Interesting Research on Allergies

Take a look at the article New discovery may lead to new class of allergy drugs from e! Science News. It's about a study on allergic reactions from scientists at Queen's University of Belfast, University of Oxford and Trinity College Dublin; they say it may help in the development of new allergy drugs.

They Sell Ice Cream for Dogs But Not My Son

While my sons were at school this afternoon, I went to buy Go-Gurt at the request of my older, non-allergic son. We never buy ice cream because of the possibility of cross-contamination with peanuts and tree nuts, but today I thought I'd get Klondike bars as a special Friday afternoon Mom Treat for me. I almost never go in the ice cream and frozen dessert aisle because the "pickins" are so slim for us. Every time I visit that aisle, I see these packages of Frosty Paws--frozen dog treats. I still can't wrap my mind around the fact that the supermarket sells ice cream for dogs but not my little boy. It's very odd. 

Allergic Living's Plane Campaign

A favorite food allergy blog is A propos des allergies alimentaires by French Canadienne blogger, Lise. Recently, Lise wrote two posts regarding airplane safety for food allergic individuals. In the first post, entitled "Est-il dangereux pour les personnes allergiques de voyager en avion?", Lise cites the recent study from the University of California at Davis' School of Medicine regarding allergic reactions to peanuts, nuts and seeds during airplane flights. Allergic Living magazine references this study as well in a Winter 2009 article which is excerpted on its website in Flying Allergic.  The study offers more proof that flying in an airplane with airborne particles from peanuts, nuts and seeds can be dangerous for allergic individuals and has caused allergic reactions.  

In her second airline-related post "Ameliorer la securite a bord des avions", Lise encourages Canadians and others (anyone who might board a Canadian airliner!) to participate in Allergic Living's campaign to educate and make airline companies more aware of food allergies. Please take a moment to lend your support to this effort! To participate, go to https://allergicliving.com/petitions/airlines/. 

You may have noticed a couple other food allergy bloggers, including Allergic Girl, have mentioned Allergic Living's campaign recently too. (see Reduce the Risk Campaign on Airlines, Allergic Living) Take a look also at the helpful summary by Marie-Josee Bettez (Dejour les allergies alimentaires) of Allergic Living's review of 11 different airlines' food allergy practices and policies. Don't you think we in the U.S. should follow this example from our northern neighbor, organize a similar campaign, and rally together to promote awareness and education on U.S. airlines as well?

*Edited to properly attribute the review of 11 airlines' policies to Allergic Living

Let Them Eat...Dirt?

Have you had a chance to read the new book by Mary Ruebush, “Why Dirt Is Good”? It's about the whole hygiene hypothesis and sounds like interesting reading. Check out the review by the New York Times, Babies Know...a Little Dirt is Good for You. One doctor quoted in the article states "'Children should be allowed to go barefoot in the dirt, play in the dirt, and not have to wash their hands when they come in to eat,” he said. '" I do think there is some truth to this, but eating with dirty hands? That would be a change for us!

Seattle Mariners and Tacoma Rainiers Peanut Free Baseball

The good people at Washington FEAST were kind enough to pass the following news on to Food Allergy Buzz. A special thanks to Michael San Soucie for this info, and thanks to the individuals and groups responsible for arranging the peanut-free zone baseball games in Seattle and Tacoma this season.

"The Seattle Mariners are doubling their efforts this year to provide baseball in a safer environment for those with peanut allergies.  We thought we had fun last year going to two Mariner games. For the 2009 season, they will be offering FOUR games during the season with a peanut free zone.  And due to your requests I received and passed on to the Mariners, the first one is a Sunday day game!  Play Ball!

Here are the dates, times, and opponents for the games being offered this upcoming season.  Keep your eyes out for more information at a later date regarding ticket pricing and how to purchase tickets.

Game #1 - Sunday, May 3rd, 1:10pm vs. Oakland A's (this is Little League Day so kids may have the opportunity to go on the field before the game if you are comfortable doing that - more details on that later)

Game #2 - Wednesday, June 24th, 7:10pm vs. San Diego Padres (a little interleague play for the National League fans)

Game #3 - Tuesday, July 7th, 7:10pm vs. Baltimore Orioles

Game #4 - Monday, August 10th, 7:10pm vs. Chicago White Sox

The Mariners are also moving our group a bit closer to home plate this season.  Our seating area will be sections 313 to 315 which provides somewhere between 200 and 250 seats per game depending on how we establish the safety buffer zones.  Last seasons sections accommodated right around 150 per game with the buffer zones.

Also remember that Seattle Children's Hospital is sponsoring another baseball event on Sunday, May 24th at the Tacoma Rainiers game.  This event will be held on one of the party decks at Cheney Stadium.  The party decks provide a great atmosphere for watching the game and mingling at the same time."

