At 14, Megan is past the point of wearing allergy t-shirts and carrying her Nonuttin’ lunch kit that says, “Don’t feed me, I have a food allergy.” She does still have a medic alert bracelet though and that won’t change as she moves into adulthood.

So despite her advanced age, I certainly remember what it was like finding something that Megan would like and be comfortable with. So it was with delight that I found an allergy bracelet in Chicago on the weekend that I think she would have loved when she was in elementary school; the Allerbling bracelet.

It’s a 100% silicone bracelet with 5 openings to accommodate a medic alert symbol plus 4 separate spaces to put in your child’s major allergies. And since it’s customizable, you can choose from different symbols including the top 8 food allergens, strawberries, coconut, corn, chocolate and bees. Because it’s so bright, colorful and comfortable to wear (not to mention washable), I think it not only does the job quickly, but kids can also feel great wearing it and easily communicate their allergies.

Check out their website at: http://www.allerbling.com

I learned something new today about probiotics that I thought was important to share, particularly with those who have milk or soy allergies.

Probiotics are the new wonder product in our society these days as science begins to address our gut health. Many scientists now recognize that what happens in our intestines affects all of our body functions and has a role to play in autoimmune disorders including Celiac Disease and Type 1 Diabetes. Many health professionals recommend the use of probiotics, gut friendly bacteria that helps intestinal health, along with prebiotic heavy foods that feed the probiotics and keep them healthy (i.e. oats, soybeans and inulin).

The amount of natural foods products that contain probiotics has exploded, primarily in the yogurt category. But for those that can’t eat yogurt, taking the probiotics in capsule format has become very popular.

Unfortunately, probiotics need to grow in a protein rich culture which may be milk or soy based, a fact that I was not aware of until today. While most of that culture is removed when the probiotics are freeze dried, there is potential for trace amounts of that culture to remain, potentially causing anaphylaxis for those with milk and soy allergies.

Health Canada issued a recall of 2 products today that may have this issue (no one to date has had a reaction) but they also included an advisory as part of that recall that explains about the cultures used for manufacturing probiotics. This is rare for Health Canada and therefore should be shared with anybody you know with either milk or soy allergies.

To link directly to the recall/advisory, see this link: http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/ahc-asc/media/advisories-avis/_2011/2011_53-eng.php

Barry Callebaut USA has recalled Kroger Value brand semi-sweet chocolate chips after chips with dairy in them were mistakenly packed in the non-dairy/Kosher pareve packaging for Kroger. The recall notice may be seen at: http://usfoodsafety.com/02af0007.asp and the kosher alert for dairy can be seen at: http://www.ok.org/alerts.asp

I’m bringing this recall to your attention since you may be aware that Barry Callebaut is the manufacturer who produces our semi-sweet mini chocolate chips and 70% dark chocolate chunks in a peanut/nut free plant and on a dairy free line. Our chocolate is manufactured in the Quebec, Canada, plant however, not in the US and is not affected by this recall.

Further, we test every incoming ingredient for several allergens prior to releasing it into the manufacturing process, with dairy being one of the many tests we perform. If we were to discover dairy in any ingredient, it would be isolated in our warehouse and not be allowed into our production area. We would then work with the manufacturer to discover the source of the contamination problem before ordering any more ingredients from them.

If you have any questions, please let our team know at info@nonuttin.com or toll free: 1-866-714-5411.

Last year I wrote a grinchy post.  Yes, me, usually overly optimistic, glass is full kinda gal.  But I couldn’t help it.  It was the first time in a  long time that I had hosted my whole family for Christmas for a week plus I had an exchange student from France who couldn’t eat dairy.  Add that in to our 6 food allergies, it was liking going back to when the girls were little and we had to avoid dairy too.  Plus I’m a perfectionist so the house cleaning, baking, decorating, etc. had to be just so before everybody arrived.  My husband and children wisely kept quiet.

Skip forward a whole year and I’m in a less grinchy frame of mind.  I’m still trying to get 5 new products finalized this week (for launch in February), am President of my Rotary with 4 meetings this week alone (don’t ask) and hosted our employee Christmas party on Sunday (you should have seen Sandy and Sheila fight over that bottle of wine).  But we’re going to my parents’ house for Christmas, yippee! 

There are so many things to be said for someone else hosting Christmas, kind of like having your child’s birthday party at the local bowling alley.  You have to decorate very little, can leave the house dusty, put up fewer lights outside, struggle with the holly bush less often,  bake less and when it’s all over YOU get to LEAVE!  Ah, ha, ha (cue the evil laughter). 

