Food Allergies and Food Labels

 

Before food allergies, the only part of the food label that I looked at were the nutrition facts. And that was only if I was feeling particularly invested in how much sugar I was eating. These days, I glance right over the nutritional section, straight for the ingredient list. Getting used to reading through the gobitygook ingredients on processed food has been a real joy, only made easier by the fact that most of my kid’s allergies are part of the top 8* that have to labeled clearly in the US. (Not in the US?) According to the FDA, there are three ways the allergen can be clearly labeled: 

• Common or usual name of an ingredient is listed (ie “milk”)
• In parenthesis following the name of the ingredient (ie “whey (milk)”)
• Immediately after the list of ingredients in a contains statement (ie Contains: Milk)

Well, that’s fun. And super clear. Having three different ways to list allergens was definitely the best plan to avoid confusion... said no one ever. There’s a clear winner on the “easy and clear” to read scale and that’s having a contains statement. On my favorite packages the contains statement is even bold!

Oh la la! Look at that contains statement! So beautiful and clear.

The worst? When the ingredient list has no contains statement, is a whole page long, has many sets of parenthesis that have nothing to do with allergens, so you have to squint and read through every single word to make sure you aren’t missing anything. What a joy!

Just look at this nonsense! Sure, it states "wheat" and "sesame" in the ingredient list. But it's hidden in a list of things that could just as easily be a seed shopping list for your local garden store. Plus, why have organic before every ingredient? Really? I get it. It's organic. I don't care. 

This bread is so good. This label is NOT.

The really annoying thing? Ingredient lists can change at any time so every single time I’m at the grocery store, I glance at the ingredients before I toss it in the cart. It means we keep everything in the packages it came in because I also double check foods before passing them out to my daughter. It’s mostly just a lot of reading.

To further complicate the situation, there's an entire gray area of "may contain." Like this pasta that you are buying for your kid that is allergic to eggs "may contain: eggs." Great. So does it contain eggs? There's no regulation for "may contain" statements and some people assume it's just companies covering their booties. Our NP told us that the bigger the company the less you have to worry about cross contamination. If it's a small bakery- there's a good chance there could be peanuts and peanut dust in every single thing they make in their tiny back room. If it's a national conglomerate that only makes one kind of cereal in a giant warehouse, less likely for those peanuts to jump ship into your food. It seems like a big risk to take if there are safer alternatives. Online there is all kind of advice, but one thing is clear: milk is the most common top allergen to contaminate other ingredients, especially in chocolate. Which is why every singe chocolate bar I have ever seen has a special warning that that chocolate is made on the same line as other top allergens.

Womp. Womp. No chocolate bars for you, kiddo.

So, to recap, the only way to know what is in the food is to the look at the ingredient list on the box it came from. Simple, right? Get the box, read the ingredients. I try to remember to check all the boxes at the store. And then I try to remember to check them again when I open them to give them to my kid. It’s a lot of checking and I really appreciate when things are bolded.

Times this was a problem? When we went to visit the grandparents' house and grandma had removed all of the snacks and put them in clear containers. Looked great! Like a magazine! Not great? We had no idea what kind of Ritz they were. Normal kind? Butter flavored? Without that box, I’m not giving those crackers to my kid.

Another family member loves to google ingredients to see if they are safe for my kid to eat. I’ve tried to explain that google doesn’t know what ingredients are in the package of Oreos they have, only the package of Oreos knows that… but it’s taken some time to sink in. I think it’s extra hard to remember to check ingredients when you aren’t in a habit of it. When you only feed somebody with food allergies once a month, you don’t have that daily reminder. I guess that’s why FARE suggests having friends/family keep all the boxes of ingredients they use while cooking so that you can double check that what they made is safe. Should be an interesting Thanksgiving this year! Hi, yes, do you have the package of stock you used? Yep and every single can you opened? And every spice you used? Yes. And… corn meal? Flour? Did your turkey have anything in it other turkey? Are you sure you didn't add butter to the vegetables? On second thought, I think we’ll just pack her some food.

All in all, I don’t enjoy looking at ingredient lists. But it is really nice to be able to check the label and know what’s inside. Now, if only there was a way to know for sure what went into restaurant’s food!

Want more info on how to read a food label? FARE

*Soon to be Top 9 in the US! Welcome sesame! Biden signed a law that adds sesame to the required foods to be labeled starting: (checks notes) January 1, 2023?! Well, in a year and half I guess we will talk about the Top 9 allergens in the US.