Living With Food Allergies/Warning Labels

[lunalovegoddess]

I'm starting this thread after having noticed that a lot of people on the forum have mentioned their food allergies or their family's food allergies. As the mother of a child who is severely allergic to dairy products, I thought that this could be a good place to post any information that members have on warning labels for products and their personal experiences with food allergies.

Recipes and advice are welcome.

 

[lunalovegoddess]

This is taken from an e-mail from a concerned parent who had the same questions that I had about a product.

Jolly Time Microwave Popcorn -

My daughter has severe dairy allergy, and enjoys popcorn. In a search for a safe microwave popcorn, I noticed on the Jolly Time Microwave Popcorn "Healthy Pop" the box states "artificially flavored". The ingredient list however states "artificial and natural flavors". I wrote the company asking what exactly the "natural flavor" is, and the following email is what I received.
I thought you would like to see it. I was very pleased with the care,
quality and promptness with which they replied. The experience also
reaffirms to me the importance of reading the entire ingredient list
everytime, to be proactive and ask if something is unclear. It also reminds
me just how "hidden" a hidden ingredient can be.

Dear (privacy):

Thank you for your e-mail. All JOLLY TIME Microwave Pop Corn flavors
contain some flavoring ingredients that are derived from a dairy source,
typcially butter and cheese. The dairy ingredients comprise a very small
percentage of the finished product, usually less than 1/4 of 1%.

Our JOLLY TIME KettleMania does not contain any dairy components, but I
would also like to point out that all of our microwave products are
manufactured on the same equipment so there may be traces of casein
remaining which could be a concern for you.

The JOLLY TIME product you could serve without hesitation is our kernel popcorn you pop yourself. If you prefer the stovetop method of popping corn, we are the only national pop corn company that produces both yellow and white pop corn packaged in poly bags and 30 oz. jars.

I am mailing to you, at the above address, a coupon good for a free poly
bag of JOLLY TIME Pop Corn. Please accept this with our compliments.

Thanks for thinking of JOLLY TIME.

Keep poppin'
Judy at JOLLY TIME

 

[Fantasmic!329]

I have a friend who is allergic to celery, peanuts, and apple skins. Is anyone else allergic to the celery and apple skins? I have defintley heard of people allergic to peanuts, but never anyone to celery or apple skins.

 

[DisneyPhD]

Hi there, my DD has an allergy to milk and eggs. While it has never been life threating, I think it is getting better. She is a breast feed baby (we offically found out about it when she was a year old, she was excuslivly breast feed) and to continue to feed her I have had to cut all dairy and eggs out of my diet. It has been 6 months now and it has been a challagne for my family and I. I am rather sick of what we can eat, but have hope DD will out grow it and I won't be breast feeding her forever (the plan is to continue through the winter since it is so good for her health and immune system.)

Thanks for the info on the pop corn. I have found that ActII kettle corn is also dairy free and DD loved it. Dairy is such a hard one, there is so many foods it is "hidden" in.

Her egg allgery isn't as bad and she has been tollerating me having small amounts (egg rolls, little bits of mayo.)

Anyway I think I thread like this is a great idea.

No I have never heard of anyone being allgeric to apple skins and celery, rather odd allgeries, I wonder how they found out about them.

 

[lamarvenoy]

My son is very allergic to peanuts and one big one that blindsided us was "Ritz cheese and crackers" Regular crackers....regular cheese...for some reason the 3rd ingredient is peanut butter.We learned that one the hard way.

 

[DisneyPhD]

My son is very allergic to peanuts and one big one that blindsided us was "Ritz cheese and crackers" Regular crackers....regular cheese...for some reason the 3rd ingredient is peanut butter.We learned that one the hard way.

Yes, some companys are not good that way. Peperidge farms is that way. Everything they make has milk in it. EVERYTHING. Even the goldfish pretzels do. I have never found another pretzel that isn't cheese or butter flavored with milk in it.



My nutrionist said we couldn't have any carmel color because it is milk based. I called craft and all their cameral color is sugar or corn surup based. Also all cola products and root beer (pepsi and coke) are none milk based carmel color. (both were very good at returning my email.)