And since my parents are so good with my family’s allergies, I know that we will only have to check things once.  My mom has it down pat and makes sure that all of the ingredients she buys she keeps the labels for so that I can have a quick go over.  Now all I have to do is bake some buns and muffins and we’re good to go. 

So my stockings are hung, my Christmas tree is glowing brightly and I have a twinkle in my eye.  Of course, I still have to do a bunch of shopping but that’s a blog post for another day.  I wish that you too can have an unGrinchy Christmas season.

Last November I told you about an Allergy Task Force that was put together with researchers around the globe including the widely renowned Stephen Taylor from the University of Nebraska’s Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP). The task force announced this November, after a meeting in Nice, that they would have information about the threshold amounts for peanut, milk and egg by the end of 2012.

To put it into perspective, we already have a threshold for gluten which is 20 ppm (parts per million). Anything under 20 ppm is considered safe by the leading scientists in gluten research, even when taking into account eating many products under 20 ppm during the day – the cumulative effect. Following this accepted level, the government can then create labeling laws that specify the threshold and food producers follow this in the labeling/marketing of their own products. While not yet law in the US, the guideline for producers is that less than 20 ppm of gluten (wheat, barley and rye) may be labeled as “gluten free”.

So what does that mean for food allergens? The task force has already been reviewing and conducting scientific research to determine at what level food allergens must be present to create an allergic reaction. If, say, it is determined that the threshold for peanut is 10 ppm, only food products less than 10 ppm could be labeled as peanut free.

It could also help determine the “may contain” statements. Perhaps on occasion, a product tests at over 10 ppm. A food manufacturer could then put a “may contain peanut” on the label. If a product consistently tested above 10 ppm, the “may contain” may no longer be appropriate because peanut is consistently in the product so it must be labeled “contains peanut” or peanut must be placed on the ingredient list. Levels could also be used to determine what “traces” are vs containing peanut or it may be determined that labeling for “traces” is no longer appropriate and a product either contains or may contain an allergen.

Another consideration is that with advances in scientific testing, we can now test down to parts per billion of peanut protein.  But if a product tests at 1 part per billion, it may be well below a threshold but cannot be labeled peanut free.  This is sometimes why your favorite product that was safe at the grocery store last week now has a may contain label on it and you no longer trust as safe for your family.  Just because we can test for something, doesn’t mean that it is useful. 

Australians are going through this problem right now because their gluten free labeling law is not at 20 ppm but rather at the lowest level currently scientifically testable.  So products testing at 3 ppm for gluten can no longer have gluten free labeling and Celiacs are losing their ability to know what is actually safe under 20 ppm vs not allowed to be labelled.  Their Celiac Association has called for a change to the law because this has become a serious issue for their members and their quality of life.

Altogether, I feel that thresholds are a good thing. For the consumer, they won’t have to guess anymore as to what labeling means nor should they have to phone producers to double check a confusing label.  It may also mean that we have fewer consumers playing “Russian Roulette” with their food because they guess that a food manufacturer puts on a “may contain” only to cover themselves legally, when, in fact, the food may very well contain that protein.

For governments, they then have a definitive threshold that can be placed into labeling laws and therefore have the authority to recall products that are unsafe and/or conduct legal investigations and actions for producers disregarding the law.

For food producers, it means that they can also stop guessing and create specific sanitation and testing protocols for their products and food production lines.  They can also label very specifically and if indeed they are putting blanket “may contains” on all of their products, they can stop doing that and allow more of their products to become available to allergic consumers.

If you’d like to know more details about the International Task Force, who’s on it and what they are trying to achieve, you can check out this page: http://www.ilsi.org/europe/pages/tf_foodallergy.aspx

We can pick our friends but we can’t pick our families and when you’re dealing with food allergies and intolerances over the holidays, you might just want to hang out with your friends. What is it about food allergies that can cause so many family feuds?

And why is it that all holidays between Halloween and Easter are excessively celebrated with food? From US Thanksgiving on Thursday through to Christmas especially, every get together is frought with minefields that we must safely navigate. These holidays can be the most stressful of all, especially if you gather with family who just don’t understand the severity of your needs. Is it any wonder that some of us just want to hibernate?

I’m the first to say that I’ve been really lucky in that I have great family on both sides who take our family’s food allergies very seriously when we’re visiting. Everybody always goes out of their way to make sure that the food is safe and that we have lots of choice. It’s what has allowed us to sanely navigate our way through many a pot luck family reunion. Even if extended family is not on board, we’ve always been able to enjoy ourselves with what’s available to us from our closest family, away from the main food serving area.

But I’ve heard horror stories ranging from the grandma who leaves the bowl of peanuts out on the coffee table near an allergic toddler to the sister-in-law who gets offended when you can’t eat her wheat laden house specialty. Is it worth it to even go to a family member’s house if they just don’t get it? Will they ever get it? If so, what does it take? If not, is it easier said than done to write them off?

