When I’m at the grocery store I’ll pick up many different products for a variety of different reasons.

As the grocery shopper for a family with 6 different food allergies, I’m always reading the labels on products that I want to buy.  I check out new products to see if they’re suitable and I review old favorites to be sure that nothing has changed since the last time I purchased them.

But as the owner of a food company, I’m also perusing the food aisles for a whole different set of reasons.  I notice packages that I love the coloring or the artwork, perhaps the size or convenience of something makes me stop to take note or maybe a competitor has changed how they’re packaging their product.

Imagine my surprise when I picked up a new product at the grocery store last week simply because I liked its packaging and got quite a shock when I read the allergen information.  Right off the bat, I’ll tell you it was a natural snack with nuts in it which I already knew was off limits for my family but I read the allergen information anyway and that’s when I saw it:  “Contains nuts.  May contain other allergens not listed.“  Huh? Read more »

Do you ever wonder why you never see the words allergy free on our products or website?

I began using the term allergy friendly about 6 years ago and ever since then have been correcting those who refer to Nonuttin’ products as allergy free.  While I can understand that like “gluten free”, it’s a quick and easy way to refer to products that are designed for those with food allergies, it doesn’t communicate the true reality of food allergies. Read more »

While we’re saying goodbye to sesame, we’re saying “hello” to Martha.  Martha who?  Why, Martha Stewart, of course! Read more »

I had a friend who had an anaphylactic reaction to MRI dye last Monday.  In for an MRI to determine answers for a health issue, she had never before had an anaphylactic reaction to anything and had no food allergies.  Her only previous reaction to anything was a very swollen leg last year after a bee sting.

The scary part to me is what happened when she told the technician she was feeling funny and hit the panic button.  To be fair, MRIs and CAT scans are rather tight spaces and more than one patient has been known to have panic attacks so this was how she was initially treated.  A doctor was called in who took her vitals which appeared to be fine so she was led through breathing exercises to “calm down”.  When she began to have difficulty talking due to a swelling throat and tongue, they then noticed that her back was covered in hives.  This is when she asked, “Can’t you give me something to stop this?” Read more »

If you’re like me, there have been times when you wondered whether your child actually had a food allergy or whether they had outgrown the allergy.  Both of our children outgrew dairy allergies which we didn’t know until we actually tried milk with them under our doctor’s guidance.  Until recently, we thought Megan might have outgrown her kiwi allergy but she wasn’t willing to do an oral challenge.  Unfortunately, as you may know from an earlier blog post and the Nonuttin’ News, we found out the hard way in December that kiwi is still very much one of her food allergies.

What if there was a blood test that was far more accurate than anything we have right now (skin or blood) that could give a definitive diagnosis without an oral challenge?  Would you feel relieved? Read more »

Oh boy, you’d think that being deprived of peanuts and nuts for approximately 1-14 hours was akin to snatching a bottle out of a baby’s hands.  Add in food allergies being referred to as a disability and you’ve got people frothing at the mouth. Read more »

Did you miss me last week?  I flew to Chicago to attend a food allergens/gluten conference specific to food manufacturers. 

There were 41 companies represented with anywhere from 1 to 12 attendees per company.  The companies ranged in size from tiny, like Nonuttin’ Foods, to large, like Kraft.  Amongst those attendees, I met people who had different roles in the companies such as quality assurance manager for 39 facilities across the United States to Consumer Relations people, the ones who answer your questions when you phone in about food allergens. Read more »

Just when Health Canada has recognized mustard as Canada’s 11th priority allergen, word is that mustard flour is a bacteria killer in processed meat products.  This might be good news for Canada’s beleagured processed meat industry after major recalls due to listeria over the last year that killed several people.

A recent study at the University of Manitoba and reported in Food in Canada shows that heat treated cold mustard powder used as a binder, not as a spice,  in meat products such as sausage will create toxins that kill off E.coli bacteria.  It’s a natural way to ensure that E.coli, a potentially life threatening bacteria when ingested, cannot contaminate our processed meats. Read more »

Mustard has become Canada’s 11th priority allergen after a review by Health Canada as announced last week.

