Allergen Information & FAQs

ALLERGENS & SPECIAL DIETS

Smart snacking starts with knowing what’s in the bag

Click here to download our Zee Zees Allergen Index

Are Zee Zees products peanut and tree nut-free?

Yes! Zee Zees is a nut-free brand. None of our products contain peanuts or tree nuts. A few facility details:

• Most products are made in facilities that are completely free of peanuts and tree nuts.
• Our No-Nut Butter and Shelf-Stable Yogurt are made at a facility where peanuts and tree nuts are present, but in a completely separate, dedicated area of the building.
• Certain bulk-packaged (2 lb.) products (including trail mix, sunflower kernels, fava bean crisps, and dried fruit), as well as MixZees Chili Mango, are packaged at a facility that also handles tree nuts. However, none of these products contain peanuts or tree nuts as ingredients.

Do any Zee Zees products contain coconut?

Nope. All Zee Zees products are made without coconut. One shared-equipment note:

• None of our products contain coconut, and most are produced in coconut-free facilities, except as noted below.
• Soft Baked Bars and Graham Crackers are produced on a line that also processes coconut. A full cleanup and inspection are completed after coconut is used on the line before our products are made.

Which products are milk-free?

Many of our products are completely milk-free. We’re always upfront about shared lines:

• Made in milk-free facilities: applesauce, bean dipz, diced fruit, dried fruit, fava bean crisps, hummus, roasted chickpeas, sunflower kernels, and trail mix.
• Wheat crackers, graham crackers, soft baked bars, No-Nut Butter, and shelf-stable yogurt are produced on the same line as milk products. A full cleanup and inspection are done after milk is processed on the line.
• These products contain milk as an ingredient: strawberry crisp bars (both sizes) and shelf-stable yogurt cups.
• Certain bulk-packaged (2 lb.) products (including trail mix, sunflower kernels, fava bean crisps, and dried fruit), as well as MixZees Chili Mango, are packaged at a facility that also handles dairy. However, these products do not contain milk as an ingredient.

Which products are wheat- and gluten-free?

We offer a wide variety of wheat- and gluten-free options:

• Made in wheat- and gluten-free facilities: applesauce, diced fruit, dried fruit, hummus, roasted chickpeas, sunflower kernels, and trail mix.
• No-Nut Butter and shelf-stable yogurt are wheat- and gluten-free products, but are produced on a line that also runs wheat and gluten. A full cleanup and inspection are completed after wheat and gluten are processed on the line.
• These products contain wheat and gluten: wheat crackers, graham crackers, and soft baked bars. Buffalo ranch fava bean crisps also contain gluten (from barley malt vinegar).
• Certain bulk-packaged (2 lb.) products (including trail mix, sunflower kernels, fava bean crisps, and dried fruit), as well as MixZees Chili Mango, are packaged at a facility that also handles wheat. These products do not contain wheat or gluten as ingredients, with one exception: buffalo ranch fava bean crisps contain gluten (from barley malt vinegar).

Are Zee Zees products egg-free?

Yes. None of our products contain eggs as an ingredient. A note on facilities:

• Most products are made in egg-free facilities.
• Graham crackers, soft baked bars, No-Nut Butter, and shelf-stable yogurt are produced at a facility where eggs are present. A full cleanup and inspection are done after eggs are processed on the line.

Which products are soy-free?

Plenty of Zee Zees products are soy-free. Here’s where soy shows up in our production:

• Made in soy-free facilities: applesauce, bean dipz, diced fruit, dried fruit, fava bean crisps, hummus, roasted chickpeas, sunflower kernels, and trail mix.
• No-Nut Butter and shelf-stable yogurt are soy-free products but are produced on the same line as soy. A full cleanup and inspection are done after soy is processed on the line.
• These products contain soy: wheat crackers, graham crackers, and soft baked bars.
• Certain bulk-packaged (2 lb.) products (including trail mix, sunflower kernels, fava bean crisps, and dried fruit), as well as MixZees Chili Mango, are packaged at a facility that also handles soy. However, these products do not contain soy as an ingredient.

Are your products free from sesame, fish, shellfish, and crustaceans?

Most of our products are produced in facilities free from these allergens:

• None of our products contain sesame, fish, shellfish, or crustaceans as ingredients.
• Most of our products are made in facilities free from sesame, fish, shellfish, and crustaceans.
• Certain bulk-packaged (2 lb.) products (including trail mix, sunflower kernels, fava bean crisps, and dried fruit), as well as MixZees Chili Mango, are packaged at a facility that also handles sesame. However, none of these products contain sesame as an ingredient.

Do you have vegan and vegetarian options?

We do! Many Zee Zees products are vegan or vegetarian:

• Our ranch crackers are vegan.
• Not vegan: birthday cake graham crackers, honey roasted sunflower kernels, honey cran trail mix, shelf-stable yogurt, and strawberry crisp soft baked bars.

