil-rich seed and are used to produce Shea nut butter, sometimes known as shea nut oil. This is a cold- pressed oil that is refined, bleached and deodorized that is widely used primarily within the confectionery products. Shea nuts are not listed among the nuts that are subject to mandatory allergen labelling under European law but may cause concern among people with nut allergy. World allergy experts based in Nebraska, USA, believe the risk from refined shea nut butter to be minimal. The Food Allergy Research and Resource Programme (FARRP), an organisation with recognised expertise in food allergy, reported in July 2009 that an exhaustive search of the worldwide clinical literature provided no evidence of any allergic reactions being reported to shea nut oil. Allergic reactions to shea nuts themselves have not been described either although they are not widely eaten. A statement published on the FARRP website said research indicated that shea nut butter does not contain any detectable protein residues. Research also indicates that shea nut butter does not contain any detectable protein residues. Since allergens are proteins, this research indicates the absence of detectable allergens in shea nut butter. The conclusion would seem to be that any allergenic risk from refined shea nut oil is remote. On the basis of this research, we are confident that the presence of shea oil in our chocolate products does not compromise our Kinnerton ‘Nut safety Promise’ and our loyal nut allergic consumers.
Cocoa butter is the naturally occurring fat from cocoa beans and is one of the ingredients that makes chocolate so delicious. It has three very special properties: It is hard at at room temperature which gives chocolate its characteristic snap, but melts at body temperature which is why chocolate melts in the mouth releasing all its delicious flavour, and finally it contracts as it sets allowing chocolate to be moulded or spun into lots of exciting shapes!
There is a new EU Food Ingredients Regulation (FIR) that comes into force in Dec 2014 which requires food manufacturers to declare the breakdown of all vegetable oils as part of the ingredient list. This is why you are starting to see Shea nut oil appearing on our packaging. This recipe is supplied by some of the world’s largest chocolate producers and has been in its current format for over 5 years.
Research and clinical studies into allergens are being undertaken all the time. As a business we keep in touch with new pieces of research that may be relevant to our products and values. We take our guidance from Industry bodies such as the Anaphylaxis Campaign who are the experts in this field.
A food allergy is when the body’s immune system reacts abnormally to specific types of foods, which are normally not harmful to the majority of people. The reaction occurs within minutes or up to two hours following ingestion of the food and symptoms vary from abdominal cramps, hives, vomiting, swelling of tongue and throat and difficulty breathing however, it can sometimes be extremely serious and potentially fatal (anaphylaxis). Total avoidance of the food that causes the allergy should be advised to prevent these symptoms. Therefore all allergens must be labelled on foods even if present in small quantities or if the manufacturer cannot guarantee the products does not contain small amounts of the foods. The 14 foods classified as allergen which must be named as ingredients if they are present in pre–packed foods. These are:
- Celery
- Cereals containing gluten (wheat, rye, barley, oats spelt)
- Crustaceans (e.g. crab or prawns)
- Eggs
- Fish
- Lupin
- Milk
- Molluscs (e.g. mussels or oysters)
- Mustard
- Nuts (e.g. almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, Brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts)
- Peanuts
- Sesame seeds
- Soya
- Sulphur dioxide or sulphites (preservatives used in some foods and drinks) at levels above 10mg per kg or per litre.
What is a Food Intolerance?
Food intolerance is where the body shows an adverse reaction to a particular food and is the response from the digestive system rather than the immune system. The symptoms are normally delayed and usually occur several hours after consuming the food. Some people can tolerate a reasonable amount of the food before the body has adverse reactions and the symptoms are generally varied and can include fatigue, joint pains, night sweats, gastrointestinal symptoms, skin rashes, eczema and other chronic conditions.
One of the causes of food intolerance can be due to insufficient amounts of the enzymes that breakdown the food, for example lactose intolerance is when the body lacks the enzyme lactase that breaks down lactose (milk sugar). Lactose is then indigestible as it is too big to be absorbed across the gut wall, causing gut spasm, pain, bloating and diarrhoea. Other possible causes are from naturally occurring chemicals and additives.
Special Dietary Requirements:
Coeliac disease is not classified as either a food allergy or intolerance but as an autoimmune disease of the small intestine, whereby the body’s immune system attacks its own tissues. In coeliac disease, eating gluten causes the lining of the small intestine to become damaged. The only treatment for coeliac disease is strict adherence to a lifelong gluten-free diet.
Gluten is a protein found in the cereals wheat, rye and barley therefore you must exclude these cereals in a gluten free diet to help control symptoms and prevent long term health consequences. A diet should instead consists of naturally gluten-free foods such as meat, fruit, vegetables, most dairy products, potatoes, rice and lentils, processed foods which contain no gluten or gluten free substitute foods that are specially made for people with coeliac disease for example gluten free bread, flour pasta and biscuits.
We are committed to improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers and their communities and we buy Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa through the ‘mass balance’ model of production. This allows us to buy more cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, which means that farmers, the environment, and cocoa-growing communities will benefit from our increasing purchases! If you would like to find out more please click here.
As a business we also have a detailed CSR statement, so if you would like to find out more about our sustainability goals please click here.
We are committed to finding ways of reducing our impact on the environment and the vast majority of the packaging we use is recyclable with the exception of Flow wrapped Chocolate bars, Bags of Buttons, 4 pack of lollies in headed bag. We are currently investigating and trialling alternative materials and hope to have these items widely recyclable by 2022. We are always looking to improve, and with technology improving all the time, we are hopeful in the near future we will be able to say that all of our packaging will be recyclable! Do you have any suggestions on how we could improve our packaging? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so do get in touch at lovinglymade@kinnerton.com.
We buy Rainforest Alliance Certified™ cocoa through the ‘mass balance’ model of production. This allows us to buy more cocoa from Rainforest Alliance Certified farms, which means that farmers, the environment, and cocoa-growing communities will benefit from our increasing purchases! If you would like to find out more please click here.
There are three key areas that we feel as a business, we could make the most impact in: – Ethical sourcing and supply: Chocolate is one of life’s great pleasures. We want to ensure a continued supply for future generations. – Community engagement: We encourage employee initiatives that support charities/communities, and we donate 1% of yearly profits to projects close to our values. – Consumer wellbeing. We know consumers put a lot of trust into the products we manufacture, and we are proud to ensure that all of our products are responsibly made with good ingredients in a safe environment. Allergen management is one of the cornerstones of our brand values and we pride ourselves on providing our customers with reliable and consistent information about allergens in our products. Click here to read more about our CSR initiatives.
No, Kinnerton chocolate is not currently certified organic.
Emulsifiers keep ingredients from separating and provide a smooth texture in our Kinnerton chocolate.
Unfortunately we are not able to sell toys individually.
Unfortunately, we are not able to offer free samples, but we do often run competitions on our Facebook page so be sure to follow us @kinnertonconfectionery.
Chocolate should be stored away from heat, humidity and direct sunlight and preferably kept at temperatures that do not exceed 65°F (18°C). You should also avoid storing chocolate close to products with strong flavours as these can transfer to the chocolate resulting in an odd taste. And of course, always refer to the Best Before Date printed on the back of the pack!
Unfortunately we are unable to donate to individual events. We actively support our corporate charities, Help for Heroes and MacMillian Cancer Support. We give 1% of our profit every year to charity and offer our employees one day per year of paid leave to support our corporate charity or a charity of their choice.
We love hearing from our customers so please email us at lovinglymade@kinnerton.com.
If you have a question that isn’t answered in our FAQs, please email us at lovinglymade@kinnerton.com.