Starbucks Anaphylaxis Incident in Canada

I am not usually one to perpetuate unfortunate stories pertaining to food allergies, but this one involves well known company, Starbucks. You may have head about this story by now about a woman who suffered an anaphylactic reaction to a dessert from Starbucks. Suffice it to say, it's scary! Here's the story: Near-fatal allergic reaction caused by Starbucks dessert.

More Link Love

Here's a "shout out" to the ladies at Boston Mamas, for including Food Allergy Buzz in the January 22 Love These Links post. Thanks! We're in good company too, so please take a moment, visit some of our fellow links on bostonmamas.com and check out the site while you're there. Lots of good Boston and non-Boston tidbits can be found on bostonmamas.com. 

Zeer Better Buyer

It's fun seeing your name (or blog name) on another site, isn't it? I just spotted Food Allergy Buzz on the Zeer Better Buyer. Zeer's so cool! Such a great idea--why not check out reviews of various foods you're considering before you waste your money on food experiments? Every penny counts, especially these days. I am getting better at using the internet on my cell phone too and will soon try Zeer mobile! Here's a link to the latest Better Buyer newsletter: Zeer Better Buyer: Super Yummy Super Bowl. Thanks for the shout out, Zeer!

Baby Mittens

In going through some old clothes recently, I came across this baby mitten the other day. This mitten belonged to my younger son. I have rather petite hands so the photo doesn't really reflect just how tiny this mitten is. My mother bought these mittens for him when he was an infant because he seemed to always be scratching himself. Every day, I would inspect his tiny fingernails to make sure he wouldn't cut himself while scratching. He was itchy all of the time. Initially, I thought he had dry itchy skin due to the colder, dryer weather as we headed into winter. The red itchy patches soon spread and nothing I did seemed to soothe his itchiness. He would rub the bottoms of his tiny feet on the crib mattress to relieve the itchiness. We didn't realize he had eczema or peanut allergy. We didn't even know what eczema was exactly.

The pediatrician told us to just use Vaseline. That provided no relief. An allergist wrote a prescription for Zyrtec for my infant son. That seemed to relieve the itching but also made him like a miniature zombie, so we decided to stop giving him the Zyrtec. We went to a dermatologist and they prescribed desonide ointment, which is a corticosteroid, and instructed us to use it for 3 or 4 consecutive days each time he experienced an eczema flare-up. I was uncomfortable using it out of concern for side effects, especially given his very young age. I had to use it all over his body, especially on his scalp where the eczema caused yellow itchy crusts to form. The ointment did help and finally got to have our appointment at the Lexington branch of the Children's Hospital of Boston. The dermatologist there confirmed that desonide ointment was the right treatment and he also wrote a prescription for an antibiotic to have on hand in case infection occurred in a particularly irritated patch of skin. 

Flash forward five years, the eczema is almost all gone. We go to a different pediatrician now too. We still use hydrated petrolatum or Vanicream on a daily basis.  Occasionally, there are small flare-ups around his knees or ankles. A few days using the ointment takes care of it. We now know that he also has mild to moderate asthma and an allergy to peanuts, a scenario which probably sounds familiar to many of you. For those you just starting down this road, I encourage you to get a second and maybe third opinion. I hate to think how my son would have suffered if I had stuck with that pediatrician and his advice to "use Vaseline"! There are many competent physicians out there; don't settle for advice that doesn't work or doesn't make sense!

New EU Regulations on Gluten-Free Labeling

Recently, new regulations on labeling products as "gluten-free" were issued in Brussels for food manufacturing in the EU. According to an article entitled EU Publishes New Rules for 'Gluten Free' Foods, "Under the new European Union regulations, only foods that contain less than 20 parts of gluten in a million will be allowed to use the term 'gluten-free' on their packaging. Recent evidence has shown that this extremely low level offers better protection for people with an intolerance to gluten. Previously, a food labelled ‘gluten free’ could have contained up to ten times more than this. "

Foodnavigator.com presents some reaction to the new regulations already in New gluten-free labelling could mean extra costs for bakers. The article states that "Adoption of the European regulation may require some re-labelling of products, and consequently some costs to business. The claims which this regulation controls are voluntary claims in order to allow manufacturers to clearly highlight one particular property of their product to the consumer." Product reformulation to meet the new regulations is also anticipated.

Installation of similar regulations for gluten and the top food allergens would be a welcome change to U.S. labeling laws (and perhaps in Canada, too). What do you think? 

More on Cookies...for Me?

Recently, we featured Cookies...for Me? here on Food Allergy Buzz, an up-and-coming bakery power in the world of food allergy friendly foods. There was a great article in the Bucks Count Courier Times about Cookies...for Me? on January 22. Take a look: Cookies for All. Before you know it, Cookies...for Me? will be in a store near you!