Health Canada had been reviewing several different foods including garlic and onions but only mustard made the list.  This is because while mustard allergies are not exactly rampant, they are more common than you might think and the severity of the recorded reactions has prompted concern.  Garlic and onions were considered but the evidence of recorded reactions shows less severity and more intolerance as opposed to an anaphylactic response.

If you’ve been following my blog, you’re aware that I had a cousin react to mustard in the spring which shocked everybody in the family except me.  Given what I do, I’ve been aware for several years that Europe labels for the top 12 food allergens (plus lupin) which includes Canada’s top 10 with the addition of mustard and celery.  Since November of 2008, I’ve been adding mustard, celery and lupin to the list that I send my ingredient suppliers to document.  The results prompted me to add celery to the list of allergen declarations on the Nonuttin’ website.

Like prior allergen labeling laws before it, this new regulation will require  food manufacturers to plainly list mustard if it is an ingredient.  Currently, if you’re allergic to mustard, you must avoid any product that simply lists “spices” as a food ingredient.  If you take a look at any of the products in your food cupboard, particularly savory items, you’ll find a lot of products that only indicate “spices”.

It would appear at first glance that this must be a huge relief for mustard allergy sufferers.   My hope is that the amount of products they can eat will increase with better labeling.   Unfortunately, as many of you with other food allergies can attest, food allergen labeling can backfire when manufacturers put all of the priority allergens on their label.

In any case, the review has prompted Health Canada to put into place review procedures for the priority allergens as the prevalence of food allergies grows and more data is documented.  It’s not easy for food manufacturers but it really is necessary as we battle with increasing immune system issues.

If you are a Celiac disease sufferer, you know that experts recognize 20 parts per million (ppm) as the standard in gluten tolerance.  Eating a variety of foods below this limit is considered safe, even when eaten cumulatively.  While there may be a tiny percentage of individuals with extreme sensitivity for who this standard may still be a problem, The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes this limit as not only safe for Celiacs but also manageable by the food industry.  As a result, the European Union moved their gluten free labeling from 200 ppm to 20 ppm recently and food processors are stepping up to that challenge.  While there are still many challenges there including testing and compliance which I won’t get into, at least there is a common understanding that most can adhere to.

Wouldn’t it be nice to have the same limit for food allergens too?  So if you were allergic to peanuts and peanut free label regulations required the food processor to be below say, 1 ppm, we would all know exactly what peanut free means on the label.  This could even open up more foods to the peanut allergic population because companies could test their products and in theory, we would see fewer “may contains”.   That would certainly be a plus for my family.

But here’s the problem with that scenario:  Documented cases of peanut allergy show a wide range of sensitivities and the ramifications of reaction in a very sensitive individual are more severe with anaphylaxis being the ultimate price to pay.  And unlike true Celiac disease (as opposed to gluten sensitivity/intolerance), children have been known to grow out of their food allergies so it’s possible that their level of sensitivity may decrease over time, making it very difficult for researchers to create a scientifically controlled experiment to determine specific levels.

They’re trying though, and that’s the good news.  Over time, if scientists are able to determine a threshold amount that can be tolerated for a variety of food allergies, we can have better food labeling.  This might allow us Allergy Moms to spend less time in the grocery store, phoning food manufacturers, searching for information  on food allergy forums and abandoning our food chemistry degree courses that we’ve all been plunged into.   Trust in proper labeling and regulation compliance notwithstanding, I’d be thrilled to have that time back.

If you’d like to read more about the technical aspects of this scientific challenge, you can download this free report at:  http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a914017328 .  The report is authored by a group of scientists called the ILSI Threshold Working Group which includes renowned food allergy scientist  Steven L. Taylor from the Food Allergy Research and Resource Program, Dept. of Food Science & Technology, University of Nebraska.