Which products are fat-free?

Our fruit-based products are naturally fat-free. Every Zee Zees product can also fit into school nutrition meal pattern saturated fat limits (≤10% of calories from saturated fat, averaged weekly).

• Naturally fat-free: applesauce, diced fruit, and dried fruit.
• Below the 10% calories-from-saturated-fat threshold: applesauce, bean dipz, diced fruit, dried fruit, fava bean crisps, graham crackers, hummus, honey roasted sunflower kernels, roasted chickpeas, soft baked bars, trail mix, and wheat crackers.

Do you have no-added-sugar options?

Yes, we have plenty of no-added-sugar options. We don’t carry sugar-free products.

• Many of our products contain no added sugar, relying only on the natural sugar found in fruit. All of our applesauce contains no added sugar
• Our shelf-stable yogurt cup meets USDA’s added sugar limit for yogurt used in school meals and CACFP programs.
• Lowest-sugar options at 1g per serving: roasted sunflower kernels, spicy sunflower kernels, buffalo ranch fava bean crisps, and pizza fava bean crisps.

Which products are low-sodium?

Yes, oOur Zee Zees products are designed to meet school nutrition meal pattern sodium limits. The following items contain 140mg or less of sodium per serving:

• Applesauce, churro fava bean crisps, diced fruit, graham crackers, honey roasted sunflower kernels, roasted sunflower kernels, 3 oz original hummus, 3 oz red pepper hummus, honey cran trail mix, No-Nut Butter, roasted chickpeas, shelf-stable yogurt cup, soft baked bars, and 0.8 oz wheat crackers.

Which products are kosher?

Many Zee Zees products are certified kosher, with both pareve and dairy options available.

• Kosher pareve: applesauce, bean dipz, crackers, dried fruit, fava bean crisps, hummus, roasted chickpeas, sunflower kernels, trail mix, and No-Nut Butter.
• Kosher dairy: graham crackers, soft baked bars, and shelf-stable yogurt. (Note: our graham crackers, wheat crackers, and some soft baked bars do not contain milk as an ingredient, but kosher dairy is present at our processing facility. See our milk section above for more details.)
• Diced fruit is not kosher.

Do Zee Zees products contain artificial colors or flavors?

Nope! Zee Zees products are made without artificial colors or flavors. Always.

SCHOOL NUTRITON STANDARDS

Designed for school nutrition programs, from the ground up.

Are Zee Zees products Smart Snack compliant?

Many of our products meet Smart Snacks in School standards and can be offered as part of your à la carte program, see Our Smart Snacks page.

Is Zee Zees Buy American compliant?

Yes. We’re proud to call Michigan home and are committed to sourcing domestic ingredients. All products comply with USDA’s Buy American Provision. A small number are produced under USDA-approved exceptions when domestic ingredients are not reasonably available.

National Food Group is also a USDA nationally approved processor that turns commodity dollars into Zee Zees Applesauce, Fruit Cups, Hummus, and Bean Dipz, all made with 100% domestically grown commodities. Learn about our commodity processing program

Which products meet CACFP requirements?

The following items meet Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) nutrition standards for preschool-aged children and older students:

Applesauce, diced fruit, dried fruit, graham crackers, crackers, sunflower kernels, shelf-stable yogurt, No-Nut Butter, roasted chickpeas, fava bean crisps, hummus, and trail mix.<

• Soft Baked Bars are not CACFP compliant.
• Certain foods require age-appropriate modification for children under 4 years old. Refer to USDA resources for guidance.
• For state-specific CACFP guidance, consult your state agency.

SHELF-LIFE &DATING

Good food deserves to last. Here’s how long each product stays at its best.

All shelf life is measured in DRY storage from the Julian Production Date, unless otherwise noted. Production code dates appear on case and individual/wrapped packages.

Applesauce Cups:
18 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case and I/W packages.

Applesauce #10 Cans:
24 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case.

Crackers:
6 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case and I/W packages.

Diced Fruit, Hummus & Dipz, & Shelf-Stable Yogurt:
12 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case and I/W packages.

Dried Fruit:
12 months in DRY storage at 55–75°F. Production code date on case and packages.

Graham Crackers:
9 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case and I/W packages.

Roasted Chickpeas & Fava Bean Crisps:
12 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case and packages.

Soft Baked Bars:
12 months shelf life from Julian Production Date when received and stored DRY. After thawing from frozen: 30 days. Production code date on case and I/W packages.

Sunflower Kernels & Trail Mix:
12 months in DRY storage at 40–60°F. Production code date on case and packages.

No-Nut Butter:
24 months in DRY storage. Production code date on case and I/W packages.

WHERE TO BUY

Ready to bring Zee Zees to your school or program?

How do I get Zee Zees products?

Zee Zees is part of the National Food Group family. Contact us to learn how to get Zee Zees into your school or facility cafeteria., contact National Food Group.