The Nut-Free Mom Blog: The Nut-Free Lowdown on Hersheys Chocolates

We all love Hersheys Chocolates but throwing nut allergies into the mix makes it hard to love. Jenny at Nut Free Mom found someone that has provided a good list of safe candies for us to enjoy!

I get a lot of questions about the safety of various candies so I thought I would share this updated Hershey candy info with you. One of the members from my local food allergy support group spent a long time on the phone with a Hersheys rep and e-mailed everyone a list of safe candies.

via The Nut-Free Mom Blog: The Nut-Free Lowdown on Hersheys Chocolates.

Peanuts, Anyone? Researchers Expose Kids to Risky Foods in Order to Cure Them – washingtonpost.com

Oral immunotherapy is still in the research stage, but any news is good news. Knowing that this possible treatment is on the way with funding to keep it alive makes us all very happy.

Ever since she was an infant, Reagan Roberts could not tolerate being anywhere near cow’s milk. A mere sip would leave her vomiting and gasping for breath. If she were even touched by someone with milk on their hands, she would break out in hives and a bright red rash.

via Peanuts, Anyone? Researchers Expose Kids to Risky Foods in Order to Cure Them – washingtonpost.com.

Kellogg and Kashi bars to contain almond and peanut

Notice form Anaphylaxis Canada:

Kellogg Canada Inc. and Kashi Canada Inc. have recently made changes to the
production of three of their products: Kashi Chewy Granola Bars Cherry Dark
Chocolate and Kellogg All-Bran Chewy Bar Dark Chocolate Chip and Kellogg
All-Bran Chewy Bar Strawberry Flavour.
These products have been re-formulated and have new ingredient labels, which
now include new allergens that were not previously found in their products.

Please read the notice below for the specific changes to each product.

If you have any questions/concerns, please contact Kashi Canada or Kellogg
Canada directly through their customer relations departments at the numbers
listed below.

For your information,

Anaphylaxis Canada

Read the rest of this entry »

HealthGuru.com: Ancient Chinese Secret for Peanut Allergy

The herbal remedy from China isn’t new news but it is new that the FDA has been given drug approval! Read on for more promising news.

An investigational drug, FAHF-2, has been given new drug approval by the FDA. The herbal remedy shows great promise in reversing anaphylaxis, a severe and life-threatening reaction to peanuts that can result in death. In clinical trials in mice, the herbal remedy has been shown to prevent anaphylaxis for more than 9 months after the treatment was stopped.

Food allergies have been on the rise for several years. Peanut allergy doubled in children between the years 1997 and 2002. It is estimated that 150 people die every year in the US as a result of food allergies. Even trace amounts of these foods can cause a life-threatening reaction. There is no cure for food allergies. People who suffer food allergies must practice strict avoidance of known triggers and seek help immediately if food is accidentally ingested.

Anaphylaxis is a serious allergic reaction that can occur extremely rapidly and can result in death if not treated immediately. People who have asthma in addition to food allergies may be at higher risk of suffering a severe reaction. The following symptoms may occur in an anaphylactic reaction:

Itching, tingling or metal-like taste in the mouth

Hives

Wheezing or difficulty breathing

Swelling of the mouth and throat

Low blood pressure

Loss of consciousness

The herbal remedy for peanut allergy, as well as a remedy for asthma, is currently being tested on humans.

via News.HealthGuru.com: Ancient Chinese Secret for Peanut Allergy.

Related:
FAHF-2 provides peanut-allergic mice long-term protection from anaphylactic reactions

Health Canada Delays Allergy Labelling

As we reported on in July 2008, Health Canada has proposed new labelling laws. We expected them to be in place by now; but it seems that because they want to make the regulations perfect, it has been delayed until 2010. As reported by Allergic Living, Health Canada received over 140 comments on the new regulation.
The hard part is over; now they just need to put the rules in place. Come Spring 2010, companies will have 12 months to update packaging to adhere to the new regulations.

We’re almost there. It’s been a long time coming.

Health Canada review

Allergic to Other Foods? Quaker Has Warnings for You Too.

Today, I contacted PepsiCo Canada, and they kindly faxed me the notice regarding the introduction of new allergens in their Rice Cakes and Crispy Minis products (see our previous article ”News of Quaker Rice Cakes New Allergen Warnings Slow to Spread”). In addition to peanut, which may now be present in all Quaker Rice Cakes and Crispy Minis, several other allergens have been added (in addition to the allergens that previously were present):

If you are allergic to barley, be aware that Butter Toffee Cracker Jack Rice Cakes now contain barley.

If you are allergic to egg, be aware that the White Cheddar and the Butter Rice Cakes now contain egg, and the BBQ, Ketchup, Sea Salt & Lime, Cheddar Cheese, Caramel Kettle Corn, Dill, Sour Cream & Onion, and Butter Crispy Minis now may contain egg.