I always loved the quote from allergy expert Dr. Scott Sicherer in response to whether moms eating certain foods when pregnant could increase the rate of food allergies in their children, “We’ve also seen a rise in cat allergies and, as far as I know, mothers aren’t eating more cats than they used to.”

Not only did this quote make me laugh out loud when I heard it, it made me feel a whole lot better about my role in my children’s food allergies. Not so fast, it would appear.

Now Dr. Sicherer has released preliminary food allergy data that indicates that what we eat during pregnancy may indeed have an affect on the development of food allergies in our infants. When reading the article, it was like reading 100% of my own experience including milk allergies in both my daughters and quite severe eczema in my youngest.

Read the article here: http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Health/20101102/baby-peanuts-101102/

During my eldest child’s pregnancy, I ate peanut butter rarely because I found it made me nauseous. She now has no allergies. During my youngest child’s pregnancy, peanut butter was one of the few nutritious foods I could eat that didn’t make me ill and she currently has 4 food allergies and continues to have eczema. Hmm.

Dr. Sicherer does go on to say that more studies are needed to provide advice on what should be eaten during pregnancy. And obviously, for those of us who are finished our childbearing years and already have children with food allergies, the horse has escaped and there’s no closing the barn door so to speak.

Now in my forties and a little further along the food allergy path with my family, I’m not going to jump on the blame train quite as quickly as I might have in the past. Perhaps it’s also because, like any health issue, different studies often show conflicting data and so I don’t take absolutely every study as gospel truth anymore.

Besides, my husband has allergies to shellfish and I have environmental allergies, sulpha allergy, asthma and eczema, so I’m feeling we’ve got some murkiness in there. So I’m pretty content to share the blame with him, my mother’s environmental allergies, my uncle’s shrimp allergy, my grandfather’s…

Researchers have discovered that linking specific enzymes in milk can change the proteins, leading to longer digestability.  This research was part of changing how milk proteins work in food to increase the satiety of milk products but a side effect is the potential reduction of allergic reactions.  Read more at The Food Navigator.

Much has been written about oral immunotherapy over the last while and 2 of my favorite enewsletters, Kids with Food Allergies and Allergy Moms, have recently reported on different aspects of this food allergy treatment.

Kids with Food Allergies is asking for parents of food allergic kids to fill out their survey asking your opinions about various aspects of this treatment. If you’d like to fill out the survey, here is the link: www.surveymonkey.com/s/Y3G69JH

But before you start filling out the survey, you might want to know a little bit more about oral immunotherapy as it has been successfully practiced in several clinical studies. Unfortunately, it has also been practiced unsuccessfully in less controlled settings such as at home and by some naturopaths, one of who was sued for the death of a client in England.

Essentially, oral immunotherapy is giving controlled doses of the food allergen protein by mouth starting with miniscule amounts and gradually increasing as the immune system builds tolerance.

Properly done, in the right controlled setting including at Mount Sinai, approximately 50 to 75% of the patients in the study showed a tolerance to the allergic food. I know of 2 families that were enrolled in the Mount Sinai study. One child has outgrown one allergy and is working through another food allergy with successful results so far. The other family was forced to drop out of the study as their child was having very strong reactions to the food allergen (in this case, dairy), and was unable to continue for safety reasons.

Gina Clowes, founder of Allergy Moms, recently did an interview with Dr. Richard Wasserman, who is an allergist and uses oral immunotherapy in his practice. I found it very helpful in understanding the process and you can check it out on the Allergy Mom blog.

I have to admit that I don’t think oral immunotherapy is for us. Dr. Wasserman indicates that some patients have severe anxiety with this process and I believe that is how my allergic child would respond. She won’t even go for scratch tests to see if she’s outgrown any food allergies as her last scratch and blood tests were traumatic for her.

I am hopeful though. Even if not every person can be desensitized, oral immunotherapy is a potential link to solving the food allergy health concerns that just continue to grow. In any case, this is one therapy that must be left to the experts and not tried at home.

A news item from the European Union states that there has been a significant rise in undeclared food allergens, particularly with milk and sulfites. The EU created laws in 2003 requiring the declaration of the top food allergens, similar to the law passed in the USA that came into full effect in 2008. Canada has had a similar law in process for many years but has not yet passed it.

Read the report at: http://www.foodqualitynews.com/Public-Concerns/Significant-rise-in-undeclared-EU-food-ingredient-allergen-warnings/?c=Q9oTLt42e0lKyPl%2FVr0f0g%3D%3D&utm_source=newsletter_daily&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter%2BDaily