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.

Hemp Seed Butter Offers Fresh Nutty Flavor, Nutrition & Relief from Allergen Concerns

Always on the lookout for more peanut butter replacements, this is a new one I’d not heard of. Hemp has been used for ages in textiles, rope, lotions etc.  But as a nut-sustitute?

Have you had a chance to try this?
Also have a look on thier website for a HUGE list of recipes. 

Peanut butter has long been one of North America’s favorite comfort foods, but the recent, massive product recall scare and the growing number of people with tree nut allergies have boosted culinary experimentation with ‘alternative’ seed spreads that are pleasing health-minded consumers. One of the popular new healthy alternatives to peanut butter is Hemp Seed Butter. While peanut butter has often been touted as a nutritious spread, nutrition experts and consumers are recognizing that Hemp Seed Butter with its 2000 mg of Omega-3 and 11g of protein per serving (2 Tbsp) blows peanut butter away.

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Man died an hour after being treated for peanut allergy

This tragic story has to be told. Why do health professionals feel that a study that is still in it’s infancy is safe to practice on patients? This should never have been done, let alone on someone who is known to have severe allergies to peanuts. I stronly urge anyone who is approached by thier allergenist to consider this story. 

A man who suffered from a peanut allergy collapsed and died from severe anaphylactic shock less than an hour after receiving treatment for his allergy from an alternative medicine practitioner.

 
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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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ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED PEANUTS IN BERGEN BRAND ALMOND COOKIES

OTTAWA, April 10, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) and Dollarama are warning people with allergies to peanut proteins not to consume the Bergen brand Almond 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 Almond Cookies, product of Poland, sold in 145 g packages are affected by this alert.

This product has been distributed nationally.

There has been one reported illness 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 one of the following numbers:

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).

via ALLERGY ALERT – UNDECLARED PEANUTS IN BERGEN BRAND ALMOND COOKIES.

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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(Most of) Our Family Loves SunButter

My husband and I are big fans of SunButter. We think it’s delicious, and I like the fact that it’s got plenty of Vitamin E, iron, protein, and fibre. 

Our nut-allergic son was so excited about eating it when we first bought it that he wanted to eat it in the car. I told him that he had to wait until we got home, and he chanted “I love it, I love it, I love it!” from his car seat in excited anticipation of trying a new treat. Once in the kitchen, I spread a thin layer on his favourite kind of cracker. He ate it, small bite by small bite while whispering “I love it, I love it, I love it” more and more quietly. When he’d eaten the whole thing, I asked him if he wanted some more, and he said, “No… I love it …. I love it.” I said, “You don’t like it, do you? It’s okay if you don’t.” “No, I don’t like it,” he replied. He still mumbled “I love it” under his breath a couple more times as if he was desperately trying to convince himself he did. 

So, he doesn’t like it. I’ve heard the same thing from other parents of peanut-allergic children — many of these children do not like peanut butter substitutes. Maybe it’s a natural defense mechanism. I think SunButter is so much like peanut butter that I would have believed it was if I didn’t have the jar in front of me. So maybe it would be confusing to our son to know that SunButter is safe for him to eat, whereas something that appears to be identical to it could make him very sick.

Nevertheless, we are happy to have SunButter in our house so those who like it can partake while our son remains safe if he comes in contact with it. 

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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Candy Melts Make Easter Fun

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.
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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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