Safe Breads

Baguettes

Ah, the smell of a warm baguette. The texture, the taste. Maybe a little piece of gouda or asiago or Maytag blue to go with it. My family loves to eat bread and cheese. We'll eat bread with olive oil too. I suppose it is the bread we love most.

Since the peanut allergy diagnosis, we haven't had any bread like that. I can't seem to find a baguette made in a peanut-free, nut-free facility. This morning before preschool, my son said "You know what kind of bread I really like?" and pointed out the baguettes at the supermarket. I think it's time for me to either learn how to bake my own baguettes or find a safe place to buy some. 

If you have a great baguette recipe or tips, or maybe even know where some completely peanut-free, nut-free baguettes are made, please send in a comment! 

Peanut-free, nut-free, egg-free, dairy-free, wheat-free, gluten-free breads

This where I feel foolish for feeling frustrated about not finding a specific type of bread, while friends struggle to find any safe bread of any kind. It's a reminder of how good things are, and how everything is relative. A reader is looking for recommendations on breads and cereals for a one-year old child allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, dairy, wheat/gluten. The only brand of bread that comes to mind is ENER-G. Are there others you'd recommend? Or is the only other option to bake your own bread? I know many people do bake their own. How about cereals? Which ones do your kids like best (for the above listed allergies)? Thank you for any advice or tips! 

Free for All Cupcakes

If you visit Food Allergy Buzz frequently enough, you've probably noticed that I have a serious sweet tooth. I love sweets and I love finding new places to try them. A few months ago, I heard about bakery that's just too far away for me to try, but the cupcakes look phenomenal! Go to www.freeforallcupcakes.com and you'll see what I mean. I am hoping I can persuade a few of you down in the DC/Virginia area to try them and then tell us about them. Any takers?

Free for All Cupcakes is a home-based bakery in Fairfax, VA, inspected and certified by the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. The owners are Jeanny Lee--mother of three girls with nut allergies and previously dairy allergies as well--and her sister Janice Kim. Jeanny explained that because of her daughters' nut allergies, there are no nuts or nut products in their kitchen or anywhere in their home. Like most families with nut allergies, they also try to use ingredients that have not been manufactured on equipment processing nuts. 

The Free for All Cupcakes menu is impressive:

• original soy-free cupcakes which contain dairy, eggs and gluten
  
• organic soy-free cupcakes which contain dairy, eggs and gluten
  
• gluten-free cupcakes which are gluten-free and soy-free and contain dairy and eggs
  
• vegan cupcakes which are dairy-free and egg-free and contain gluten and soy.

They can also do custom orders for other diet restrictions. Their website, www.freeforallcupcakes.com, provides excellent information too, especially the FAQs page and the Our Kitchen page. For more information, please email Jeanny at freeforallcupcakes@gmail.com or telephone 703.350.2082.

If anyone is interested in doing a "guest review" of Free for All Cupcakes here on Food Allergy Buzz, please email me jenniferATfoodallergybuzz.com. 

Sweet, Sweet Alexis and Her Amazing Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Nut-Free and Peanut-Free Bakery

Oh Sweet Alexis, where have you been all this time? Can allergen-free bakery items really be this good?  Everything from Sweet Alexis is dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free and full of flavor. When you try their cookies or quick breads, you will be amazed as I was by the fantastic flavors and textures. Once you try them...irresistible!

We were fortunate enough to try several items: Zucchini Bread, Banana Bread, Oatmeal Cookies, and Chocolate Chip Cookies. They all were truly divine. The mini-breads were fresh, sweet, delicious, and the perfect density. The bread made a generous snack for four of us, with some leftover to snack on later. It was quickly devoured! The cookies came 6 in a pack, tasted superb, and were delightfully, appropriately chewy. We loved everything. I was even able to persuade my incredibly picky five year old to try the oatmeal cookies, and now he's an oatmeal cookie lover. I can't say enough good things about Sweet Alexis. If their products fit your dietary restrictions, and you enjoy bakery goods as I do, you must try them!

You may have heard previously about Sweet Alexis from Jenny on the Nut-Free Mom Blog or Alisa on Go Dairy Free. It's all true!

Sweet Alexis has a dedicated commercial kitchen with dedicated equipment, and was founded by Michele Fellows, mother of Alexis, a young girl with multiple life-threatening food allergies. The bakery is located in Los Osos, California. Sweet Alexis breads and cookies are available for purchase online at sweetalexis.com. Currently, the breads are $6.25 and the packs of cookies are $4.50, plus shipping. It's a tempting option for Valentine's Day or any day! Way to go, Michele!

