Allergic reactions can develop at any age, any time

While the number of children with allergies increased over the past few decades, adults awareness of their own sensitivities is growing

Adults are discovering in ever greater numbers that they have serious food allergies, possibly due to exposure to new foods and an increased awareness of food allergy symptoms.

So says Dr. Vincent Oswunda, an Edmonton allergist and immunologist, who adds although most people develop allergies in childhood, adults can still develop an allergy and suffer as much as any child.

“You can start having allergic reactions at any age and at any time,”Oswunda says.

An allergy to sulphites — the chemical additives used to stop food from browning or spoiling — is most often diagnosed in adults, especially in those who already have asthma. Sulphites were recently added to Health Canadas list of the most common food allergens, along with more familiar foods like peanuts and dairy.

via Allergic reactions can develop at any age, any time.

We’ve Finally Gotten Rid Of All The Nuts!

For a while our staff was quite worried when we said all the nuts would have to go…

We are pleased to announce that as of June 15, 2009, we are going entirely nut free in both of our facilities. This is one of the biggest product policy changes since we made most of our products dairy free. We’ve been peanut free for several years now but this move will eliminate all tree nuts from our product line as well. On the down side, this will force the discontinuation of our lemon cranberry almond and double chocolate almond cookies but will open up our complete product line to thousands (millions?) of people with nut allergies. We will also be announcing a couple of new cookie varieties to replace the 2 we are discontinuing. More on that in a future post.

For those of you with severe nut allergies please keep in mind that there will still be products in the market that were produced prior to us going nut free. Look for products with the following Best Before dates or later:

* Soft Baked Goods (breads, buns, bagels, donuts, etc) – 12/15/2009

* Cookies, Mixes and Ingredients – 06/15/2010

via The Gluten Free Insider: We’ve Finally Gotten Rid Of All The Nuts!.

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.

“Quite frankly, we didn’t have a better idea at the time,” President and Chief Executive Officer Mandell admitted. “Once we got into it and got behind the numbers, we saw an amazing opportunity.” 

Mandell and Cohen continued working on a business plan after the class ended in the spring of 2000. About six months later, Mandell quit his job as a commercial lender to focus entirely on Enjoy Life. Within 21 months of Mandell quitting his job, Enjoy Life products were on shelves for sale. 

The pair hit upon a growing industry. The market for allergen-free foods nearly doubled between 1999 and 2003, growing to $1.8 billion from $947 million in retail sales in the U.S., according to New York research firm Packaged Facts, a division of Market Research Group LLC. Nearly 12 million Americans have food allergies, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology. 

Food allergies and people’s awareness of them are also on the rise. The number of children diagnosed with the peanut allergy has doubled in the past decade, and the prevalence of food allergies in children under the age of 18 has increased by 18 percent between 1997 and 2007, according to the academy. 

Enjoy Life started in a 6,000-square-foot “shoebox” on Chicago’s West side with help from friends and family who Mandell dubbed “angel investors.” In the beginning the company’s main distributor was Mandell, who would load products into the back of his car and sell them to natural foods stores throughout the Midwest. 

These days Enjoy Life products are carried in more than 50 grocery and natural food stores such as Whole Foods Market Inc., SUPERVALU Inc.’s Jewel-Osco, and Publix Super Markets Inc. Enjoy Life has gone from selling its products only in the Midwest to 85 percent of its sales coming from the U.S. and 15 percent from Canada. 

The company recorded $10 million in sales in 2008 and $8 million in 2007. Mandell declined to estimate what the company’s sales might be this year. “This year I’m expecting the worst and hoping for the best,” he said. 

Enjoy Life started to feel the effects of the economy in the fourth quarter, but Mandell said sales have picked up “substantially during the last six weeks,” something he attributed in part to slightly improving consumer confidence. Mandell attributed some of the sales softness in the fourth quarter to distributors taking their inventory levels down to three weeks from eight to 12 weeks. “Now I’m feeling it go back the other way,” he said. “I think they cut too deep.” 

Mandell attributes research done by the University of Chicago’s Celiac Disease Center and Children’s Memorial Hospital in helping raise awareness about the increase in food allergies. 

“Is there something different in our genetic make-up? Is there something different in the environment? Yes,” said Christine Szychlinski, manager of the Bunning Food Allergy Program at Children’s Memorial Hospital. 

Researchers at Children’s Memorial are in the midst of a two-year study on 500 Chicago families to learn more about potential reasons for the increase in childhood food allergies. “We know from the children we are seeing here at our clinic that food allergy is on the rise, definitely,” Szychlinski said. 

As the number of people diagnosed with food allergies continues to rise, grocery stores have seen a growing customer base for allergen-free products. Whole Foods is one of the national retailers that has Enjoy Life products. The demand for allergen-free products has “definitely been a growing trend in the last decade,” said spokeswoman Kristen Kaza. 

