Cocoa Puffs Bars

I have heard a LOT of opinions in the blog world about the peanut butter cheerios lately.  Mostly criticism toward General Mills for not sharing their exact manufacturing processes.  For me, GM has always been very forthright with all the information I need.  They have put made the extra effort to include "contains" and "may contain" statements on all of their products.  This is not something they are required to do.  GM has taken an extra step to keep us, their consumers, informed and I for one am glad there is one less company I have to call to check on manufacturing processes all the time.  I understand that some parents are worried about cross contamination between the new peanut butter variety and other cereal but lets face it, they have been producing honey nut cheerios for years without incident or outcry.  Is this all really about the manufacturer, or maybe partly due to the popularity of peanut allergies in the mainstream?  Anyhow, GM has guaranteed that there is no risk of cross contamination and I believe them.  I sent them an email this week requesting information on  their products and how they determine what goes on a "may contain" statement.  Here is their response.  

"Our products are labeled for the top 8 allergens (peanuts, tree nuts, dairy products, eggs, soy, wheat, crustaceans, and fish) plus sesame, sunflower and mollusks. We label for these allergens using CONTAINS and/or MAY CONTAIN lists located directly below the product’s ingredient list.

CONTAINS means that the allergen(s) is included in the product’s recipe. The allergen(s) will be listed in the ingredient list, and also in the CONTAINS statement just below the ingredient list.

MAY CONTAIN means that the allergen(s) is not in the product’s recipe but could be present as result of the manufacturing process regardless of our best efforts to exclude it. These allergens will not be included in the ingredient list'

In this weeks recipe I am using both a General Mills product (cocoa puffs) and a new product I haven't tried before, Wow butter.  I had heard from others on the food allergies page on facebook that it was really similar to pb and it is.  Wow butter is a soy product, but is manufactured in a facility free of many other allergens.  Their page is here and I love how they put all the pertinent information online for easy research.  Ok, here is the recipe.

Cocoa Puffs Bars

1/4 c. earth balance buttery spread
1/4 c. wow butter
10 oz bag mini marshmallows
Cocoa puffs

Grease a 9x13 baking pan.  Get a big pot for the stove and melt the buttery spread.  Mix in the wow butter and mini marshmallows and stir until they are all melted.  Take the mixture off the heat immediately and pour in the entire bag of coca puffs.  Pour the mix into your pan and flatten it down with the back of you spoon.  Let it cool a while, cut, and enjoy!