Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups Are Vegan!!

Stay tuned for a giveaway of Justin's coupons at the end of this post!

Some of you probably read the headline and were, like, "Duh, Bianca. Everyone already knew Justin's Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups are vegan." They've been around for a few years, and their vegan-ness has been common vegan knowledge forever.


However, some may have noticed that Justin's recently added "Contains: Milk" under the nutrition facts on their dark chocolate cups. But never fear — they are vegan. And I'll explain in a few.

I have to admit that I didn't notice the labeling change myself. Justin's reached out to me about reviewing their dark chocolate peanut butter cups just before Halloween, and I jumped at the chance. But before my coupons arrived, my friend Sheridan informed me that Justin's labels now said "Contains: Milk." She was very sad because she thought this meant that the cups weren't vegan. That's how it would seem, right?

So I googled and found this note under the FAQ section of their website:
Even though there are no milk ingredients added to our delicious Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and the recipe has not changed, we recently changed our label to indicate “contains milk” because they are produced on machinery that also processes our Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups and White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, which do contain milk. While there is an extensive sanitation process between each batch, the reason we made this change is two-fold, both deriving from our company’s primary fundamental – safety: 
1) Justin’s is very careful about choosing and selecting only the highest quality chocolatiers to source not only its dark chocolate but all of the chocolates used in all our products. However, it is common practice for the chocolate industry to process cocoa beans on shared equipment with milk containing ingredients. So while we are extremely careful, the chance of cross-contact exists even before we purchase the chocolate.
 2) In addition to sourcing the highest quality chocolate, we use the best manufacturing practices for safety and quality. Because our Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups share equipment with our Milk Chocolate and White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups, which do contain dairy, the opportunity for cross-contact as we manufacture the peanut butter cups at our facilities also exists. We felt this precautionary message may help prevent an incident for those extremely sensitive to dairy. 
Our prior and current labels similarly disclose the possibility of cross-contamination.
So basically, they're just being super-careful. Whereas many companies would use the label "may contain milk," Justin's is going above and beyond to be sensitive to those with serious allergies. And I think that's pretty cool. For most of us vegans, though, these are just fine to eat. And thank goddess. Because peanut butter cups are the best!! And Justin's are the best of the best. They're made with organic dark chocolate and organic peanuts, and even the palm oil they use is sustainably sourced.


Justin's also makes the PB cups in minis, and those are my very fave. They're individually wrapped, so they're great to toss in candy dishes or in your purse (just don't forget they're in there in the hot summer months). 


Okay, now it's time for y'all to enjoy some Justin's cups! I have a few free product coupons to give away. Leave a comment (and PLEASE INCLUDE YOUR EMAIL ADDRESS), and I'll randomly pick three winners on Friday. Each winner will receive three free product coupons! But beware: The coupons expire on December 31st, so use them soon. I'll get them in the mail this weekend. Justin's products are only sold in the U.S. and Canada (you can find them at Starbucks there), so this contest is only open to residents of those two countries. Good luck!

43 comments:

Cadry's Kitchen said...

If I win, i promise to eat all of the peanut butter cups before the end of December... because I'm very conscientious like that.

Sarah C said...

I didn't know they made minis! Those are the best for the ratio of chocolate to pb!

Jackie said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Jackie said...

I would love to get in on this chocolate and peanut butter action!!! jaclynkaters@gmail.com

Melbam said...

I just noticed this on the labels! Thanks for confirming that these are vegan. They are SO GOOD!

Chris said...

I love Justin's PB cups so much! I miss a lot of the candy bars I use to eat as a kid, but these are even better than those popular nonvegan pb cups.
dumbsnowflake @ yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

I've always been curious to try them!
reneelsperling[at]gmail[dot]com

Thanks Bianca for sharing the love!! :)

Renee

girlrunner said...

I didn't know there were minis! blainewilkes @ yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

I love Justins! So good alittlesana @ gmail dot com

Unknown said...

Nice! :)

I'd like the enter the contest. My email address is theautumndandelion @ gmail dot com

Thanks!

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I would love to have the opportunity to try the Justin's peanut butter cups - they have fabulous. Thank you for hosting this giveaway. EMS591@aol.com

Susan said...

I am not entering, because living on the other side of the world and all, but just wanted to say thank you for the post! I LOVE these, they are the best PB cups ever! Last year I bought back a million of them when I visited Seattle, and I had planned to this year as well but then got confused about the contains milk, and hearing different things from different people and reading their website but then seeing other things... so I only brought home one. But now I have definitely peace of mind! Unfortunately the exchange rate is too poo at the moment for me to be coming back to the US next year, so I think all my US friends should come visit me and bring my Justins. :D

TS =) said...