Food Allergy Friendly Valentine's Sweets

Karen of the Avoiding Milk Protein website and blog has gathered probably the most complete list for Valentine's sweets for food allergic individuals. Consider, for a moment, some of the delicious options to ship to your Valentine:

A & J Bakery - nut/peanut free and dairy/egg/nut/peanut free Valentine's cookie decorating kit ($13 plus shipping)

Amanda's Own Confections - dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free heart-shaped and other chocolates.

Cookies...for Me - dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free and gluten-free individual large decorated heart-shaped sugar cookies and bags of mini-heart sugar cookies available online. The Valentine's cookies are also at many Whole Foods Markets!

Divvies - dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, peanut-free heart shaped chocolates and candies, plus cookies, cupcakes, popcorn...

FAB Snacks - dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free, and peanut free FAB Snacks Sampler

Fancypants Bakery - large decorated nut-free and peanut-free shortbread cookies in heart, frog prince and other designs

Little Rae's Bakery - heart-shaped nut-free and peanut-free iced shortbread cookies by the bag

The Sensitive Baker - a box of 16 hand-decorated heart-shaped cookies for $50 + $12 shipping. Gluten-free & vegan (no dairy, eggs, or honey). Contain soy and corn. More available in-store.

Vermont Nut Free - nut-free and peanut-free heart-shaped and other chocolates

Do you know of other food allergy friendly Valentine's goodies that are available for shipping? Tell us! Let's order up some allergen-free sweets and snacks, and help support these specialty businesses.

Attention Food Allergy Buzz Subscribers

For those of you who subscribe to Food Allergy Buzz in a reader or email, I want to give you a heads-up on an upcoming change to the blog feed. I have been using Feedburner since I started Food Allergy Buzz but will be discontinuing my use of it this week. That means you'll probably need to edit your subscription in your reader since the feed will have a different address. I'll try to make the changeover as easy as possible. Please let me know if you encounter any problems as a result of this change. Thanks for your patience!

Updated Food Allergy Statement from the Institute of Food Science and Technology

According to an article in Food Product Design, the Institute of Food Science and Technology--an independent membership organization in the United Kingdom for professionals in food science and technology--has updated its statement of food allergy: 

"The new statement describes the nature and cause of food allergies, outlines recent changes in legislation that aim to help allergic consumers to live with their condition and emphasizes measures manufacturers and caterers should take to minimize the problems.

According to IFST, food manufacturers should formulate foods to avoid, wherever possible, inclusion of unnecessary major allergens as ingredients; organize raw material supplies, production, production schedules and cleaning procedures to prevent cross-contact of products by "foreign" allergens; train all personnel in an understanding of necessary measures and the reasons for them; comply with the relevant labeling legislation providing appropriate warning of the presence of a major allergen in a product; and place an appropriate system for recall of any product found to contain a major allergen not indicated on the label."

Click here to read the new statement.

Massachusetts Governor Signs Food Allergies/Restaurant Bill

I just noticed online in the Beacon Hill Roll Call for January 12 - 16 on the Pembroke Express website that Governor Deval Patrick just signed bill S2701. Here is the summary:

"• FOOD ALLERGIES AND RESTAURANTS (S 2701) — Requires all restaurants to prominently display a poster about food allergy awareness in the staff area and to include on all menus a notice of the customer’s obligation to inform the server about any food allergies. Another provision requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to develop a voluntary program that allows restaurants to be designated as "Food Allergy Friendly" by the DPH and be listed on the agency's website. The guidelines that restaurants would have to meet for the designation would be developed by the DPH and would include a requirement that a restaurant maintain on the premises a master list of all the ingredients used in the preparation of each food item on the menu."

A Must Read: Rebuttal from Dr. Robert A. Wood

Thanks to Jenny at the Nut-Free Mom Blog, I read a wonderful piece yesterday by Dr. Robert A. Wood entitled Food Allergies Are Nothing To Laugh About. His well-written essay should be required reading for all individuals who found recent "nut hysteria" articles persuasive or found confirmation of their personal beliefs in those articles. Wouldn't it be great if it could be circulated as much as those infamous "nut hysteria" articles? Please take a few moments to read his essay. It's worth it.

Pizzeria Uno Offers Gluten-Free Pizza Nationwide

I received Pizzeria Uno's press release today indicating that the chain will now be offering gluten-free pizza at all its locations. Previously, the gluten-free pizza was only available in certain northeast locations. According to the press release,“Consumer reaction was so positive, and the chatter so strong on gluten-free blogs and websites, that our restaurants began receiving requests to carry the new pizza,” noted Richard Hendrie, senior vice president, marketing, Uno Chicago Grill.  “Because the demand was so strong, we decided to pull out all the stops to get the gluten-free pizza into our 200 plus locations as quickly as possible.” 