If you are allergic to sulphites, be aware that Caramel Kettle Corn Crispy Minis now contain sulphites.

If you are allergic to wheat, be aware that Ketchup, Sea Salt & Lime, Cheddar Cheese, Caramel Kettle Corn, Dill, Sour Cream & Onion, Butter, and BBQ Crispy Minis now may contain wheat.

If you are allergic to soy, be aware that BBQ Crispy Minis now may contain wheat.

News of Quaker Rice Cakes New Allergen Warnings Slow to Spread

Although it has been a little over three months since PepsiCo Foods Canada announced that their Quaker Rice Cakes and Crispy Minis now may contain peanut, I’ve been disturbed that they are still on the menu at daycares with peanut-allergic children in our city. In fact, these products were for so long considered a staple as a “safe-snack,” and many still consider them as such. I was a regular consumer of these rice cakes, and I might not have learned of the formulation change (which is the result of the introduction of the new peanut butter flavours) if I wasn’t a regular visitor to the Allergic Living message board where someone had posted an alert. I think these alerts were sent to those who have registered to receive Quaker Foods product alerts and not many, if any, other folks.

Luckily for me, I was pre-warned of the change, and carefully inspected the packaging of the Quaker Rice Cakes, eventually finding the “MAY CONTAIN PEANUTS” warning. Shortly after, when a friend of mine was packing a few bags of these rice cakes to bring on a trip she was taking with her peanut-allergic son, she was shocked when I told her that she’d better look for a warning on the packaging. Her shock turned to annoyance as we both tried to straighten out the top of the rice cake package, scrunched together with a bread-bag-type tie, to read the warning. The warning is, shall we say, NOT obvious.

These rice cakes were a staple at my son’s child care centre, and I’m having some difficulty erasing the concept of Quaker Rice Cakes being a safe snack from their minds. I’ve finally found them an alternative brand (NoName) for which I’ve obtained the manufacturer’s assurance that they are free from peanuts. But change is slow, and this week the child care centre accidentally purchased and served the Quaker brand (I was able to intervene before my son was given any).

I’ll continue to spread the news to others and hope the news continues to spread. It would be nice if the multinational, billion-dollar-earning, food-producing corporations could help out too.

Parents offered new choices in allergen-free food

Enjoy Life is by now a well-known brand, and one that many of us have grown used to seeing in our grocery stores if not in our cupboards. This is a great story of a couple of guys who wanted to help out the growing population of allergy sufferers.

An idea that started as a class project between two friends is big business in the booming food allergy and intolerance market that one research firm estimates will reach $3.9 billion this year.

Scott Mandell and Bert Cohen, classmates at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management in 2000, founded their allergen-free food company, Enjoy Life Natural Brands LLC, in 2001. The pair drafted their initial business plan for a school assignment in their last class before graduation. Their idea for an allergen-free food company was inspired by Cohen’s mother, who had multiple sclerosis and serious dietary restrictions.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Nut-Free Mom Blog: New Peanut Flour Warnings for General Mills Cereals

Jenny at Nut-Free Mom has sent us this warning, and all should read!
This just goes to show you that our everyday foods can become unsafe for those in our homes. 

New Peanut Flour Warnings for General Mills Cereals

I just got an alert from my local food allergy support group and wanted to pass it along.

Please check the ingredients lists of your General Mills cereals very carefully. The company is adding peanut flour to Cocoa Puffs. Some of their other cereal products contain new allergy warnings for nuts as well as for other foods including gluten.

The link above contains an exchange in the comments section of the blog between someone at General Mills and the Allergy Moms web site readers. The General Mills exec maintains that you can trust the labels on General Mills products and that they explicitly list allergy warnings wherever appropriate.

I know that Frosted Cheerios (a General Mills cereal) contain almond flour despite the fact that the name of the cereal contains no reference to nuts–we found that out just as our daughter was about to eat Frosted Cheerios at a relative’s house. This was about a year ago and as I recall, there was no “called out” allergy warning. Almond flour was simply listed as an ingredient. The labels may have changed since then–I’m sure we’ll all check our cereal boxes now!

We still eat the plain Cheerios without incident at my house but it just goes to show you that you must read all labels, all the time. As ingredients labels continue to evolve, I’m sure we will all be faced with new decisions about old standby foods.

via The Nut-Free Mom Blog: New Peanut Flour Warnings for General Mills Cereals.

From peanuts to shellfish… Why are so many adults suddenly getting allergies?

I found out myself, well into my 20s, that I could not eat hazelnuts. It was as an adult that I found out I could not eat one of my favorite snacks. Here is a story about another adult who finds herself allergic to foods she had grown used to eating without any issues.

When Edwina Galloway started to feel a strange knot in her throat after eating some peanuts, she tried to ease it by drinking tea.

But within minutes her throat was constricting and she was struggling to breathe. Her husband bundled her into their car and rushed her to hospital.