 

[lunalovegoddess]

Hi there, my DD has an allergy to milk and eggs. While it has never been life threating, I think it is getting better. She is a breast feed baby (we offically found out about it when she was a year old, she was excuslivly breast feed) and to continue to feed her I have had to cut all dairy and eggs out of my diet. It has been 6 months now and it has been a challagne for my family and I. I am rather sick of what we can eat, but have hope DD will out grow it and I won't be breast feeding her forever (the plan is to continue through the winter since it is so good for her health and immune system.)

Thanks for the info on the pop corn. I have found that ActII kettle corn is also dairy free and DD loved it. Dairy is such a hard one, there is so many foods it is "hidden" in.

Her egg allgery isn't as bad and she has been tollerating me having small amounts (egg rolls, little bits of mayo.)

Anyway I think I thread like this is a great idea.

No I have never heard of anyone being allgeric to apple skins and celery, rather odd allgeries, I wonder how they found out about them.

That is when it started with my daughter, when she had been breastfed. After three months of trying to convince the pediatrician that there was something wrong, i.e. that she was still losing weight no matter how often she was fed, I finally asked my uncle to drive us to the hospital. The ER nurse took one look at her and said, "Let's try giving her some Nutramigen."
After the bottle, she calmed down and fell asleep on my shoulder. They diagnosed it as a milk protein allergy and sent me home with a week's supply and instructions for the pediatrician and for WIC, which covers the cost of the formula. It was $27 a can at the time and we went through 6 cans a month. She was on it until she turned 2, and then she began drinking soymilk.
I missed being able to breastfeed, but decided that formula feeding was best in her case. My son breastfed for 6 months and then I started weaning him onto soy formula until he turned 2 years old. He drinks cow's milk now without any problem.

Everyone kept telling me that she would outgrow her allergy, but I think that it has worsened with each accidental exposure. Has anyone else found that their allergies have worsened over time?

 

[BeachClubVillas]

My brother and I are both allergic to tree nuts (not peanuts). I'm also allergic to shellfish and he's also allergic to sesame seeds.

We both carry epi-pens all the time and have met just about every chef in WDW. I think that's why we stick with the restaurants we know. We know what we can eat and what we can't eat. A lot of the waiters and waitresses remember us by now.

My brother has had more reactions than I have (I'm more hyper-nervous about it than he is) Two years ago, he bought a can of what he thought were peanuts. After his second handful, he realized they were mixed peanuts and cashews. Luckily, his friend called 911. He flatlined in the ambulance. By the time my parents and I got to the hospital, he was okay, but it was the scariest night of our lives.

 

[MouseMadness]

My son is very allergic to peanuts and one big one that blindsided us was "Ritz cheese and crackers" Regular crackers....regular cheese...for some reason the 3rd ingredient is peanut butter.We learned that one the hard way.

Not doubting you, but are ya sure? :lol: I just went and checked... I had gotten some for my daughter, who is also allergic to peanuts, for snacks at school, and there's no peanut product listed anywhere. It says it is manufactured on equipment that also processes peanut products, but no peanuts are in the ingredient list. Maybe it was a different brand? (Thanks for the heads up , it never occured to me to check the labels on cheese crackers!)

Does your son go into anaphylaxis? The worst that has happened with my daughter, thank God, is she throws up. A lot. :lol: And she breaks out into HUGE welts. In fact, when we got her tested at the allergist, you know where they poke them and put the stuff on their skin to see how they react, she was so tiny they had to use her back. Well, the nurse took a dry cotton ball to wipe it off, and I was looking and thinking, omg, she is going to break out soooooooo badly, and I tried to tell them, but what do I know . Sure enough, the doctor came back in and her back was like one huge welt. His face just went :lol: I've never seen a Dr look like that. :lol: She has thankfully outgrown the soy and eggs that she used to have, but peanuts, tree nuts, and shellfish will always be out, I'm afraid.

