I’m here to tell you a secret;  traveling is not all glamor.  Hard to believe, isn’t it?

I remember when my kids were little and my husband had to travel for work conferences.  I’d be exhausted when he came home and he had the nerve to be exhausted too!  How could that be when he’d had a hotel to go to sleep in, meals provided, banquets to attend, no children to wake him up in the middle of the night, no carting the kids back and forth between childcare plus work?  Now, I’ve discovered why as the shoe is on the other foot.

Because it is my company that I travel for, no one is planning my dinners for me at lovely restaurants when I’m away.   And, like many of you with food allergies and intolerances, I cart my own food with me so that I can eat safely and healthfully and try to book hotels with a microwave and fridge wherever I can.  I’ve been traveling so much in the last 3 months that I haven’t spent more than 10 days at home at a time.  At one point, I looked out of my plane at the city beyond and forgot where I was (Vancouver)!

So you might ask, why do I do it?   Here are the things that keep me going:

The eleven year old boy at the Canadian Celiac Association’s National Conference in Winnipeg who mowed through all of our samples once his mom had determined all of our products were safe for his Celiac disease, peanut allergies, egg allergies and dairy allergies.  What a smile on his face and his mom’s too!

The lady at Choices gluten free fair in White Rock who found out we’re free of sulfites and dairy.  She told me that she was in love with our company. 

The store owner who came up to our booth at the Canadian Health Food Association’s Expo West who said she can’t keep our Energy Explosion trail mix on the shelf, people love it so much.

The lady who’s been a customer for years who introduced herself at the Celiac Disease Foundation’s Annual Conference in Los Angeles in May.  It felt like I was meeting an old friend.

But it’s the same in all that we do isn’t it?  We handle all of the education and anxiety necessary to deal with our family’s food allergies and at times it can be really overwhelming.  We plough on, sometimes just putting our heads down and marching ahead because it’s really all we can do.  But then we get those moments of bright light; that small thing that may not mean much to someone not in our shoes but can mean the world to us.  A new safe product, a medical situation handled well, excitement over finding someone else who really “gets it”.

Small things – they’re really what makes the world go round.

Health Canada has said since 2007 that pure oats (no wheat, barley or rye contamination) are not only suitable for gluten free diets but recommended due to the B vitamins, fiber and iron they add to a gluten free diet.  Yet at the same time, Canadian labeling laws, last updated in the 1990’s don’t allow oats to be labeled or advertised as gluten free.  This is why you only see “gluten free” on our US site even though it’s the same product as Canada.

As part of the upcoming allergen labeling law changes, Health Canada has recognized that their recommendations and the labeling laws don’t match.  Two weeks ago they published a 20 page document about their intent to change the law regarding oats and are asking for feedback from Canadian consumers and the food industry.  For more information, check out the link at:  http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2010/2010_75-eng.php

Shows like The Natural Products Expo West in Anaheim last month can be a little overwhelming.  Open only to those in the natural products industry (stores, distributors, manufacturers, media, etc.), not the general public, it’s hard to share with you the vast size and amazing diversity of items available at these shows.  There is everything from allergy friendly foods to organic skin care to vitamins and pet food.

But while there were some wonderful new products to discover, I found an underlying bandwagon at the show:  gluten free.  New market research shows that 1 out of every 10 new products introduced this year will have a gluten free claim.  Some of this is good, some not so.  Read more »

If you’re a subscriber to my enewsletter, you know that I like to showcase other special diet websites and products that I feel could be helpful to our Nonuttin’ clients.  One such company that we’ve been getting to know is Nutrition for your Condition.  The ladies who began this company know how difficult it is to go anywhere and eat safely so they put together a travel kit that anyone with a special diet could easily take with them to school or on the road or plane.

I asked Crystal Paulitzki, one of the founders,  to provide our followers with a bit of information about their company which she has done below.  She’s also graciously offered Nonuttin’ clients a discount coupon for use when purchasing any Nutrition for your Condition products.  Here’s what Crystal had to say: Read more »

There are a lot of people in the “free from” foods market that begin their businesses for different reasons.  Many, like myself, begin a company due to intensely personal reasons such as an affected family member.  Others  start because they choose to eat a certain way to feel healthier and want to share that with the world.  And others don’t have any of the medical issues involved but perhaps have a product that they would like to market to a particular segment of the free from marketplace such as Nestle’s chocolate bars in Canada being advertised as peanut free.

What I find frustrating are the people who want to market a product as free from a certain ingredient but have no idea what that actually means.  Read more »

I find Valentine’s Day stressful with food allergies.  In the past, when our allergic child was in elementary school, I found it to be the most stressful day of all.  It all came to a head when Megan was in grade 4 and Valentine’s Day became a food buffet of everything she couldn’t eat laid out in front of her.  Score in her head?  Other kids:  30 treats,  Me:  2 Read more »

The diagnosis of Celiac disease is on the rise and as such, there have been many studies lately about the causes  and possible prevention.  While Celiac disease is an immune response to the proteins in wheat, barley and rye (known collectively as gluten), it is a non-IgE response, meaning the reaction is not anaphylaxis but a myriad of symptoms from headaches to gastrointestinal upset and nutritional deficiencies.  Damage of the intestine and other body systems (such as osteoporosis of the bones) can be undiagnosed for years.