I read the ingredients 5 times at Starbucks before buying. They're great, especially since I was too lazy to make some myself.

My family ate my trader Joe's Halloween candy, so glad these exist. Not sure where to get them, though,other than starbucks.

TS =) said...

I read the ingredients 5 times at Starbucks before buying. They're great, especially since I was too lazy to make some myself.

My family ate my trader Joe's Halloween candy, so glad these exist. Not sure where to get them, though,other than starbucks.

Beverlee said...

Pick me, pick me!!! NOM-NOM-NOM!!!! Thanks for sharing :)
Beverleerichmond@gmail.com

Arizona2012 said...

thanks for letting us know...cinpope@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I have been wanting to try these!!

wright_hr@yadtel.net

newsie said...

I wish I had known this! (or actually read the ingredients!). I just saw "contains milk" and put it back.

kdianehodges at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

Pick me! I love these! Rebekahde (@) Hotmail dot com

Kerry said...

Love Peanut Butter Cups. Can't wait to try them now that I know they're vegan.

kerrydick59@gmail.com

Dana Vickerson said...

I just had the dark chocolate cups the other day, and I didn't notice either. I have got to get my hands on those mini cups!

E. said...

Ok wait WHAT MINI CUPS??? I haven't seen those! I'm totally looking for them!

Rachel R. said...

I have never had these - though I've always wanted to - because of that "contains milk" designation. I'm so excited to try them now!

rkray3(AT)gmail

spencer said...

i haven't seen the minis before but i just bought a package of the full sized ones last week! glad they're still vegan, i didn't bother to re-check. i'd love to try the minis though.

Kelly said...

Gosh, I love these! But I'm unfamiliar with the mini cups... ahh!

Unknown said...

They make minis! Omg! I would love some freebies!

Jeff W said...

Great to know about the minis, and about this update. I literally didn't buy some three weeks ago because I saw the contains milk and thought they weren't vegan.

jeffreymwatts[at]gmail

Unknown said...

I threw away my last bag that I drove to Washington from Canada to get as I had read the label and saw that it had changed to contains milk. I would love to win to replace them : ) Thanks Bianca! Your so Rad!!


Melanie

Kim said...

OOOH Yes Please! I had never heard of these and would love to try them.
Kim W (courtlykim@yahoo.com)

Liz said...

oooh, minis! Love that and Love Jason's!!! liz.ardell[at]gmail.com

Amey said...

Oh man I love these little stinkers so much. For a while there, I was buying them every week... and then I had to cool it a bit. They are just so good. Thanks for doing the legwork to make sure they're still vegan. :)

Meredith said...

I've never had them! I'd love to try the minis.
mzaccherio at gmail

Sophie said...

It's my favorite vegan sweets!!!! I would love some, I have to travel and I like taking those as snacks for the road!

sophie_680 AT hotmail DOT com

Jennifer said...

Thanks for clearing this up! I keep seeing them on vegan food blogs/sites but when I go to pick them up i read the milk part and get confused. I might get a few of these for stocking stuffers this year!
on3sonicbite at gmail

Diana @ VeggieNextDoor said...

So happy they are still vegan, though I think "may contain milk" is the better label option - isn't that exactly the purpose of that label?

Diana @ VeggieNextDoor said...

PS. Email is: Diana at veggienextdoor dot com

Patience said...

Thanks for clearing up some potential confusion!

Patience said...

Thanks for clearing up some potential confusion!

Lynsi said...

Thanks again for clearing this up -- I understand they want to be careful, but I imagine they lose a lot of customers, too, by saying they contain milk. I look at the "processed on the same equipment as x" label and that works for me -- then I buy it, anyway, if all the ingredients are vegan!

Similar and also vegan are Theo's dark chocolate vegan pb cups if you live in the Pacific Northwest!

lynsi.burton@gmail.com

psychlori said...

I love Vegan Crunk...wish I lived in your area and we could hang out. Am I too late for giveaway?
backtocooper@gmail.com

Jenna said...

oh good! my son cannot have dairy and these were our go to!!! Thank you so much for the research!

pennajenna@gmail.com

Brenda said...

I may be too late to enter but commenting anyway :) I would love to try these! They look delicious!
bookitty777@gmail.com

Eva @ Four Leaf Clover said...

I've been meaning to try these for a while now. I'm actually not a peanut butter fan, but I feel like these might change my mind, haha! Good thing you mentioned the labeling - I would have automatically turned them down for that!