Enjoy Life is one of the few companies producing food free of the eight most common allergens. Milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shell fish, soy and wheat cause 90 percent of allergic reactions, according to the nonprofit organization Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network. Most of Enjoy Life’s competitors’ products are just gluten-free, meaning no wheat, rye or barley, Mandell said. “We have taken that big additional step in being free of all common allergens so that makes us very unique,” he said. 

The allergen-free movement started to take off in the past two years when then Anheuser-Busch Companies Inc. introduced a gluten-free beer in 2006 and General Mills Cereals LLC converted its half-century old Rice Chex brand into a gluten-free product in 2008, said Tatjana Meerman, publisher at Packaged Facts. “Heavy hitters have jumped into the market and that has spurred a lot of awareness and marketing activities,” Meerman said. 

Greg and Jenifer Herskowitz own The Allergy-Free Shop in Miami and carry more than 250 brands that offer an array of gluten-free, dairy-free or peanut-free products. Enjoy Life is the only brand they carry that is entirely free of all eight common allergens. During the last three years the selection of allergen-free foods “has grown exponentially,” said Jenifer Herskowitz. 

Denise Bunning of Lake Forest knows how limited the selection of allergen-free foods can be. Her sons Bryan, 15, and Daniel, 12, have allergic reactions to milk, eggs, tree nuts, shell fish, and beef. Bunning and her husband discovered that Daniel was allergic to milk the first time he took a sip of it. 

“He couldn’t breathe and his little face started turning purple. He literally almost died,” said Bunning, who co-founded the Bunning Food Allergy Project with her husband. 

The current economic climate has made Mandell rethink some aspects of Enjoy Life’s operations. The company had planned to introduce a line of crackers to come this spring, but Mandell decided to push back the launch until later in the year. 

Keeping inventory levels low at the warehouse, adjusting the quantities of supplies, and using social marketing platforms like Facebook and Twitter are all tactics Mandell has implemented in recent months. “With the economy the way it is, cash flow is always a more important consideration so we want to make sure we are managing our cash properly,” he said. 

Denise Bunning can’t afford to stop buying allergen-free products. She is still an Enjoy Life customer and said her son Bryan was a big fan of the company’s granola bar line for awhile. “It’s getting easier because companies are finally realizing that food allergies are unfortunately here to stay,” she said.  

via Parents offered new choices in allergen-free food .

Mr Christie's Snak Paks

Kraft Foods has just introduced a selection of single-portion packs of mini cookies called Mr. Christie’s Snak Paks, and today our five-year-old son and I had the pleasure of trying out the four types that carry a “Peanut-Free” symbol.* Our son is allergic to tree nuts as well, and we were assured by a public relations executive representing Kraft, that these four products were completely peanut-free: Barnum’s Animal Crackers, Teddy Grahams, Mini Chips Ahoy!, and Barnum’s ABC’s Cocoa cookies. They come in brightly coloured, whimsical, 30 g packages — a good treat size.

Although our son said that all of the varieties were “Yum,” his clear favourite was the Animal Crackers. They have a lovely light texture (compared with the more typically dense texture of animal crackers), a softly sweet taste, and delightful animal shapes that had terrific appeal for our son. His second favorite was the “cute” Teddy Grahams, which have a surprisingly rich flavour that reminded me of shortbread cookies (but, thankfully, without all the fat). His third favourite was the Chips Ahoy variety, which might rank #1 with most kids, as most kids love chocolate, and these little cookies are full of big chocolate flavour (our son typically prefers vanilla over chocolate). The ABC’s Cocoa cookies were his least favourite, but would be perfect for kids (or adults) who prefer a less sweet snack. They have a darker chocolate taste and a very pleasant crunch.

Thank you, Kraft Foods, for bringing us these new school-safe options for our kids. With these four distinctly different snack-sized cookies, there’s a flavour for everyone and enough variety to keep lunchboxes from getting boring.

*There is a fifth variety called Mini Oreo that is not made in a nut-free facility.

*Note that these products are peanut-free and are produced in a facility that does not process nuts. Please check packaging whenever purhcasing any food products to ensure of no changes in the processing.

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/.

Many of us will appreciate the “green” aspect of offering washable napkins, and if your child has food allergies, these have a dual purpose. You can ask your child to spread them out on the cafeteria or picnic table to offer an extra layer of protection from allergenic foods that may have been there before. Plus, you’ll save $$. Besides being wasteful, paper napkins are expensive!

In honor of Earth Day, Litter Free Lunch is offering a special discount. From now until midnight on Friday, April 24th, all of their napkins, including organics, will be 15% off. Just use the coupon code EARTHWEEK when checking out.

It was great to meet Felice and learn about her company. I wish her the best and hope you’ll stop by her site!

Disclaimer: My comments are based on personal opinion; I received no compensation for my endorsement.

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

I have been a fan of Vermont Nut Free ever since my son was diagnosed with allergies to peanuts and tree nuts four years ago. Their high-quality chocolates are now a staple in our household for pretty much all the holidays. And, with Easter around the corner, I’m putting together an order for their delicious chocolate bunnies. We’ll also be making some of our own Easter chocolates, which will be equally delicious, thanks to Vermont Nut Free.
 

