Annie's Homegrown FAQs

How can I reach someone in the Consumer Relations department?

Submit a question or comment by clicking here. The Consumer Relations staff can also be reached at 800-288-1089, Monday through Friday, 8:00am to 3:30pm Pacific Standard Time.

Our mailing address is:

1610 Fifth Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

Our email address is:

bernie@annies.com

How old was Annie when she made her mac & cheese?

How long has Annie's been in business?

Annie co-founded Annie's Homegrown in 1989 with the idea of making a great-tasting, all-natural macaroni and cheese. Read our story here.

Are tours available of Annie and Rob's organic farm?

How can I find out about job openings at Annie's?

What does "Organic" mean?

Organic refers to the way agricultural products are grown and processed.  It includes a system of production, processing, distribution and sales that assures consumers that the products maintain the organic integrity that begins on the farm.

Effective October 21, 2002,  U.S. organic standards were  instituted by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). For the consumer, the goal of the National Organic Standards is to make organic labeling consistent, clarify different categories of organic foods, and provide assurance of product integrity. The standards are expected to expand the marketing of organic products and support the credibility of U.S. organic agriculture.



Only products with at least 70% organic ingredients are able to make "organic" claims and boast the USDA Organic seal. The categories created by the USDA distinguish between the percentage of organic ingredients in food products in the following manner:

• 100% Organic: all content is certified organic


• Organic: at least 95% of content by weight, excluding water and salt, is organic


• Made with Organic: If at least 70% of content is organic the main product panel may display the phrase, "Made with Organic" followed by up to three specific ingredients


• Products containing less than 70% organic content: may identify current content only on the product's ingredient list.

If you are interested in additional information, please visit:

Organic. It's Worth It.

The Organic Center

The Organic Trade Association

What does "Totally Natural" mean?

What is "Annatto?"

What is "Natural Flavor?"

What is "Yeast Extract?"

Does Annie's use artificial flavors or colors?

How does Annie's make colored products - like orange mac & cheese or pink fruit snacks?

Does Annie's use BPA in canned meals?

Annie’s is committed to providing great tasting foods with unsurpassed product quality and safety standards. We understand there is concern around the use of BPA, and we are actively looking for alternatives.

The only Annie’s products which use BPA are our canned Pasta Meals (Cheesy Ravioli, All Stars, BernieO’s, Arthur Loops and P’sghetti Loops). BPA is used as part of the protective barrier between the metal can and the food contents. At this time, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not approved a BPA-free can for use with our type of tomato-based products. The BPA is needed in the lining of the cans to prevent the acidic tomato sauce and pasta from reacting with and leaching the metal in the cans.

Though BPA fully complies with FDA and other stringent health regulators in the European Union and Japan, we know some consumers are interested in a BPA-free package.  Therefore, we are committed to finding an alternate option. We continue to work diligently with our vendors and supply partners to find a can lining without BPA. We are also exploring other package solutions.

Annie’s has always prided ourselves on offering a variety of healthier alternatives, and feel our canned meals are an important part of our assortment.

How should I store my Annie's dressing and oils?

Unopened Annie's dressings and oils should be stored in a cool, dark place. Once dressings are opened, they should be kept in the refrigerator. Oils should be kept in a cool, dark place - they do not need to be refrigerated, but should be kept out of direct sunlight.

Still have a question?  Contact Consumer Relations.

What type of container should I marinate in?

Many of Annie's dressings can also be used as marinades to impart even more flavor to meats or veggies. 

Food should be marinated in a nonreactive container, one made of glass, porcelain, clay or stainless steel. Ziplock plastic food bags make great vessels for marinating. Avoid aluminum and cast iron which can react with the acids in the marinade. Use a shallow bowl so the marinade covers as much of the food as possible; turn the food at least once an hour. Let food marinate in the fridge, not on the kitchen counter, to avoid contracting harmful bacteria.



You can also look at our Recipes section for additional ideas!

Are there any hormones in Annie's cheese?

I am concerned about excessive amounts of antibiotics in the nation's food supply. What has Annie's done to protect their products?

We understand and share your concern about antibiotics in our nation’s food chain. All of the suppliers of the raw materials that go into the Annie's Homegrown products are aware of our mission statement. We ask that they do not supply materials that contain excessive and unnecessary amounts of antibiotics, but the reality is that cows do get sick. When appropriate treatment calls for antibiotics, the animals get them.

I can’t find Consorzio by Annie's Naturals at my local grocery store. Where should I look?

Depending on your local grocery store, Consorzio by Annie's Naturals  may be on the shelves with the "gourmet" or "specialty" products or in the "natural" or "health food" aisle of the store. If you can't find our products in either of these locations, please ask the manager to carry our products, or buy them here online!