I haven't found any reviews of Uno's gluten-free pizza yet. If you've had an opportunity to try it, we'd love to get your opinion! 

Are You An Eclipse or Autocrat Girl?

I have always been an Autocrat girl. Ever since I can remember, I have enjoyed coffee milk with Autocrat coffee syrup. You can even make another wonderful thing known as a "coffee cabinet" with Autocrat. Or should I say "cawfee cabinet"? I believe Newport Creamery used to list it as the specific variety of coffee syrup used there. I never even knew there was another brand--Eclipse--until a couple years ago. I tried it once. It has a stronger coffee flavor. Funny enough, it's now made by the Autocrat people too! Still, I prefer my sweet Autocrat syrup. It's almost a comfort food for me!

It was time to do my due diligence and verify that my beloved Autocrat is "peanut-free". The customer service rep read me the official allergen statement:

All syrups and extracts made by Autocrat do not contain whey, gluten, oats or barley. They may contain corn gluten and corn syrup.

Check. Autocrat stays on my list. (I notice the gluten content is confusing; it sounds like it's off limits for celiac.)

Websites to Visit

I have a couple links to share with you today. If you haven't already visited these sites, please do!

www.ellfoundation.org. Eat, Learn, Live. 

There is a lot going on at ELL--a network of consultants, a shop with useful food allergy products such as a guide to celebrations with food allergies  and reusable shopping cart covers, advocacy. The thing that jumps out at me is the database of mislabeled foods. That's going to be a pretty big list fast! Check it out.

www.foodallergyassistant.com, www.foodallergyassistant.blogspot.com. 

The Food Allergy Assistant has a great deal of information to help you and your loved ones get up to speed on life with food allergies. One of her primary focuses (foci is such a strange sounding word!) is to help educate friends and family of food allergic individuals. That is a huge need--kudos to her for that!  It can be extremely difficult to get relatives to understand the nuances of food allergies and avoiding reactions and cross-contamination. She shares her thoughts on life with food allergies, safe foods, and also some humor on her blog--I especially enjoyed the post, My Food Allergy Christmas List.

Allergy-Free Pastas

Did you see Martha Rose Shulman's article, entitled New Options for Allergy-Free Pastas, in today's New York Times? She gives a summary of four different kinds and also provides a recipe for Gluten Free Pasta e Fagiole. 

Valentine's Day Peanut-Free, Nut-Free (and Dairy-Free, Egg-Free) Bakery Treats

This lovely plate of cookies was a joint effort of my five year old and me. I had to help smooth on the frosting to facilitate sprinkle and chip application! Not surprising, the cookies didn't last very long. I am embarrassed to say they only lasted the weekend between the 2 boys!

The cookies are from the new Valentine's Day special from A & J Bakery. For Valentine's Day, they are selling a peanut-free, tree nut-free cookie decorating kit. Dairy-free, egg-free, nut-free and peanut-free kits are also available on request. The kits include 4 medium sized and 4 large sugar cookies, a container of pink icing, a container of white icing, red sprinkles and mini-chocolate chips, and cost $13.00.

The boys had a wonderful time decorating the cookies and, of course, eating them too. It was a great treat for them. Getting a bakery cookie is always a treat, and with a food allergy--just one allergy or multiple--it's an extra special treat!

For additional food allergy Valentine's Day ideas, see Food Allergy Friendly Valentine's Sweets .

______________

We do not receive fees for recommendations, reviews, and commentaries on food allergy friendly businesses, products and resources. The fees we receive from our advertisers/sponsors help defray basic overhead expenses for Food Allergy Buzz. We'd be remiss, however, if we did not mention that A & J Bakery is a sponsor/advertiser on Food Allergy Buzz. 

Peanut-free, Tree Nut-Free, Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, and Wheat-Free Granola Bar Sale

Just a heads-up on a FAB Snacks sale. We're offering a limited number of granola bars on sale for $1.85 each thru January 16. (Unless we run out before then!)

National Confectioners Association to Host 2-Day Program on Allergens

If it were easier for me to get away these days, I'd like to be a fly on the wall on March 24 and 25 in Chicago to catch what I could of the program on Allergen Handling and Labeling for the Confectionary Industry. I don't expect any earth shattering changes to occur but I would like to hear what the thinking is over at the National Confectioners Association . Anne Munoz-Furlong of FAAN and Steve Taylor of FAARP will be participating. Here is the brochure for the program. 

Allergen-Free: What Does That Mean?

Here is another example of the need for improvement in allergen labeling. The manufacturer is Good Health Natural Products. I think this company is relatively food allergy conscious and I must say their Veggie Stix are really very tasty! It's the choice of words on their allergen statement that concerns me.

