White lines around type in illustrator artwork

I keep getting a white outlined box around type in my Illustrator artwork. I’ve run into this before (going back to CS6) and haven’t been able to solve this problem. It’s a simple logo design with a gradient circle with an S on top. Here are the specs to avoid the most obvious questions.

1. Text is converted to curves.
2. Text and circle gradient are on different layers.
3. Colors are CMYK. Not spot.
4. Looks fine in Illustrator, Photoshop and InDesign but shows up when exported or printed to Acrobat.
5. Also shows up in MSWord 2010 and 2013.
6. Exporting artwork to EPS, BMP, EMF, TIF, JPG, all produce the same result.
7. Flattening the artwork doesn’t fix the issue.
8. Having this issue with both Illustrator CS6 and CC.

Any help is greatly appreciated.