I'm doing my usual stock-ninja thing yesterday, when a woman asks (more like demands, complete with trying to steer me over by my elbow) for help with whole wheat pasta. We don't carry that much of it, but I showed her the main brand we do have.
SC: "And this is 100% whole wheat?"
Me: "Yes, it is."
SC: "What's semolina? Is that whole wheat?"
Me: "Semolina is what the flour is made from. Durum semolina as this brand uses is the heart of red winter wheat."
SC: "Is that 100% whole wheat?"
Me: "Yes, winter wheat is 100% whole wheat."
SC: "Now, before I buy this I need to make sure--if you can't tell me please find someone who can, I have a friend who is highly allergic to nuts and I need to know--I need pasta that isn't produced in a facility that uses any tree nuts. Is this pasta nut-free?"
While we do carry a few kinds of pasta that use chestnuts, those are clearly labeled as such.
Me: "It anything we carry is produced in a facility that uses nuts, there's a warning on the package. This brand produces only pasta and only with wheat."
SC (mildly condescending): "I read online that if a company puts 'does not contain nuts' on the package it only means the product doesn't have nuts, it could still be made in a nut facility. They're only required to say that item doesn't have nuts."
*then how can anyone be sure of the nut-free-ness of anything? ...and you ignored everything I just said*
Me: "This brand makes pasta with whole wheat and does not use nuts in the production."
J wanders by just then, and SC (literally) grabs him.
J: "Hi to you too, I'm the grocery manager, did you have a question?"
SC: "This person can't tell me if this whole wheat pasta is nut free."
J: " 'This person' is my employee and you do not speak to her that way. Whole wheat pasta does not use nuts."
SC: "I've heard that. I want to know if the facility is nut free."
J: "The pasta does not use nuts, but as to the facility being nut free we can't and won't advise on that. The brand's contact information is on the package, you can look it up online."
SC sputters for a bit, I don't think she was expecting the (to her) non-answer she got.
J: "If that was all, I need my employee for an important project."
SC: "And this is 100% whole wheat?"
Me: "Yes, it is."
SC: "What's semolina? Is that whole wheat?"
Me: "Semolina is what the flour is made from. Durum semolina as this brand uses is the heart of red winter wheat."
SC: "Is that 100% whole wheat?"
Me: "Yes, winter wheat is 100% whole wheat."
SC: "Now, before I buy this I need to make sure--if you can't tell me please find someone who can, I have a friend who is highly allergic to nuts and I need to know--I need pasta that isn't produced in a facility that uses any tree nuts. Is this pasta nut-free?"
While we do carry a few kinds of pasta that use chestnuts, those are clearly labeled as such.
Me: "It anything we carry is produced in a facility that uses nuts, there's a warning on the package. This brand produces only pasta and only with wheat."
SC (mildly condescending): "I read online that if a company puts 'does not contain nuts' on the package it only means the product doesn't have nuts, it could still be made in a nut facility. They're only required to say that item doesn't have nuts."
*then how can anyone be sure of the nut-free-ness of anything? ...and you ignored everything I just said*
Me: "This brand makes pasta with whole wheat and does not use nuts in the production."
J wanders by just then, and SC (literally) grabs him.
J: "Hi to you too, I'm the grocery manager, did you have a question?"
SC: "This person can't tell me if this whole wheat pasta is nut free."
J: " 'This person' is my employee and you do not speak to her that way. Whole wheat pasta does not use nuts."
SC: "I've heard that. I want to know if the facility is nut free."
J: "The pasta does not use nuts, but as to the facility being nut free we can't and won't advise on that. The brand's contact information is on the package, you can look it up online."
SC sputters for a bit, I don't think she was expecting the (to her) non-answer she got.
J: "If that was all, I need my employee for an important project."
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