Food Allergy News: Caution: Changing Labels!

Check the labels every time is a mantra I repeat to myself at the grocery store and something I strongly advise anyone to do if dealing with a life-threatening food allergy. We can know what to do -- but it only works if we actually do it.

We all make mistakes with food allergy  management, me included. But sometimes these mistakes are valuable learning experiences, especially if nothing bad happens as a result. The other day I was in a big hurry rushing around to get items from the store. Long story short, I wanted to get some olives for my husband and kids (they love Greek olives) so I grabbed some at SuperTarget, giving a cursory glance to the ingredients list and then tossing it in my cart.

I was over-confident because a) I'd bought these before, and b) I wasn't paying attention to the "imported" part (imported foods are usually a higher food allergy risk) and c) the Target brand olives I'd bought in the past were safe.

When I go through the store, I am reading labels but admittedly, like anyone else, I try to save time. And even though I've been dealing with nut allergies for years and I KNOW that there is no logic involved in food items and which ones "may contain" peanuts or tree nuts, I still felt pretty safe with Greek olives due to all of our past experiences with them.

Now, at the end of the day, this was a mistake that was caught in time. By my daughter, not by me, who went to open the package, read the label and showed it to me.

My daughter has always questioned me before eating the foods I bring home from the store and I've always encouraged it because I want her to learn how to deal with it but also--I'm human. I might miss something and she can read, so she should get in the habit of checking things herself.

I'm sharing this story because I believe some positive things came from it. First of all, my daughter proved that she is always checking her own labels . Yes! It's sunk in after all of these years -- and for those of you just starting out with peanut allergies, tree nut allergies and other food allergies, that's why I encourage teaching your kids to check foods from an early age.

Second of all, I learned that labels in stores are changing rapidly to keep pace with allergies, labeling laws and their own changing company policies due to consumer input. I'm glad the allergy warning was on the product, that is great and kudos to Target for their thorough labeling policy. But I didn't do my part. If labels ARE there, we can't become immune and we can never assume. We've got to read the darn things, every time.

For anyone who thinks they are being over the top for checking with companies and studying food labels each and every time they visit the grocery store--you're not. Keep up the good work.

I'm now instituting a triple check system for foods--once in the store, once in the checkout line and then once while I'm putting everything away. And of course, bless her, my daughter will still check foods before eating them.

Anyone else have a food label change on them suddenly? It's happening more and more it seems so lesson learned: don't assume about any food. Check the labels and prevent a possible allergic reaction.

Food Allergy Labels: May Contain Allergy Warnings and More

Many readers of my Nut-Free Mom Facebook page have brought up the question of food labels recently so I thought it was a good time to tackle this increasingly confusing subject.

If you are new to food allergies (and even if you've been dealing with it for awhile like I have) one of the most daunting things you experience is a trip to the supermarket. What do the labels mean? If it doesn't say anything about food allergens, does that mean it's safe to eat? What are you supposed to do, call every food company?

The answers vary, but first it helps to understand the current FDA food allergy labeling laws.

Current food allergy labeling laws: FALPCA
The Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALPCA) ensures that foods will include "plain language" listing of the top 8 common food allergens. These are considered to be: soy, egg, dairy, wheat, fish, shellfish, tree nuts and peanuts.

The FALPCA law also requires that companies also list exactly what the allergen is, for example, they must name "pecans" if it is a tree nut or "shrimp" if talking about shellfish. It must be specific.

Here is an excellent document from the USDA that explains more about FALPCA.

A common misconception about FALPCA is that this law requires companies to add "may contains" or "processed in a facility with" or "processed on equipment with" statements. These are NOT required by law and are in fact voluntary statements placed there at the discretion of the food manufacturer. If do you see these statements, please don't discount them. A study was done of "may contains" statements and it was found that a large percentage of the time the food item in question did contain the allergen even though it was not an official "ingredient."

What does it all mean?
Where does that leave us when grocery shopping? First off, you must read every label every time because practices do change. Just because it was safe before does not mean that it's safe today. Check every item you plan to serve to an allergic person, every time.

