Take Action to Prevent Reactions

Spreading the word! This FAAN article is getting lots of press and lets take care to practice these actions and CAP it every day!

Take Action to Prevent Reactions during Food Allergy Awareness Week

FAIRFAX, Va. (April 28, 2009) – As part of its ongoing efforts to educate people about food allergies and reduce risk-taking behavior during Food Allergy Awareness Week and on a daily basis, the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) reminds everyone to CAP It!

Carry your medicine. Avoid your allergen. Plan ahead to prevent a reaction. Simply put, CAP It can save a life.

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The Nut-Free Mom Blog: A “Green” Approach to Your Food-Allergic Child’s School Lunch

Nut Free Mom has a great focus in honour of Earth Day. Litter Free Lunch offers products and ideas on how to prepare a safe and clean lunch for your children. Have a look at what she has to say!

Want to advertise with us? marc @ eatnutfree.com

At the FAAN conference last Saturday, I had the pleasure of meeting Felice Farran, a mom of 2 school-aged boys with nut allergies. She also happens to be the co-owner of a company called Litter Free Lunch.

As moms of kids with food allergies, we are all very familiar with packing school lunches! Felice is concerned about the environment as well as her child’s food allergies and she couldn’t find a decent, earth-friendly alternative to paper napkins for her kids’ lunches. So she came up with the idea of offering washable cloth napkins that are perfect for taking to school. The company also has an organic line. Check out their growing product selection at http://www.litterfreelunch.com/.

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Food For Thought — Understanding Food Allergies In Kids

This is a well written general-information article and a good overview for anyone new to allergies or just interested in knowing a bit about it. 

Every year, thousands of parents learn of their children’s food allergies following a reaction that can affect many body systems, including the skin, respiratory, gastrointestinal, and/or cardiovascular systems. About 2 million school age children have food allergy, and one child in 20 under age 3 has food allergy.

Food allergies develop when the immune system misinterprets a food as harmful and develops an immune response against the food. If a child develops allergy antibodies (called IgE) to a food protein, reexposure to that food may be accompanied by a release of chemicals that produce the allergic symptoms.

 
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ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED PEANUTS IN BERGEN BRAND APPLE CINNAMON

ALLERGY ALERT

UNDECLARED PEANUTS IN BERGEN BRAND APPLE CINNAMON COOKIES

OTTAWA, April 16, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Dollarama are warning people with allergies to peanut proteins not to consume the Bergen brand Apple Cinnamon Cookies described below. The affected product may contain peanuts which are not declared on the label.

All Best Before date codes of the Bergen brand Apple Cinnamon Cookies, product of Poland, sold in 150 g packages are affected by this alert.

This product has been distributed nationally.

There have been no reported illnesses associated with the consumption of this product.

Consumption of this product may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction in persons with allergies to peanuts.

The importer, Dollarama, Montreal, QC is voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on peanuts, one of the nine most common food allergens, visit the Food Allergens web page at:

http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/allerg/peaarae.shtml

For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.

via ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED PEANUTS IN BERGEN BRAND APPLE CINNAMON COOKIES.

What to ask at a restaurant/resort.

When you visit a restaurant or on vacation at a resort do you go into detail with the staff regarding the menu and allergy practice in the kitchen? There are many ways to go about getting the ‘good feeling’ about a restaurant from just going on a recommendation and eating there (McDonalds used to be this way) or giving the manager/head-chef the third degree. 

We have come up with some standard questions we like to ask. Sometimes we feel the need to ask them all, sometimes we are satisfied if the management has a strong grasp without the need to ask all the questions.

It is especially wonderful when a staff member offers to give you a tour of a buffet or the menu outlining what is safe and what to stay away from. When someone suggests to stay away from something I also like to ask about the preparation of that dish, if it is prepared separately and safely from the safe dishes.

Do you have a standard list of questions different from what we have below?

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Dog Protects Girl from Peanuts

You have probably heard of these peanut-snififng dogs, but I just love hearing about the feel-good stories. Especially when the person involved is a young one and is extremely allergic.

Do you know of anyone with an allergy dog?

How many kids can say they’ve never eaten a peanut butter and jelly sandwich?

8-year-old Riley Mers can say that.

And no, she’s not from another planet.

She’s from Monument, Colorado.

The reason Riley can’t eat PB&J is because she’s allergic to peanuts – so severely allergic that when she stepped on a peanut shell one time, it nearly burned through her skin.

For virtually her entire life, Riley has been unable to leave her home or her yard.

Going to school?

Forget about it.

Riley studies online, mostly, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.

And when she does go to school, she has to sit in a special room of her own.

After all, what if some other kid brought peanut butter and jelly for lunch?

Riley is so sensitive to peanuts that even peanut dust can cause her to have a life-threatening allergic reaction.

But recently, Riley’s life changed.

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Chinese Botanical Drug to Cure Peanut Allergies

Herbal medicine has been around, well, forever and many of today’s drugs are herbal based, so we should not be surprised that there may be a natural source for controlling allergic reactions. This sounds interesting. The drug seems to counter the effects of anaphylaxis that is brought on by eating peanuts.

A recent study conducted at Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York suggests that a Chinese botanical drug can help patients manage their food allergies. This new drug may help many allergic patients in the western society and could also assist in curing other conditions such as asthma.

