Questions and Answers

Where can I find more information about the Chicago Cubs / Lemonhead promotion?
What nutritional information is available for Ferrara Pan 2011 Halloween Candy?
Do you ship to APO/FPO addresses?
Do you ship outside the US?
Is there a possibility of putting the Atomic Fireball on a Stick?
Where does the "Ferrara Pan" name come from?
What purpose does Sucrose serve in your product?
Do you process and pack products that contain allergens?
Do you manufactures candies that contain corn gluten?
I have celiac, will I be able to enjoy any of your candies?
Do you have any outlet stores?
What is your code nomenclature?
How can I request a donation?
I'm interested in buying a large order of your candy, what do I do?
I'm seeking employment with Ferrara Pan, what do I do?
Do you provide coupons or free samples?
Do you offer tours of your factory to the public?
What is your current procedure to ensure that there is a variety of flavors in each of your variety products?
Is your candy kosher?
What type of gelatin do you use in your candies?
How many calories do your candies contain?
What type of food starch do you use in your candies?
What spice makes the candy so hot?

Submit A Question:

Do you ship to APO/FPO addresses?

We do ship to APO/FPO addresses via the United States Postal Service. For a quote on shipping costs, please email us your complete ship to and bill to address, item numbers (please refer to our website at www.ferrarapan.com/store/), and quantities you are interested in. We will then forward the estimated shipping cost to you.

Do you ship outside the US?

We ship internationally via the United States Postal Service. For a quote on shipping costs, please email us your complete ship to and bill to address, item numbers (please refer to our website at www.ferrarapan.com/store/), and quantities you are interested in. We will then forward the estimated shipping cost to you.

Is there a possibility of putting the Atomic Fireball on a Stick?

That is a great idea.  Unfortunately, due to the method of manufacturing, it would be impossible to insert a stick into the candy pieces.  The Atomic Fireball is a panned candy.  This process involves building candy pieces from single units, such as grains of sugar, nuts, or candy centers, tossing them in revolving pans while adding the flavor, color and other candy ingredients.  This process continues until the pieces become the size desired.  Finally, the candy gets a high polish with an edible vegetable wax, which gives it an attractive appearance.  You can view this process on our virtual tour of "How Atomic Fireballs are Made". 

Where does the "Ferrara Pan" name come from?

"Ferrara" is the last name of the family who started the business.  Salvatore Ferrara, was a pastrymaker who came to America from Nola, Italy in 1900.  The Ferrara Pan Candy Company was then founded in 1908 in Chicago, Illinois.  After eight years Salvatore Ferrara saved enough money to open a pastry shop.  Here, multicolored sugarcoated almonds, which the Italians call "confetti", were manufactured.  These and other confections were in such demand that he set up a separate company to make them.  This company soon outgrew its quarters and moved to Forest Park, a suburb on the West Side of Chicago, where it is still located and still family owned and managed.

The word "pan" in the company name indicates that some of the candy we make is "panned".  This process involves building candy pieces from single units, such as grains of sugar, nuts, or candy centers, transferring them into revolving pans while adding the flavor, color and other candy ingredients.  This process continues until the pieces become the size desired. Finally, the candy gets a high polish with a vegetable wax, which gives the candy an attractive appearance.  You can view this process on our virtual tours of "How Panned Candy is Made".

Our chemistry instructor requested that we research an ingredient currently used in a consumer product.  I like your product so it was easy to choose your "Lemonhead".  I chose the ingredient "Sucrose" to research.  Could you please answer briefly the following questions:

1.What purpose does "sucrose" serve in your product?

"Sucrose" serves as a sweetener and a bulking agent. Another name for "sucrose" is table sugar.

2.Is there an alternative ingredient you might have chosen?

There are two other alternatives to "sucrose." The first being artificial sweeteners, which could be used to make a sugar free Lemonhead. This will not be as sweet as sugar and sometimes may cause digestive problems. Dextrose, is also another possibility, however, it will harden the texture and have a cooling effect on the flavor. Dextrose cannot be used with sugar ("sucrose").

3.Did this choice prove challenging to use in the candy making process?

This choice did not prove challenging, as "sucrose" and corn syrup combined are traditionally used throughout the candy industry.

Do you process and pack products that contain allergens?

We manufacture and pack products made with Peanuts, Almonds, Milk, Egg and Soy in our facilities. We have common use lines which means we process and pack products which contain allergens on the same lines on which we process and pack products which do not contain allergens. Ferrara Pan has established an Allergen Policy which calls for the segregation of allergen-containing products from those products which do not contain allergens. The Allergen Policy also calls for the segregation of different allergen-containing products and ingredients from each other.

Ferrara Pans Allergen Policy requires a thorough, monitored cleaning of the common use lines when switching from allergen-containing products to non allergen-containing products, and requires multi-departmental inspections as well as stringent verification procedures.