On the one hand, I am very glad this manufacturer thought enough about food allergies to devote an entire page of their website to "Allergen Information". I wish more food manufacturers would do the same. In addition, the allergen information page is fairly thorough--the manufacturer has separated the products into categories--Kosher Pareve, Gluten-Free, Dairy-Free and Peanut/Treenut-Free. That's helpful because you can just scan down to the sections that apply to your situation and not wade through too much other information. 

What disturbs me is the use of the terms "Gluten Free", "Dairy Free", and "Peanut/Treenut Free". I feel these terms are confusing and possibly misleading because the following disclaimers appear at the end of the three product categories:

"Our Sweet Potato Chips are our only product ran on a dedicated line, so  here is no chance of contamination of Gluten, All other products are Gluten freebut not run on dedicated lines, so Gluten contamination maybe possible from the line."

"None of our products are run on a dedicated line, so contamination from Peanuts or Treenuts could be possible."

"Peanut Butter Pretzels Salted & Unsalted are 100% Dairy Free and run on dedicated lines. Other products are dairy free but my contain dairy contamination from the line."

It was very easy for me to find the information I needed to determine whether or not the product is safe for my child's food allergy. Our allergist's instructions are to avoid "may contains" foods, so the Veggie Stixs are off the list for us. (For those of you able to eat them, I highly recommend them. They're a great snack!) I think the "allergen-free" labels should be reserved for products that have zero amounts of an allergen as an ingredient and from cross-contamination. Calling a food "dairy free" when it simply does not contain dairy ingredients but still is at risk of cross-contamination is potentially confusing to consumers. I continue to believe that FDA needs to set standards or threshold values for food allergens as they have for "fat-free" and "low-fat" to make food labeling easier to read.

Did you know there is a definition for "free" on FDA's website? Take a look:

"What is the definition of "Free" when used on a food label?

This term means that a product contains no amount of, or only trivial or "physiologically inconsequential" amounts of, one or more of these components: fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, sugars, and calories. For example, "calorie free" means fewer than 5 calories per serving and "sugar free" and "fat free" both mean less than 0.5 g per serving. Examples of synonyms for "free" include "without," "no" and "zero." A synonym for fat-free milk is "skim.""

Your thoughts?

Recently Featured Businesses

With the holidays being so hectic, I thought it might be helpful to give a quick rundown of the food allergy friendly businesses and resources recently featured here on Food Allergy Buzz during that busy time.

• Eggless Challah - now available at Blacker's Bakeshop in Newton, Massachusetts
  
• Clothing for Food Allergic Kids - Allergy Apparel offers short sleeve and long sleeve shirts and hoodies with a cool skull and cross bones design
  
• Beautiful Dairy-Free, Egg-Free, Gluten-Free, Nut-Free Cookies - available from Cookies...for Me 
• Dairy-Free, Gluten-Free Cooking Videos - from the Alternative Cook 
• First Family Cookies Are Nut-Free - available from Little Rae's Bakery 
• New Website Aims to Connect Food Allergic Individuals with Food Allergy Friendly Businesses - visit the Food Allergy Friendly Network 

Allergen Labeling at George Weston Bakeries

About a week ago, I wrote a post lamenting and speculating about the revised allergen statement for Thomas', one of the George Weston Bakeries brands. When I did not receive a satisfactory explanation from their consumer relations department, I emailed and also telephoned their corporate offices to find out why the allergen labeling had changed. Today, I received my answer. Jennifer Hartley, Marketing Director of George Weston Bakeries, assisted by Nancy from Consumer Relations, called to respond to my inquiry. 

They confirmed that the information I had been provided by Consumer Relations on September 29 was accurate at that time--there were no peanuts or tree nuts present in the Thomas' plants. I also learned that since then, additional facilities have been acquired and products have been shifted from one plant to another so that some of the Thomas' brand products are made in facilities which produce peanut-containing products for other companies. The George Weston Bakeries brands--Arnold, Boboli, Brownberry , Entenmann's, Freihofer, and Thomas --do not use peanuts, but several of those brands do use tree nuts.

Because of the potential of cross-contamination with peanuts and tree nuts at some plants, and the possibility of manufacturing changes and production rearrangement, the decision was made to change the allergen statement for all George Weston products to state that there are peanuts and tree nuts present in the manufacturing facilities. This should prevent confusion--such as my recent bewilderment about the allergen statement change for Thomas'--when manufacturing changes and rearrangement occurs in the future. It sounds like a prudent policy to me, and I appreciate the company erring on the side of caution.