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ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED MILK, SESAME SEEDS, SOY AND ALMONDS IN CERTAIN FOODS FROM KOREA

UNDECLARED MILK, SESAME SEEDS, SOY AND ALMONDS IN CERTAIN FOODS FROM KOREA

OTTAWA, April 3, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to milk, sesame seeds, soy and almonds not to consume the various food products described below. The affected products contain milk, sesame seeds, soy and almonds which are not declared on the label.

via ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED MILK, SESAME SEEDS, SOY AND ALMONDS IN CERTAIN FOODS FROM KOREA.

Adapting Passover Recipes For Food Allergies — Courant.com

This time of year does not only affect those of us celbrating Easter but also includes our friends celebrating Passover. The Jewish dishes traditionally contain many ingredients that would be life threatening to allergy sufferers. I found the following story to be appealing to see how a Jewish family overcomes these hurdles to allow thier son to enjoy the holiday.

For Jews, the Passover Seder, with its special dietary laws, rituals and foods, is one of the most important meals of the year. When the Anivum family of Hartford gathers next week to celebrate, charoset, a mixture of apples and nuts, matzo and other traditional dishes, will be on the menu, but with modifications to make them safe for 14-year-old David Anivum, who suffers from anaphylactic egg, nut, peanut and fish allergies.

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Family Opens Daycare For Children With Allergies

This sounds like a good idea, but to me, having our son in a daycare that is not centered around children with food allergies made him understand that his situation is special and not the norm. The children in the below story are well taken care of, I’m sure, but do you think that this could change the way they see other children?

(NEWS CENTER) — Food allergies affect more than three million children in this country. While it’s a condition that’s very common in kids, protecting them from reactions can often be very isolating.

One family in Bath decided to create their own safe place for their son to learn. At nine months old Charlie Strickland did what a lot of babies do. He grabbed a piece of cheese and put it to his mouth. But for his mother it turned into a scary moment.

“He blew up into hives, his face swelled, his eyes swelled, he got red itchy hives all over his face,” said Linda Strickland.

Charlie, it turned out was allergic to dairy, eggs and peanuts. His mother eliminated anything that contained these items from his diet. As her son got older, the biggest challenge became going to public places.

“If he touches a surface that maybe yogurt was spilt on and not cleaned up, he’ll get hives on his hand. but if he puts his hand in his mouth there is a possibility he could into shock,” said Strickland.

That’s because Charlie suffers from Anaphylaxis. A serious allergic reaction that can result in death. For Charlie even the smallest amount of exposure can be fatal. The toddler wears a pouch containing medication called an ‘Epipen’ which is key to helping him survive a reaction.

The three year old wears gloves when he visits children’s museums, parks or even the library to prevent any exposure to his skin. When the family eats in public, his mom wipes down the surfaces, uses a tablecloth and placemat.

Strickland didn’t believe she could find a pre-school where Charlie would be completely safe, so she started one in the basement of this church. No food is allowed at the pre-school. The children and parents avoid eating foods charlie is allergic to. They also wash and disinfect their hands. Nellie Clifford’s son Evan attends the pre-school.

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Food Allergy Labeling Not Always Accurate

This is quite allarming and why we need to know what companies we can trust. This is also the reason we need to push our governments for stronger labeling laws.

MONDAY, March 16 (HealthDay News) — A small number of food products with a “may contain” label actually do contain an allergen, while about 2 percent of foods products without such a claim also contain allergens, new research shows.

 
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How to Deal with Increasingly Prevalent Food Allergies – QSR Magazine

This is good news and more companies should take advantage of training thier employees this way. This should include all restaurant and any food-related industries, not just the processors.

[2009-03-19]   The Food Allergy Research and Resource Program (FARRP) at the University of Nebraska (UNL) Department of Food Science and Technology has launched a free training Webinar for food processors and handlers entitled, “Food Allergy and Safe Nut Processing.”

 
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Black male children are four times more likely to have food allergies: study

Black male children are at an especially high risk for developing food allergies, according to a new study presented Tuesday in Washington, DC, at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.

They’re about four times as likely to be food allergic as the rest of the population, says Dr. Andrew Liu, a co-author of the study, which he says was sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
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Food Allergies Limit Where And How Families Vacation

This is an interesting article that I am sure most of us are fimilar with. It is interesting to see the percentages below with regards to what precautions are taken as well as to see what geographical locations are avoided.

Families with food allergic individuals make significant lifestyle alterations when it comes to vacation planning, according to a study presented at the 2009 Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology (AAAAI).

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The Canadian Press: Mixed reaction from parents on peanut allergy advance; many remain dubious

I think that anyone who has peanut allergy, or has someone in the family with peanut allergy would jump on this study. In my own family I thought that YES, finally, a move forward, lets get on it! My wife, on the other hand wanted to know much more. Side effects, how many kids dropped out, reactions versus no reactions… All they tell you in the press releases is the good in these studies and not the bad.  For parents and individuals to feel comfortable the full scope of the study needs to be made available.

I’ll continue to try to locate the results but please exercise caution and ask many questions before jumping into this kind of study. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. The doctors and researchers are using very measured doses and processes to do this study. This could be dangerous if not fatal to attempt this on your own.

CONCORD, N.H. — One mom says she’d be first in line for a promising treatment that exposes children with peanut allergies to tiny amounts of peanut flour. Another remains fearful, with the painful image of her son’s face blown up beyond recognition still fresh in her mind.

While some parents of children with life-threatening peanut allergies see a glimmer of hope in a recent study suggesting a possible cure, others remain dubious that it will ever change their children’s lives.
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