 

[DisneyPhD]

That is when it started with my daughter, when she had been breastfed. After three months of trying to convince the pediatrician that there was something wrong, i.e. that she was still losing weight no matter how often she was fed, I finally asked my uncle to drive us to the hospital. The ER nurse took one look at her and said, "Let's try giving her some Nutramigen."
After the bottle, she calmed down and fell asleep on my shoulder. They diagnosed it as a milk protein allergy and sent me home with a week's supply and instructions for the pediatrician and for WIC, which covers the cost of the formula. It was $27 a can at the time and we went through 6 cans a month. She was on it until she turned 2, and then she began drinking soymilk.
I missed being able to breastfeed, but decided that formula feeding was best in her case. My son breastfed for 6 months and then I started weaning him onto soy formula until he turned 2 years old. He drinks cow's milk now without any problem.

Everyone kept telling me that she would outgrow her allergy, but I think that it has worsened with each accidental exposure. Has anyone else found that their allergies have worsened over time?

From 6 months to 8 months old my DD only gained a few oz. We had already supected milk from an chance incounter with her big sisters straw from an empty drink so we never gave it to her. She had no problem so to speak with my milk, but she would only sleep 2 hours at a time. (at 12 months old) once we completly cut it out of my diet she did much better and has been growing very well now. I heard that Nutramigen stuff is pretty gross!

My DD's was getting wrose until we got it under control. Now 6 months later it is pretty good. She can have bread with whey in it with no rash. She gets re tested in a few weeks. I don't expcet it to be gone, but I hope down a bit.

 

[TiggerBW]

I'm allergic to:
Shellfish (though I've never had any to find out how i'd react)
Dairy products
Peanuts
Sesame Seeds
Garlic
Eggs
Cabbage
I think that's it. Most just make me sick to my stomache. Not fun. Sometimes I'll just suffer to eat something good anyway.

 

[MouseMadness]

From 6 months to 8 months old my DD only gained a few oz. We had already supected milk from an chance incounter with her big sisters straw from an empty drink so we never gave it to her. She had no problem so to speak with my milk, but she would only sleep 2 hours at a time. (at 12 months old) once we completly cut it out of my diet she did much better and has been growing very well now. I heard that Nutramigen stuff is pretty gross!

My DD's was getting wrose until we got it under control. Now 6 months later it is pretty good. She can have bread with whey in it with no rash. She gets re tested in a few weeks. I don't expcet it to be gone, but I hope down a bit.

My cousins first child was actually classed as "failure to thrive" she was so small, but then my cousin (she's a dr. herself) began to investigate, narrowed it down to soy, cut it from her diet, and the baby just sprouted!! She's completely outgrown the allergy now.

 

[DisneyPhD]

My cousins first child was actually classed as "failure to thrive" she was so small, but then my cousin (she's a dr. herself) began to investigate, narrowed it down to soy, cut it from her diet, and the baby just sprouted!! She's completely outgrown the allergy now.

That is good to hear. As a dairy allergy person and an advid label reader I find Soy a hard one to avoid. It is really used in a lot now a days. My doctor was very excited that her test for soy came back negitive, now I understand why.

I never knew your DD had food allergies. Glad to hear she outgrew some of them.

We think that my DD didn't acutaly develop them until they were introduced into her diet the 2nd time. She had some forluma at brith (against my wishes, got to love the hospital. ) and then again at 7 months because I was out of expressed milk and my mother feed her ceral. She vomited it all over, we didn't used formula again. I am lactose intollerent, so while I still ate some milk products, I didn't have as much of it as somone else might of. However cutting it all out has ben hard. I am pretty used to it, but I am so bored of the safe food for us. I want to spice things up some. Oh well, I keep saying to myself not long now. :animwink:

TiggerBW, what a list. How do you manage to eat? I know what you mean about eatting it anyway. I used to do it all the time with lactose intollerent, I can put up with it. However when it was for my DD's health it was easier for me to say no to pizza (and even chicken with dried milk in it.)