I’ve accumulated a few candy molds, most of which I bought at our local bulk food store.  I felt a bit odd shopping there, since bulk food is off limits for the reason of potential cross-contamination. My impression is that the store is about 20 per cent bulk nuts, so the potential is high indeed. But, I’ve got some cute molds, including some of bunnies and one of various farm animals (which might also be appropriate for the season).

Last time I ordered chocolates from Vermont Nut Free, for Valentine’s Day, I ordered some of their candy melts as well. I purchased all three flavours: milk chocolate, dark chocolate, and white chocolate. Last week I got around to trying out the milk chocolate melts, which I used to make some turtle-shaped chocolates I used to garnish a dessert I’d made. I was very pleased with the results.

I used a double-boiler to melt the chocolate, which melted quickly and smoothly. I spooned the melted chocolate into the molds and popped them in the freezer for about 10 minutes, and then popped out the finished products. They were shiny and beautiful. They didn’t start melting in my hands as I handled them, as had been my experience using chocolate chips for melting chocolate.

And they were delicious. I’m looking forward to our Easter chocolate-making; but, really, I think I’ll be making my own little chocolates for just about every occasion, or even no occasion, from now on.

Manufacturers now have a ‘same taste’ one to one substitute they can use to replace both peanuts and peanut butter in virtually any kind of product. Never before has there been a product that tastes, smells, and looks just like peanut butter—until now, from Hilton Soy Foods.

There is a twofold crisis now occurring in millions of homes, schools and factories across the country. Due to the growing prevalence of kids with severe allergic reactions to peanuts, schools are now banning our kids from bringing any peanut or peanut butter products to school. In addition, everyone now has tremendous food safety quality concerns and negative perceptions resulting from the recent peanut salmonella problems. Hilton’s innovative peanut butter-like, Omega3 SoyButter can now solve both crises.

After four years of development, Hilton Soy Foods has created a safe and healthy solution for manufacturers who want to help keep kids and schools safe and free of peanut allergies.  In addition, with Hilton’s Omega3 SoyButter and the various granulations of Toasted Soy Ingredients available, manufacturers can now make a variety of innovative products with a p-nutty taste that everyone can feel safe in enjoying.

Hilton SoyButter is all natural with no fillers or artificial anything that really does look, smell, and taste like real peanut butter. Kids and adults alike love the taste and can’t believe it’s not peanut butter!

The SoyButter is made from gently roasted non-gmo soy sustainably grown and produced in Ontario,Canada by the Mahon family. Scott Mahon, president of the company, and one of three brothers working in the family-owned business states, “My family and I are very excited and proud to be able to produce a product that fills such a critical need in the food industry. We have taken extra special care to grow, process, and dry roast our soy safely and just right with our proprietary toasting technology to bring out the p-nutty flavor that makes our Toasted Soy Ingredients and SoyButter taste great.”

Hilton Omega3 SoyButter is produced in a stainless steel closed-loop system that assures food safety and quality, and prevents all microbiological contamination.

Hilton Soy Foods claims soybeans are naturally safer than peanuts since they are grown above ground and harvested dry, vs peanuts that grow under ground, are harvested moist, and therefore more susceptible to microbiological contamination and aflatoxin mold.

Hilton SoyButter is already used by a number of food manufacturers and is sold in over 85 food service distributors and thousands of retail supermarkets.  

via Hilton Soy Foods Announces SoyButter – Peanut Butter Alternative :: News :: Natural and Nutritional Products Industry Center.

Hilton Omega3 SoyButter actually has a nutritional advantage since soy is considered to be a complete protein compared to peanuts. In addition, soy contains a naturally balanced blend of healthy Omega 3(over 4000 mg/100gm), 6 and 9 essential oils.

Hilton Soy Foods, with 20 years experience in producing organic and natural food ingredients, is a leading soy manufacturer of “field to table” p-nutty tasting Non-GMO Toasted Soy Ingredients including Whole, Halves, Pieces, Flours and SoyButter ingredients manufactured in a 100% nut free facility. Their products are used in many applications, including nut-free, nutty taste profiles, lower cost nut substitutes, soy protein health claims ,etc.

http://www.avoidingmilkprotein.com/otherallergies.htm

I encourage everyone to have a look as these companies will ship to either Canada or the USA or both.  Have a look at the website as well as they don’t only deal with milk allergies, but with all others.  LOTS of great information.

Sample:

4everfree	Gluten, Dairy and Nut free baked goods New Zealand
Abby Fundraising	Always nut free fundraising cookie dough
Allerenergy bars	No Peanuts, Gluten ,Eggs and Milk, Dairy, Soy, Tree Nuts, Shellfish, and no Corn
Alpro Soya	Dairy Free alternatives to milk, yougurt and deserts (UK) dairy free gluten free mostly wheat free nut free enviroment
Amanda’s Own	Dairy-free, tree nut-free, peanut-free, egg-free and gluten free Candies and Chocolates
American Chocolate	Turn cholate in to art, print designs onto gourmet chocolates