I decided to give Stroehmann's a call. Yes, I know they've been bought by Bimbo, but I figured it was worth a shot.
It wasn't.
First of all, I emailed them, and was surprised to get a phone call at work yesterday. Interesting that they didn't want to put anything in writing.
A brief synopsis of our call, edited for brevity:
Me: Are your burger and hot dog rolls cross contaminated with sesame?
Them: We label for the 8 big allergens, blah, blah, blah.
Me: Sesame is considered a major allergen in virtually every country but the U.S., which is why I contacted Stroehmann. What is your policy regarding sesame?
Them: We clean thoroughly between runs of any product containing a major allergen.
Me: Do you consider sesame to be a major allergen?
Them: No.
Me: So would you include a X-contam statement, or list sesame in the list of ingredients if there was a chance that the product could contain it? (At this point I was just playin' with her; I knew there was no way in h3ll I'd be buying these buns.)
Them: Probably not.
Me: So, your rolls most likely do contain sesame or traces of sesame, but aren't labeled as such.
Them: Yes.
End of call. Explosion of expletives on my part.
We have a brand new PA working with us. She does not have allergies, nor does anyone in her family. Even
she knew that sesame is an allergen increasing in frequency. Sheesh.