 

[lunalovegoddess]

At home, I could control what she was eating, but once school started, it wsa difficult. Sometimes people used to criticize me and tell me I was being mean when they would offer her some chocolate and I would tell them "No." People don't want to believe that milk allergy exists, for some reason. I've had people try to tell me that she could have just a little bit of ice cream. I've had to talk to the deli I worked for to take precautions with their slicers, because my co-workers would slice the cheese on the same machine as the meats. No one understood at first that baked goods were a problem, and that bringing in treats for the students often made my daughter sad. She knew that she couldn't have the birthday cake or snacks that were brought in.
One of the schools that she went to had separate lunch table for those with allergies. Another had banned peanuts completely, but they could not ban milk. They told me that it wouldn't be fair to the other students. So, you could say that we have encountered a wide spectrum of responses to her allergy. The most common misperception is that it is lactose intolerance. People are trying to understand, but they are not receiving the correct information. A trace amount of dairy in her food will cause her to break out in hives, itchiness and swelling of her mouth and throat, and respiratory symptoms, as well as intestinal distress. Even my mom thought that giving her a chewable Bendaryl meant that she could eat birthday cake with her friends, or a muffin when we were out.
Benadryl reduces the severity of symptoms and makes her feel more comfortable, but it doesn't stop the allergic reaction. She still requires the Epi-Pen. Both the Benadryl and the Epi-pen are intended as emergency first aid, meant to buy her some time until we reach the hospital.

 

[MouseMadness]

You know, it's odd... the allergist we saw gave us the epi pen without my even asking. Better safe than sorry, which I of course agree with, but my pediatrician was hesitant about giving us one. :veryconfu What the hell, does he think I'm going to use it for fun, or that I'm a complete imbisile and don't know whether or not my kid is breathing? I was, to be honest, kinda offended. It was funny, because the pediatrician was growling about allergists giving epi pens to any and everybody and the allergist was wondering why the pediatricians are so hesitant to get them to people. :lol: *shrug*

From what I understand, it would be hard to harm yourself with one (as in hte medication having an adverse affect) so I have always had trouble knowing why the pediatrician was such a stinker about it all.

 

[TiggerBW]

TiggerBW, what a list. How do you manage to eat? I know what you mean about eatting it anyway. I used to do it all the time with lactose intollerent, I can put up with it. However when it was for my DD's health it was easier for me to say no to pizza (and even chicken with dried milk in it.)

It is very hard. I won't have sesame seeds, shellfish, or cabbage, but at times I eat peanuts in things, dairy (too much), garlic and eggs. I'm a very picky eater as it is, so it's really hard to cut it all out. My allergist gave me a list of all the products Dairy is in to avoid, and it was ridiculous. I just suffer a lot. (EX. I had pizza last night......i'm home sick today not because of it, but with bad cold and I decided that I wanted to eat pizza last night. With a cold, I usually don't want to eat, so I thought eating it was better than eating nothing.
I get allergy shots for pollen, dust, mold, & cat, but shots do NOTHING for food allergies.

Have you tried soy milk? Once I got completely off milk, it didn't taste bad! ha ha! I use it all the time with cereal now. I've even tried soy icecream which is ok.

 

[DisneyPhD]

lunalovegoddess, I can't belive how simlar our stories are (except my DD is younger so we can't encounter some problems yet, and her allergy isn't as severe.) Actually I don't know how bad it is because she has never actually had a large encounter with pure milk, but at 1st even the smallest amount would give her a major rash (one goldfish or animal cracker.) It seemed she got that darn rash all the time, it made me crazy. Actually I think food allergies do make you a little insane (or at least the parents of.) Before we got tested my mother in law would give her stuff all the time and it drove me crazy. Still she isn't to be really trusted. I agree, lactose intollerent is NOTHING comparied to a real allergy. I know, I am and this has been so much harder.

I am a SAHM now and I have a job offer for the fall. I don't want to take it and part of the reason is I can't control her food. She is rarely out of my sight and that helps. She loves chocolate, I feel so sorry for her when she sees others eating it and she can't. I normally bring some dairy free treat of some kind with me as an exchange. Tropical Sorce (sold at whole foods) sells 100% dairy free chocolate chips and chocolate bars. I have found the normal whole foods brans chocolate chips are dairy free, but not labeled as %100%. She doesn't seem to have a problem with them and can now eat things made in factories that process milk (she couldn't before.) I think those are postive steps.

I like the fact that if I can eat it she can. It makes it much safer for her and I don't feel as bad saying "you can't have that birthday cake", becuase it is "we can't have that cake". I cook dairy and egg free for the whole family, but we do have milk in the house for DD (big sister) and DH and even some chesse sometimes as specail treats. Except for that everything is dairy free so what is in the house is pretty safe for her (I send some treats with dairy to school for older DD sometimes.)