Fortunately, it was only a mile from their home in Sevenoaks, Kent; had it been much further, Edwina could have died.

‘By the time I got there, I was shivering and shaking as my body was going into shock,’ says Edwina, 48, who runs her own administration business. ‘It was terribly frightening.’

Edwina was suffering from anaphylactic shock – an allergic reaction which causes puffy lips and eyes, other symptoms such as vomiting and breathing difficulties as the air passages swell. Untreated, it can prove fatal within minutes.

Edwina was immediately given antihistamine, which eased her symptoms. She later underwent tests to see what had brought on such a violent reaction; the results couldn’t have been more surprising.

‘I was told I’d developed an allergy to peanuts and hazelnuts,’ Edwina recalls.

‘It was a real shock, as there is no history of allergies in my family, and I certainly had never had an allergy before.

‘In fact, my husband is a vegetarian and so nut roast had been a staple of our diet. This allergy just came on out of the blue.

‘Now I have to carry an adrenaline jab with me at all times in case I have a really bad reaction.

‘Luckily, that hasn’t happened yet, but the allergy has changed my life. I have to be incredibly careful about what I eat because it takes only a trace of nut to set me off.

‘I went to a friend’s house for lunch a year ago, and although she was very careful to prepare food without nuts there must have been a tiny hint somewhere because I took a mouthful and blotches started to come up on my face.

(continued)

Read on via From peanuts to shellfish… Why are so many adults suddenly getting allergies? | Mail Online.

Delta urged to stop offering peanuts

MEMPHIS, May 9 (UPI) — Dr. George Flinn, a physician and Tennessee county commissioner, is asking Delta airlines to stop serving peanuts on its flights formerly flown by Northwest.

Delta began serving peanuts in late March, when it substituted its snack, food and beverage offerings for those previously provided by Northwest.

The Memphis Commerical Appeal reported Saturday that Flinn said he’s not allergic to peanuts, but his grandson is.

“It’s been absolutely proven that if someone who is allergic to peanuts is exposed to peanuts, they’re going to have anaphylaxis,” he said. “This can cause trouble breathing, possibly even death.”

Delta spokesman Anthony Black said the airline’s policy is to create a buffer zone three rows in front and three rows behind a passenger with peanut allergy.

But Flinn said that’s not good enough because some allergy patients can be affected by airborne peanut particles.

He said Northwest not only provided that, but the airline also would make courtesy announcements asking passengers not to break out their own peanut-based snacks while traveling on a flight with an allergic person.

He said his family has been forced to make alternative travel arrangements with his grandson since the snack offerings changed.

“Peanut allergy is the most common cause of severe allergic reactions in the U.S. and it tends to be a lifelong allergy. Further, the entire family of an allergic individual usually changes their plans to keep that person safe, thereby making the market impact of food allergies three to four times greater than the 12 million patients,” said Anne Munoz-Furlong, founder of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network.

via Delta urged to stop offering peanuts – UPI.com.

Remember to pamper Mom today!

Happy Mother’s Day all you wonderful moms out there. You gals are great and us kids appreciate you SOOO much (especially when we have to do what you do when you’re not around, Phew!!!)!

So to all you kids out there, remember, it’s her day so breakfast in bed, no housework (you do it instead!) and lots of hugs. That is the order of the day.

Our breakfast in bed wasn’t extravagant, but she really appreciated it.

Coffee, blueberry smoothie, cinnamon toast, hardboiled egg, and X’s and O’s

A happy day to mom’s everywhere,

Marc and son at Eat Nut-Free.

Obese children more likely to have food allergies

This is an interesting discovery. It’s interesting also that of all the people I know who have food allergies, none of them is of larger than average size. 

Obese children and teens are 26 per cent more likely than kids of a normal weight to have some kind of allergy, especially a food allergy, U.S. researchers report.

But it is not yet clear if obesity actually causes allergies; only an “association” between obesity and allergies was found, said Dr. Darryl Zeldin, the senior author on the paper.

Read the rest of this entry »

PEANUT ALLERGY ALERT – Market Pantry Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars

PEANUT ALLERGY ALERT

May 6, 2009

LeClerc Foods is recalling “Market Pantry Chocolate Chip Chewy Granola Bars” due to undeclared peanut.

The product was distributed to Target stores nationwide.

The 15.2-oz. boxes have a “best by” date of 18JAN2010 with UPC 85239 20124.

Consumers may return the product to Target for a full refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 463-6144. 

via Special Allergy Alerts.

Refusing Food: Get them used to it early

“No thank you, that could make me sick.”

At my son’s daycare they celebrate every child’s birthday. On most occasions they are accommodating to nut allergies as there are usually a couple children who suffer from this life-threatening condition.

From an early age, we have impressed upon our son how important it is that he is careful with food that is offered to him. He is five years old and on one occasion made us proud that he is so well aware of his situation.

Read the rest of this entry »