When you see a food label with no allergy warnings and it is a "high-risk" food for nut allergies such as ice cream, candy or baked goods, that's when you may need to call the company. I always start by going online and reading allergy labeling policies -- some companies even let you search according to the exact brand name or type of food. If you call, have the UPC symbol with you--take a pic of it with your cell phone, but have it because then you will exact info for the product in question. Also, have the exact item name. (The UPC code will usually suffice if you don't have this). UPC codes are the numbers beneath the "lines" on a package so that it can scan at the grocery store. It's also known as a "bar code."

Pitfalls
Some companies will not give you complete info. Some will tell you to avoid all of their foods. Some will even list "may contains" warnings on their web sites but not on the actual package. (Edy's brand ice cream does this, for example.) Another practice that is relatively new it to tell consumers to look for certain "ID" numbers that supposedly indicate what plant the food was made in. Ragu said this to many of us a few months ago in response to new tree nut allergy warnings on some of their sauces. Supposedly if it had a certain "code" that meant the sauce didn't have tree nut allergy risk.

To me, this is bunk. It does NOT fall within current FDA law to play roulette with consumers and I would avoid companies and/or products that try to hedge their bets this way.

Ultimately it is up to you, the consumer, to decide what you feel comfortable serving to a person with severe food allergies. If avoiding reactions is your goal, a conservative approach will serve you well. Until we have more complete labeling policies, a lot of this is going to be up to us to manage, ask questions about and deal with.

Eventually you will find the foods and companies that you feel you can trust. You will probably also find yourself making more food so that you know what goes into it.

Please note that I am unable to answer specific questions about specific food companies. I'm a consumer just like you so I would advise contacting companies directly with your questions and concerns.

Here are some additional links that describe current food allergy labeling laws:

Official food labeling law w/regard to food allergens from FDA web site

Food Labeling law explanation

Other FALPCA requirements

Update on Wacky Allergy Labels...A Whole Lotta Nada

Sorry to say, I did not get a very satisfactory response to my e-mail query on the confusing food allergy labels I encountered recently. Their corporate customer service e-mailed me that, in order to get information about a specific product, I need to ask the retail stores what is in their food.

Well, actually that's not what I asked. I didn't want to know about specific products, necessarily. I can read a label--so can all of you. We're skilled in that. My question to the store was: how do you go about determining what allergens you list on your labels? They chose not to answer that. Also, I highly doubt that the retail store workers would have the knowledge I was looking for, that is, how is the food processed and who determines how it's labeled a certain way and why.

So I am posing the question to them again and see what I get.

Just thought I'd let you know! Also, what's up with all the gluten-free stuff at Trader Joe's? I'm glad they are acknowledging gluten allergies but almost everything at TJ contains peanuts or tree nuts. And I love that place. Just be careful when you shop there...it's super-nutty!

Well, that's a whole other story! :) Hopefully, I'll get to the bottom of the allergy labels at the "gourmet food and cookware retailer." Everybody probably knows who that is, right?

Wish me luck! And all of you who are speaking up and asking questions at stores and restaurants, THANK YOU! We are making progress, I'm sure of it.

Is It Me, Or Are Allergy Labels Getting Way Wackier???

OK, I do appreciate companies that label possible food allergens, but I'm starting to get suspicious about some of them.

Here's what set me off most recently: I received a bunch of BBQ spices from a popular gourmet food/cookware retailer as a gift last weekend. Each spice blend was emblazoned with a label claiming that it was processed on equipment that had previously come into contact with ALL of the "top 8" food allergens.

This same store sells colored sugars (for decorating cakes and cookies) that are also labeled as coming into contact with ALL top 8 food allergens.

Call me crazy but since when does colored sugar get processed on the same equipment as shellfish???

I think you probably know where I'm going with this. Fearing liability, certain companies are now proclaiming that all of their food products contain every top food allergen in an attempt to scare off allergic consumers. In other words, they are not reporting responsibly or truthfully on the contents of their foods. They are including allergy labels only to exclude allergic consumers. They don't wanna get sued, people, and so they're taking it to the extreme.

In a response to one of my previous posts, one mom said a similar situation happened to her at Olive Garden restaurants--they claimed that all of their food may contain peanuts. Unlikely??? You bet. But there it is. Who among us wants to take the risk? Still, I think we're being taken for a ride.

I've got an e-mail into the gourmet retailer quizzing them on their allergy labels. I'll let you know what they say.

Frustrating! We don't want to be uninformed about potential allergens but some of these places are taking it too far. And it feels discriminatory to me.