TiggerBW, we do a lot of soy milk (and ice cream, got to love tuffi cutie ice cream bars.) Soy ice cream was the only dessert I could have anywhere on WDW property, I had it 4 times I think (most sit down places have it as an option.) Did you know most soy cheese actually has cassien in it? (a milk protien.) We learned that one the hard way. Only if it says Vegan is it really milk free, and then I have found it taste really bad so we don't eat it.

Mouse maddness I had the same Allergist sistuaion with the epi pen. Ped didn't offer it, allergiest it was standard. I don't imagine us ever needeing it, but it makes me feel better to know I have it just in case. We don't think she is allergic to peanuts, but haven't started her on them yet. (she has had minor expouseres with no problems so I am not too worried about it and I can eat them.)

 

[lunalovegoddess]

DisneyPhD...

I've been there, and had to figure it all out for myself. I love Tofutti and Tropical Source. Now we are doing much better with the situation, but I remember it was very difficult when she was entering preschool because it was the first time that she would be away, if only for a few hours. I ended up giving the teachers a box of snacks that were acceptable for her to have, and stressed the importance of being kept up-to-date on class activities.

Probably the scariest experience was when we took her into Boston for the Scooper Bowl. There was a section for sorbet and soy ice creams, so I thought that everything would be fine. However, the person scooping the sorbet used the same scooper that had been dipped into the ice cream and then let it sit in milky water. I understand the concept of doing this in order to soften the ice cream for scooping, but when they do not grab a different scoop for the sorbet, it can be deadly. About ten minutes later she started to get really sick and her lips started to show hives. Thankfully, just down the street within walking distance was the Floating Hospital for Children.
If there is one problem that I have when we eat out is cross-contamination of allergens. At WDW we have not had many problems because the chefs will be happy to help. The hotel chefs need to be informed about her allergy because often the egg batter includes milk, so they will scramble it up plain for her. The problem tends to be pre-packaged foods that do not list potential ingredient warnings. Like with the popcorn incident. We need to know that we can trust the companies to do their part to help.

links to food allergy websites:
www.nfpa-food.org
(National Food Processors Association)

www.foodallergy.org
(Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network)


www.aaaai.org/public/fastfacts/cookbook.stm
(American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology) A list of cookbooks, with ordering information, for people with food allergies.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-alrg1.html
(Food and Drug Administration) Consumer fact sheet.

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/food.htm
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

https://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/items.asp
http://www.gakssnacks.com/default.aspx
http://www.divvies.com/
http://foodyoucaneat.com/food/NewRecipes.php

most of these sites will give you the 411 on common food allergens and recipes to try at home, as well as updates on recalls of products.

 

[TiggerBW]

TiggerBW, we do a lot of soy milk (and ice cream, got to love tuffi cutie ice cream bars.) Soy ice cream was the only dessert I could have anywhere on WDW property, I had it 4 times I think (most sit down places have it as an option.) Did you know most soy cheese actually has cassien in it? (a milk protien.) We learned that one the hard way. Only if it says Vegan is it really milk free, and then I have found it taste really bad so we don't eat it.

WOW! I had no idea you could get soy ice cream there!!!!!!!!!! Never tried I guess! Great to know! Thanks! I didn't know that about soy cheese, but I"m usually bad and eat the regular cheese anyway. ha ha. I'll have to try tuffi cutie ice cream bars!

 

[TiggerBW]

links to food allergy websites:
www.nfpa-food.org
(National Food Processors Association)

www.foodallergy.org
(Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network)


www.aaaai.org/public/fastfacts/cookbook.stm
(American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology) A list of cookbooks, with ordering information, for people with food allergies.

http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/wh-alrg1.html
(Food and Drug Administration) Consumer fact sheet.

http://www.niaid.nih.gov/factsheets/food.htm
(National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases)

https://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/items.asp
http://www.gakssnacks.com/default.aspx
http://www.divvies.com/
http://foodyoucaneat.com/food/NewRecipes.php

most of these sites will give you the 411 on common food allergens and recipes to try at home, as well as updates on recalls of products.

Thanks for all the links!! :sohappy: