Complacency in Food Alerts?

I read an interesting article last night regarding alerts sent out from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, and how the increasing number of alerts may result in consumers being overloaded and desensitized to them.

Here are some of the statistics quoted in the article:

Since 2004, the CFIA has issued 696 alerts

• 56% of those were food recalls
• 41% were allergy alerts
• 3% contained other food-related advice

Of the recall notices, 67%  were due to suspected bacterial contamination …

• 22% from listeria
• 19% from salmonella
• 10% from E coli

So do you think we’re being overloaded on food notices?

Communication is the Key

The boys are at Vacation Bible School (VBS) this week. I know from other parents of children with allergies that this fills them with anxiety. Thankfully, the VBS is being hosted at my sister-in-law’s church, and she has been hard at work to ensure that the week is peanut-free – not just for her nephews, but for other allergic children as well. Also Krystyne is hosting a class on baking with the kids so she is right there in the kitchen, keeping an eye on all of the snacks for the week.

Our boys’ involvement in this week’s VBS stresses the importance of communication – communication with organizers, with school staff, with camp staff, anyone. If you’re longing to send your peanut- (or other allergen) allergic child to a camp, or are looking towards the coming school year with trepidation, let me encourage you to open a dialogue with those who will be responsible for your child in your absence.

Another method of helping your child have some of the “normal” experiences you remember as a kid is to offer to volunteer time, information, snacks, or anything else to help. The first time the boys went to VBS at their aunt’s church, Krystyne volunteered to provide the snacks to ensure they were peanut-free. The other volunteers were spoiled with homemade chocolate chip cookies, brownies, and other such goodies.

We just got back after spending some time at Grandma’s trailer (she bought it for the grandchildren to enjoy, and since none of them can drive yet we get to tag along), where the boys were able to attend a children’s program every weekday. The staff there were so supportive and a couple of times asked Krystyne to check the snacks up-front. Krystyne also attended a staff meeting to teach everyone how to use an EpiPen, just in case. During one of the days home to do laundry Krystyne baked a LOT of chocolate chip cookies to take back to the staff as a thank-you.

Open the door to communication, and keep it open.

Young Children with Peanut Allergies

Here’s a good article on helping your young child learn to live with their peanut allergy!

http://www.allergyuk.org/art_peanutallergy.aspx

From the article …

With good management and practical solutions peanut allergy can be managed and risks can be minimised, however younger children may need some extra help! As independence is gained your child has to learn to deal with many new situations.

Other articles to help you and your child …

But How do They Feel?
10 Things Children with Food Allergies Want You to Know
What It’s Like (penned by 11-year old PA-son, Joseph)

Curing Peanut Allergies

Earlier this week I posted a commentary on the findings of recent peanut allergy studies involving feeding children increasing doses of peanut flour, which has now allowed many of them to eat full peanuts and enjoy a newfound freedom (see Harmful Cure).

There have also been reports of developments related to treating the underlying causes for food allergies. First, researchers in Scotland have found the protein responsible for triggering anaphylactic reactions …

Find 'could cut allergy deaths'
Discovery offers hope for nut allergy sufferers

And other news this week announced that researchers in New York have discovered the protein responsible for triggering allergies themselves …

Protein behind food allergies identified

It’s encouraging to see these developments into freeing people – especially children – from life-threatening food allergies.

Harmful Cure

Over the past few weeks I’ve seen a scary trend in news articles regarding food allergies.

Scientists find nut allergy children cure
Nut allergy children cured by new treatment

There are more and more articles touting the UK study that involves feeding children peanuts in increasing doses as a “cure” for peanut allergies. While I am happy for the children that this study has helped (and their parents), there are few news outlets that mention the children whose reactions were so severe that they were unable to continue the study.

With the prevailing attitude on food allergies being “why should my child change their eating habits to accommodate yours”, children like Liam – whose anaphylactic reaction is triggered by trace amounts (near 10ppm) of peanut protein – may be put more into danger. The more militant of the anti-allergy camp could take this news and say that the allergy can be “cured” so there is even less reason to make peanut-safe policies in schools, or label allergens.

I realize this is a drastic view of the argument, but there is also another problem with this kind of study. What if – for example – there are three siblings involved in the study and two are “cured” of their peanut allergy while one remains trace-amount allergic? In order to keep the allergy from redeveloping, the two siblings would be required to eat peanuts on a regular basis. How do you manage this in a house where the third child cannot be near peanuts – or people who have eaten peanuts – without reacting?

This is similar to the scenario we were faced with on our last visit to the allergist. Liam’s older brothers’ allergies are declining where they may be able to peanuts in the future, but at that point they would have to continue eating peanuts on a regular basis to keep the allergy from returning. Again, because Liam’s reactions are so severe and his allergy’s threshold is so low, there is no way we would be able to keep the house trace-amount peanut-free.

So while the news of treatments that raise the participants’ thresholds for reactions is good news, it still does not provide a “cure” that parents are praying for. However, there is uplifting news coming out of Glasgow University.

Find 'could cut allergy deaths'
Discovery offers hope for nut allergy sufferers

Researchers there have found the molecule responsible for triggering anaphylactic reactions, and preliminary lab tests have shown favourable results in blocking the molecule to reduce the severity of the reaction.

While we may not have a cure yet, thankfully there are signs that we are heading in the right direction.

More Peanut-Free Snacks

A trip to the local grocery store has yielded more labels of products free from nuts.

The President’s Choice brand from Loblaws includes a Dipped & Chewy line of granola bars that prominently display the peanut-free symbol on the front and there are a number of varieties, including chocolate chip and s’mores.

Of course, if you have more of a sweet tooth, you can pick up a Mars bar – either original, dark, or caramel – they are all peanut-free in Canada.

Mini Rolo chocolates are a good choice choice as well. The ingredient lists wheat under its may contain section, so by Canadian labelling standards that means no peanuts.

And if you’re baking, or looking for sugary candy snacks, the in-store No Name brand offers peanut-free choices such as …

jujubes

gumdrops

… and jellybeans!

And unless you live in Central Ontario, you’ve been seeing beautiful summer temperatures and bright sunshine (it’s getting ready to rain again here for the next few days), and there’s few summer treats that our boys want more than freezies. The No Name brand offers jumbo freezies that are manufactured in peanut-free factories too!

Certified Allergen Control

Reading labels is a familiar practice when you live with food allergies. I’ve mentioned a few times before the many different ways that manufacturers list allergen information in Canada (under the Food label at the right).

However, I was not familiar with the method for labelling allergens on products manufactured within the province of Québec. We recently found the Leclerc brand of soft-baked cookies, which the boys love.

 

These little (25g) cookie packages have the familiar peanut with the “No” symbol on the bottom left corner, next to the branding CAC, which stands for Contrôle Allergène Certifié – or Certified Allergen Control. A quick search on the Internet brought me to the program’s official site, which was developed by the Québec Food Allergy Association to recognize products in which their manufacturing process was highly controlled (the CAC program does not use the term “peanut-free”).

The four allergens currently tested for by the program are:

• almonds
• peanuts
• milk
• eggs

Participation in the program is voluntary, so not all products labelled as “peanut-free” are automatically included. Again, this underscores the need for a common labelling standard, but this method of certifying products is certainly appreciated. Check out their list of certified foods here.