Still have a question?  Contact Consumer Relations.

Has the milk that is used in Annie's products been pasteurized?

Yes, all of the Annie's products use pasteurized milk.

How are the cows treated by your milk supplier?

The cows are treated very well. Milk farmers know that a happy cow produces more milk. Heifers are happiest when able to roam free and enjoy the sunshine and open air.

Are the milking machines used by your suppliers harmful to the cows?

No. These machines are designed to fit comfortably on the cows. A happy cow produces more milk. Milk farmers are very aware of this fact.

What is Annie's stance on GMOs?

Allergy Information

The ingredient statement is the best source in determining what is in the product. If you are allergic or sensitive to certain foods or ingredients, you should always carefully read the ingredient statement and any allergen statements to ensure the product does not contain ingredients of concern to you.

Consumers who would like additional information, may send an email to Consumer Relations or contact us at 1–800–288–1089.

While there has been no product reformulation or change in manufacturing facilities, Annie's  has recently decided to go above and beyond FDA requirements and include an allergen statement on all of our products that are manufactured on shared equipment with any of the top eight allergens. Our manufacturing facilities meet with the highest standards of cleanliness, and we maintain all allergen cleaning, and Quality Control protocol on file. We recognize the needs of our customers who have allergies or sensitivities to nuts, gluten, certain spices, etc. Annie's always fully discloses all ingredients on the ingredient statement and will answer any questions that will help consumers decide what products they can safely consume. At Annie's, we take every precaution to ensure that cross contamination of ingredients does not occur in our production facility. We run the products in a particular order to reduce the risk of cross contamination, take the equipment apart and thoroughly clean it in between runs of product. However, we want you to know that some products are produced in a plant that processes foods containing wheat, dairy, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustaceans/shellfish, and egg. This is why we voluntarily chose to update our packaging to include this allergen information.

Are any of Annie's products Vegan?

Which of your products are Wheat-Free or Gluten-free?

Does Annie's make any products without yeast?

Currently, the majority of Annie's products do not contain yeast or yeast extract.

The following products are free of natural sources of yeast:

• Natural Mac & Cheese


• Organic Mac & Cheese (except Peace Pasta & Parmesan)


• Organic Canned Meals


• Organic Skillet Meals (except Beef Stroganoff, Tuna Spirals, and Cheddar Chicken)


• Pasta Meals


• Bunny Grahams 


• All Natural & Organic dressings


• Roasted Garlic Flavored Extra Virgin Olive Oil


• Basil Flavored Olive Oil


• Dipping Oil Herb Flavored Olive Oil


• Roasted Pepper Flavored Olive Oil

I mailed in for one of the Annie's offers and it was returned to me. What do I do?

Please accept our apologies. We have changed our mailing address and unfortunately, there may still be products on the market with the old mailing address information. Here is our correct mailing address:

Annie's 

1610 Fifth Street

Berkeley, CA 94710

What are the Cases for Causes and Grants for Gardens programs?

What is the Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship program?

I am an international student; may I apply for the Annie's Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship?

I am very close to graduating from college; may I apply for the Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship?

You are not eligible to apply if you are in your last year of study.

I am a graduate student; may I apply for the Sustainable Agriculture Scholarship?

Natural Mac & Cheese, Organic Mac & Cheese, Deluxe Mac & Cheese, Pasta Meals, and Skillet Meals

All of our Natural Mac & Cheese, Organic Mac & Cheese, Deluxe Mac & Cheese, Pasta Meals, and Skillet Meals have a month/day/year format date, followed by two letters, which is either indented or printed on the top of the box. Example 060708GA = June 7, 2008.

Microwavable Mac & Cheese

Our Microwavable Mac & Cheese products have a month/day/year format date followed by two letters and another number. Example JUN0408BK7 = June 4, 2008.

Cheddar Bunnies & Bunny Grahams

Our Cheddar Bunnies and Bunny Grahams have a month/day/year format date followed by one letter and one number. Example: 060708A3 = June 7, 2008.

The individual packets of Cheddar Bunnies and Bunny Grahams have a month/day/year format date followed by another number and a letter. Example: 0607083A = June 7, 2008.

Breakfast Cereals

Our Breakfast Cereal has a day/month/year format date. Example: 06Jan2010 = January 6, 2010

Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar

Our Gluten Free Rice Pasta & Cheddar has a month/day/year format date. Example: 060708 = June 7, 2008.