Ms. Hartley emphasized the company's awareness of food allergies and the risks of cross-contamination. She explained that when production of one product is complete, there is a full clean-out of the line; in fact, this cleaning is so thorough it takes hours. In addition, she stressed that they take "every possible reasonable precaution" to prevent cross-contamination. If our allergist hadn't recently instructed us to avoid all products that "may contain" peanuts and tree nuts, I certainly would have felt comfortable feeding Thomas' to my son. I appreciate the personal and thorough answer from George Weston Bakeries. It was informative and helpful. Now we know.

Cochineal Extract and Carmine to be Listed on Labels

Tara Parker-Pope reports in the New York Times Well Blog that the FDA has finalized a rule, effective in 2011, requiring that all food and cosmetic products containing cochineal extract and carmine state those ingredients on the label. The FDA's final rule on this--which may be viewed at http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ (and then enter 1998-P-0032 in the search box)--states "This final rule responds to reports of severe allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, to cochineal extract-containing food and carmine containing food and cosmetics and will allow consumers who are allergic to these color additives to identify and thus avoid products that contain these color additives. This action also responds to a citizen petition submitted by the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)." Cochineal extract and carmine are red coloring additives derived from the female cochineal bug.

Gluten-Free and Food Allergy Friendly "Ready-to-Eat" Meals

About a month ago, I noticed a press release for Go Picnic. This is a really neat product. It is a healthy, shelf-stable meal to take on-the-go and does not require any refrigeration or heating. The people at GoPicnic have put together convenient and "ready-to-eat" meals that aren't junk food or full of chemicals and preservatives. A number of them are food allergy friendly and gluten-free too. They come packaged in a surprisingly small cardboard container, about 4 inches by 6 inches and about 1 and 1/2 inches deep. It would fit in a briefcase, laptop bag, or carry-on very easily. I can see a lot of potential uses for them--field trips, car trips, train rides.

There are a number of GoPicnic meals to choose from including options for special diets--gluten-free, kosher, halal, and vegetarian. In addition, their kids meals do not contain any peanuts or tree nuts. I had the opportunity to try a few GoPicnic meals and they're quite tasty and satisfying. There are snack mixes, dried fruit, crackers and cheese, biscuits and jam, cookies and chocolate, and other tempting foods. Each meal came with about 6 different foods, a moist towelette, and a utensil if necessary. Most meals cost between $3.99 and $5.99. There are also deluxe meals that cost a bit more, about $7.99.

For more information, please visit the GoPicnic website, www.gopicnic.com.

Allergy Awareness Clothing and Accessories

If you are in the market for food allergy apparel or accessories, Star Allergy Alerts of Australia has two websites where their extensive collection of allergy awareness products is displayed and available for purchase: www.starallergyalerts.com.au and www.cafepress.com/allergyalert (for US customers). They have a number of different colorful designs and a variety of products. Products include shirts, hats, stickers, magnets, signs, wristbands, bracelets and auto-injector carriers.

Star Allergy Alerts was founded several years ago by Donna Rendell, mother of a young child with multiple life-threatening food allergies. The Alerts provide a way to convey important allergy information in a style that is appealing to kids, and are appropriate for many different settings such as daycare, school, and camp. It's great to see more food allergy friendly products from our friends in Australia, and I also should mention that the shipping is very reasonable. Take a look!

Allergen Labeling for Toys Involving Food

A few days ago, a reader commented on an earlier post about the Girl Gourmet (TM) Cupcake Maker. ElleMo expressed her disappointment and frustration with the lack of clear allergen information from the toy's manufacturer and was kind enough to send a few photos of the allergen labeling on her package.

You may recall that my first post about this toy was written in October 2008 following a press release from the toy's manufacturer, Jakks Pacific. The press release had caught my attention because it included this statement clearly focusing on food allergic children: 

"Kids and parents can also breathe easy when it comes to the ingredients for Girl Gourmet cupcakes which are gluten and wheat-free, trans-fat free, and made in a nut-free facility. Many children who suffer from Celiac and nut allergies will be able to participate in the art of cupcake making AND eating with all of their friends."

It sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Here is a company recognizing that children with nut allergies and celiac disease are often left out and they've planned the manufacture of their cupcake mixes with these children in mind. Little did I know, it was not that simple or "cut and dried".

I posted the "good news" from the press release on a bulletin board I frequent, peanutallergy.com, and fortunately Peanut Free Mama pointed out a discrepancy between the information in the press release and the advisory allergen information on the Girl Gourmet (TM) package she had at home. Although the press release stated that the Girl Gourmet (TM) cupcakes are wheat-free, gluten-free, nut-free and peanut-free, her package had statements suggesting that there could be cross-contact with those ingredients. 

Several of us continued to discuss the contradictory information on the bulletin board and I sent emails to Jakks Pacific trying to get some clarification. I was alarmed to think I had suggested that the toy was food allergy friendly when it now appeared it might not be. I wrote a second post in November 2008, Maybe Not So Food Allergy Friendly After All, to share what I learned up to that point.