Up until this point, once properly diagnosed with Celiac disease, the only way to avoid the symptoms and subsequent damage is complete avoidance of gluten; not always a very easy prospect in our food supply.  So bring on the parasitic hookworms! Read more »

In my last blog post I wrote about how many more family members than I had previously thought were affected by food allergies.  But what about the non-humans in the family?  Yes, there are pets with food allergies.

When my food allergic daughter visited my sister in Calgary in July, one of her favorite things to do was to play with and walk their golden retriever, Kobi.  But while she was there, Kobi was not himself.  He was shedding far more than normal, losing hair behind his ears and in clumps from his haunches.   My daughter was concerned as she thinks he’s the best dog in the world and with mom being allergic to fur-bearing animals, Kobi is the closest thing she gets to a dog.

Well, we now have our answer:  Kobi is suffering from wheat and beef allergies.  He immediately required a change in diet.  My sister found the pet food easy since it already had no wheat in it but all new pet treats were in order.  The change was also very expensive (as we all know from human specialty food) because the new treats are all gluten free, organic and much less processed than the cheaper dog treats.

Apparently some breeds of dogs are more prone to allergies and this includes golden retrievers.  One of our local clients introduced me to her new dog who has corn allergies.  Hmm.  Is this all because they are purebred and getting no genetic diversity?  Or are our pets simply reflecting the overall issues that we are seeing in humans?  Maybe it’s just one more piece of the food allergy puzzle that bears some research.

Does it seem to you that our regulatory bodies in North America are having a hard time keeping up with all of the new science and studies regarding food allergies, Celiac disease and intolerances?

I subscribe to a multitude of publications on food allergies and intolerances along with updates from the food manufacturing world that are based all over the world so that I have an overview of both North American and International News.  I can barely keep up as every day I get information overload.  Publications that never used to pay any attention to food allergies/intolerances just a couple of short years ago now have a headline in each new document about testing, recalls, breakthrough studies and more.  But if I, who admittedly has a very vested interest both professionally and personally, can barely keep up, what about our government bureaucracies?

Case in point:  Health Canada issued a position statement in 2008 that informed those with Celiac disease and gluten intolerance that pure oats (uncontaminated by the harmful gluten in wheat, barley and rye) were suitable for most gluten free diets.  The statement also suggested that pure oats would be welcomed by gluten avoiders because of the great nutrition and enjoyment that pure oats would bring to gluten free diets.  BUT… (here’s the fun part) any product with pure oats is not allowed to be called gluten free in Canada.  We can’t even call our facility a gluten free facility to Canadians (Americans are another matter, but I digress) because that might imply that oats are gluten free, which is against the current labeling laws.

It means we must have separate packaging, separate brochures and, what I’m working on today, is separating our website into an American section and a Canadian section so that one set will meet Canadian laws while another set will meet US laws.  So how can Health Canada issue a statement saying 95% of those on gluten free diets can have pure oats on one hand but not allow a hint of “gluten free” to pass the lips of any Canadian manufacturer using pure oats?

The bottom line is an antiquated Canadian labeling law that specified that any item containing wheat, barley, rye or oats could not be called gluten free.  So while Health Canada has reviewed the latest in science regarding pure oats and gluten free diets, the wheels grind slowly and the labeling law is creaking along behind. 

We’ve been informed that there is a finally a light at the end of the tunnel that we hope is not an oncoming train.  At the Canadian Celiac Association’s annual conference in May, there is a seminar on the Sunday morning outlining the certification of pure oats and the possibility of gluten free oats labeling in Canada.  I will be at that seminar but I’m not holding my breath just yet (I’m getting cynical given that we’ve been riding this bandwagon of pure oats since April 2007).  Ideally, I do hope to be able to stop having a split personality when discussing pure oats (Canada) and gluten free oats (US).

But then what will I do with my time?  Maybe I can focus on supporting further changes to the labeling laws that differ between the 2 countries on natural regulations, sesame allergen labeling, trans fats, daily value of iron… ?  Hmmm, on second thought, I think I’d better go put more work in on writing those pages for the website separation.

I was in Vancouver yesterday demonstrating Nonuttin’ products for the various chefs, caterers and suppliers who will be very busy during the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics and Paralympics next February and March.  Few of these professionals will actually be feeding the athletes at the games as the majority will be taking care of the vast business surrounding the games:  sponsors, corporate guests, media, governments, visitors, etc.

Talking to the executive chefs at many of the top hotels in Vancouver, I saw that there is a keen understanding of special dietary needs for all meals of the day although we were focusing on Nonuttin’ products as an option for breakfast and snacks.  Some smaller caterers that I talked to though, felt that the the requests that they got for various food allergies and gluten intolerances were too overwhelming.  Add in the concerns about cross contamination and they’ve thrown up their hands in despair.  Instead, they’d prefer to indicate to their patrons that nothing they produce for different catering events are safe for any of those with Celiac or food allergies.

 I do think that things will change.  Take vegetarian meals for instance.  At one point, no caterer would offer a vegetarian entree, but now we see (at least here on the West Coast) at least one vegetarian and perhaps even vegan options offered at every catered event. 

Running a manufacturing company, I do understand that the controls required can be overwhelming but I don’t think that they are insurmountable.  I’d rather see the fear taken out of the equation and some education to occur from our regional health inspectors so that caterers can see that offering at least some options for specialty diets is doable.  And given the increase in food allergies, Celiac disease, cultural and religious dietary needs, any caterer who doesn’t keep up may find themselves with few clients left to serve.