The precautions and procedures which Ferrara Pan has implemented are in place to assure our customers that Ferrara Pan manufactures its food products in a safe and responsible manner. However, because Ferrara Pan recognizes the serious challenges which people with food allergies face when making their food choices, we disclose to our customers that certain allergens are used in our facilities and those products containing allergens are manufactured and packed on the same lines as products which do not contain allergens.

Do you manufactures candies that contain corn gluten?

Ferrara Pan Candy Co. manufactures candies that contain corn gluten.

• No Ferrara Pan products contain wheat, oat, rye or barley.
• No Ferrara Pan products are made from derivatives of wheat, oat, rye or barley.
• No Ferrara Pan products are made with wheat, oat, rye or barley gluten.
• No Ferrara Pan products are made on equipment that is also used to make a product that contains wheat, oat, rye or barley gluten.
• No Ferrara Pan products are packed on equipment that is also used to pack a product that contains wheat, oat, rye or barley gluten

I have celiac, will I be able to enjoy any of your candies?

People with celiac can enjoy the following candies.

• All Gummies Ferrara or Black Forest
• All Jellies (Gum Drops, Orange Slices, etc...)
• All the Headlines (Lemonhead, Applehead, Grapehead, etc...)
• All Jujus
• All Jelly Beans
• Sour Jacks
• Cherry Sours
• Boston Baked Beans
• Atomic Fireballs
• Jawbreakers (Jawbusters)
• Red Hots
• Chewy Lemonhead & Friends
• Chewy Atomic Fireballs
• Fruit Snacks
• Chocolate (Almonds, Peanuts, Raisins)-Dairy

Do you have any outlet stores?

We have an outlet store connected to our main facility in Forest Park.

Ferrara Pan Candy Co.
7301 W. Harrison St
Forest Park, IL 60130

The store hours are as followed:

M-F 7:30-4:30
Sat: 7:30-2:30
Sun:Closed

You may call the store at (708) 405-3017.

What is your code nomenclature?

The Following explains our code nomenclature for Ferrara Pan products only:

Example: 1C292311

1= Year Designation (2001)
C= Month of Year Designation (A=January through December with X=September)
29= Day in the month (01 through 31)
23= Packaging Line number (Ferrara Codes)
1= Packaging line tube number (Ferrara Codes)
1= Shift number (Ferrara Codes)

How can I request a donation?

If you are seeking a donation, you need to put your request in writing and address it to Mr. Salvatore Ferrara II. The request should be on your organizations letterhead and should contain the date of your event and the number of people you are expecting. You can either mail your request to 7301 W. Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL 60130 or Fax it to (708) 366-5921. Once Mr. Ferrara has had an opportunity to review your request we will contact you and advise you of his decision.

I'm interested in buying a large order of your candy, what do I do?

You can purchase Ferrara Pan Candy from our website or you can locate a broker for more specific information on our candy sales. Click on the "Contact Us" tab, then click on the blue text that reads Click here for a list of our Brokers organized by state. Listed next to each state is the Broker name and phone number for that state. If you contact one of our brokers, he or she will assist you in locating Ferrara Pan Candies within your area.

I'm seeking employment with Ferrara Pan, what do I do?

You may drop your resume off at our main office building, mail it to the attention of our HR Office, or come in and fill out an application. Our main office address is: 7301 W. Harrison Street, Forest Park, IL 60130. You may also email it to us at resumes@ferrarapan.com.

Do you provide coupons or free samples?

We currently do not provide coupons or free samples. We also do not do public taste testing.

Do you offer tours of your factory to the public?

We do not offer tours to the public.

What is your current procedure to ensure that there is a variety of flavors in each of your variety products?

Below is a description of our current procedure to ensure that there is a variety of flavors in each of our variety products:

Each variety of candy is individually packed into small cartons. After the cartons are sealed, they are conveyed and collected in 1200 lb. totes. Once we have full totes of each of the 7 varieties, we align them on a long conveyor and trickle feed each tote of product onto the conveyor. By the time the product reaches the end of the conveyor, we have seven layers of individual cartons. In theory this will provide 7 varieties of flavors in each bag. At the end of the conveyor, the cartons slide down a chute to a vibratory pan that further mixes the product. From the pan, the product travels to an incline conveyor, which transfers the cartons to a scale where they are weighed and dropped into bags. Since this is all done automatically, we cannot guarantee an equal mix of each item, but there should be each item in every mix.

Is your candy kosher?

Ferrara candies kosher under supervision of UMK (United Mehadrin Kosher).

What type of gelatin do you use in your candies?

Ferrara uses pork gelatin in all gummies.
Gelatin is derived from pork hide. Candies that contain gelatin are not kosher.

How many calories do your candies contain?

What type of food starch do you use in your candies?

• Modified Food Starch in all hard candies is Corn Starch
• Modified Food Starch in sour gummies is Corn & Potato Starch

What spice makes the candy so hot?

The spice that gives the product the heat or hot sensation is capsicum.
It contains 3500 HV (Scoville Heat Units).