A fellow member of peanutallergy.com was kind enough to send a photo of the allergen labeling on her package and  I also took one of a package at a Massachusetts Walmart store. These were included in a December 2008 post, Read the Labels for Toys Too, along with a statement containing allergen information from a representative of Food-Tek, the developer of the Girl Gourmet (TM) mixes.

Photo courtesy of Gale

Photo from Jennifer B

Fast forward to January 2009, and parents are still confused by the allergen labeling on the Girl Gourmet (TM) Cupcake Maker packages. ElleMo sent me a photo of the allergen labeling on her package a few days ago.

Photo courtesy of ElleMo 

There has been no press release or statement to the general public to clarify the contradictory advisory allergen labeling of the old packages versus the new ones with the exception of a comment from a Food-Tek representative and also a Jakks Pacific representative on peanutallergy.com in December. No clarification is provided on the Jakks website or Girl Gourmet website either. I had urged Jakks and Food-Tek to make some sort of statement, and I think that was the impetus for the comments. For parents, friends, or relatives of food allergic or celiac children who don't happen to frequent the peanut allergy bulletin board, making sense of the confusing labels could be a challenge. 

Now, the Girl Gourmet (TM) Cupcake Maker has been nominated for the Toy Industry Association's (TIA) Activity Toy of the Year as well as the TIA's overall "Toy of the Year". I think it is curious that this toy which was marketed specifically toward food allergic and celiac children yet bears confusing and contradictory allergen labeling might receive such an honor. It seems highly probable that children using the toy would possibly have skin contact with the mixes, ingest them, and perhaps even breathe in particles from the mixes. Those on restricted diets--like food allergic and celiac children--rely on clear and accurate food labeling and allergen information. Jakks Pacific was aware that the old and new packages for the Girl Gourmet (TM) Cupcake Maker have different and conflicting advisory allergen information and did nothing to eliminate the confusion for that consumer group. When questions were raised repeatedly, they made a statement on a bulletin board of one website dedicated to peanut allergies but not to the general public. 

Toy manufacturers are required to label for small parts due to the risk of choking; should they be required to correct inconsistent labeling for food toys because of the risk of a life threatening allergic reaction, perhaps issue a press release to notify the general public of the labeling issue or even recall the toys? Is there already such a requirement? What do you think?

Lorna Doone Allergen Information

One recurring Google search which brings visitors here is "Lorna Doone allergy information". Coincidentally, Lorna Doones are my peanut allergic son's favorite cookie these days. It can be difficult to get good information from manufacturers about allergens, especially over the telephone. Here is the September 2008 email response from Nabisco Customer Support when I asked "Which of the top 8 food allergens are used in the facility which manufactures Lorna Doone Cookies?"

Thank you for taking the time to contact us about your concerns.For every ingredient that Kraft purchases, we require our suppliers to fill out an extensive questionnaire, which includes a complete list of allergens both directly added and indirectly added through cross contact within the supplier's manufacturing facility. We then develop the ingredient statements and allergy information statements that are declared on our labels based on our formulas, the allergen information we receive from our ingredient suppliers, and any unavoidable cross contact allergens that come from our own manufacturing facilities.

We have thoroughly researched all possible sources of allergens and have appropriately declared them on our labels.In addition, I'm glad to share with you that we have information about many of our brands on our web site at www.kraftfoods.com. You can access this information by clicking on the "About Kraft" link on the top toolbar and then the "Our Brands" link.

If you haven’t done so already, please add our site to your favorites and visit us again soon!

Again, thanks for contacting us, and I hope you'll continue to enjoy our products.

Kim McMiller
Associate Director, Consumer Relations

Eggless Challah

The January 1, 2009 Boston Globe Food Section featured a small article entitled Less is more about a bakery we visited back in spring 2008. At that time, the bakery was named Bodavi Bakery. Ownership had just switched hands and based on the Globe's article, business is going very well. The bakery's new name is Blackers Bakeshop and it's located at 551 Commonwealth Avenue in Newton, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. When we visited a few months back, we got there just as they were closing for the day. We had travelled a little ways to get there with our peanut allergic then-4-year-old, and the owner graciously stayed open a few more minutes so our son could select a few treats. The bakery is both nut-free and Kosher-Pareve (hence dairy-free) and offers cookies, cakes, breads,  and bagels.

Also noteworthy, I received an email from a reader giving high praise to Blackers' eggless challah bread as well as the cross-contact protocol that must be in place--they have a sesame allergy in the family and no reactions have occurred despite the fact that sesame bagels are baked at Blackers. Thank you for this info--I think we'll be making another trip to Blackers soon!