Canned Meals

Dressings and Condiments

BBQ Sauce – Our BBQ Sauces has an 15-month shelf life. Each bottle is marked with a “Best By” date, which is stamped on the back of the bottle, above the UPC barcode. Best by dates are written in DD MON YY (Date Month Year) format and are followed with a time stamp. On occasion, the Best By date may be stamped in MM/DD/YY format. Ex: 12 JUL 07/16:26 or 07/12/07

Dressings – Creamy dressings have a 12-month shelf life. Vinaigrette dressings (Raspberry & Balsamic, Mango Fat Free Dressing, Balsamic vinaigrette Dressing and Strawberry & Balsamic Fat Free Dressing) have a 24-month shelf life. Each bottle is marked with a “Best By” date, which is stamped on the neck of the bottle. Best by dates are written in MM/DD/YY format and may be followed with a lot number or time stamp. Ex: 03/09/08

Marinades – Our Marinades have a 12-month shelf life. Each bottle is marked with a “Best By” date, which is stamped on the back of the bottle, above the UPC barcode. Best by dates are written in DD MON YY (Date Month Year) format and are followed with a time stamp. On occasion, the Best By date may be stamped in MM/DD/YY format. Ex: 12 JUL 07/16:26 or 07/12/07

Olive Oils – Our Olive Oils have a 36-month shelf life. Each bottle is marked with a “Best By” date, which is stamped on the back label, above the UPC barcode. Best by dates may be written in MM/DD/YY followed. On occasion, the Best By date may be stamped on the neck of the bottle. Ex: 01/25/09

Condiments - Our Ketchup has a 15 month shelf life, our Mustards have a 18 month shelf life, and our Worcestershire Sauce has a 18 month shelf life

Still have a question?  Contact Consumer Relations.

Security

At Annies.com, we use the strongest encryption protection available today: 128-bit SSL. This ensures that your order, including your credit card and personal information is completely safe during the checkout process. To see if any web page is secure, check at the bottom of your web browser (i.e., Internet Explorer) for an image of a lock. If it's locked, you are secure.

How do I order product from Annie's?

Please visit our online store, where you can find all of Annie's delicious products. 

Privacy Policy

Annie's will never re-sell or share your email or personal information with another company.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact Consumer Relations.

 

Shopping and Security

We take every precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and off-line. When our registration or order forms ask users to enter sensitive information (such as credit card numbers), that information is encrypted and protected with the best encryption software in the industry - SSL. While on a secure page, such as our order form, the lock icon on the bottom of web browsers such as Microsoft Internet Explorer becomes locked, as opposed to un-locked when you are just ‘surfing’ the internet.



What personal information does Annie's gather?

The information we learn from users helps us personalize and continually improve your shopping experience at Annies.com. We may monitor and track information such as customer usage patterns on our website. We compile this information into a statistical aggregate, which we use for internal business and administrative purposes including improving our website, our operations and our consumer relations. Here are the types of information we gather:

Personal information provided by you

Annie's currently has an electronic newsletter. In order to receive our newsletter, it is necessary that you provide us with information, such as your name and email address. We will never share your information with another company.

Our guestbook and blog collect names and locations to add a personal touch to the comments. These are not used for marketing purposes.

When you contact Consumer Relations, apply for our scholarship or community giving programs, or submit a recipe, your contact information is stored in our database, so that we may respond to your comment or application.

Finally, from time-to-time, we may also provide you the opportunity to participate in contests or surveys on our site. If you participate, we will request certain personal information from you, such as contact and demographic information.

All of the above information that we receive from you is voluntary on your part. You do not need to send us any information to use our website. However, if you wish to voluntarily participate in any of the above programs, you will need to provide us with the applicable information.

Automatic information

We receive and store certain types of information whenever you interact with us. For example, like many web sites, we use "cookies," and we obtain certain types of information when your web browser accesses Annies.com. This information may include your IP address, your web browser type and operating system, session time, click path analysis, and the pages you request. We use this information in an aggregate way to monitor usage and improve our website. Cookies DO NOT contain any personally identifiable information such as your name or email address.



E-mail Communications

To help us make our e-mails more useful and interesting, we often receive a confirmation when you open e-mail from Annies.com if your computer supports such capabilities. We will never share your email address or personal information with another company.



Privacy Policy Changes

Use of our website indicates agreement and acceptance of the terms of this privacy policy. Annie’s reserves the right to update this policy at any time. We will post electronic announcements on the website notifying you of any revisions to this privacy policy. Please review all revisions to our policy. We maintain the option to change this policy at any time by electronic notice posted on our website. Your continued use of our website after the date that such notices are posted will be deemed to be your agreement to the changed terms.



Children and Annie's

Like other Web sites that contain content directed to children, Annie's is required by law to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act ("COPPA"). Under COPPA, parental consent is required for the online collection, use and/or disclosure of personal information obtained from a child under the age of 13.

What is EcoBonus?

How do I get EcoBonus points from Annie's products?

What do EcoBonus points get me?