I know you are a busy person. You had a great big, full life before you became a parent. Adding a child or two (or eight) to the picture only compounded your busy-ness. And now someone you love has been diagnosed with food allergies. You are juggling eggs while doing the tree pose in heels. Unless of course, eggs are an allergen of the newly diagnosed child. Then let’s say you are juggling champagne flutes. You may think that now is not the time to take on a new hobby. But you would be wrong.
Your new hobby is reading ingredient labels! And, believe it or not, before long you won’t even be aware that you are doing it. It might be a bit of a struggle at this point. What are all of the different ways the ingredient listers can say milk? Whey? Casein? What are “natural flavors” versus “spices”? Which manufactures consider garlic a vegetable and, therefore, lists it as an ingredient? And which categorize it as a spice and just let in fall in that general category without listing it specifically? What is the difference between “May contain…” and “Processed in a facility with ______ present”?
This new hobby will become second nature. While waiting in line to pay for your gas, your gaze will drift to the ingredient list on a pack of gum. You have no intention of buying the gum and you certainly are not going to give it to your 14-month old, but reading that list has become like a compulsion. You will be on a business trip a thousand miles away from your child, and lunch will be delivered to the conference room where you sit. As the sandwich and bag of chips are placed in front of you, your eyes scan the list of chip ingredients before you even begin to fold back the paper wrapping on the sandwich.
I know this new hobby may not be as relaxing as when you used to fly fish in your spare time. Reading the classics may have been enlightening, but reading labels can still expand your vocabulary. However, this new hobby will help you breathe easier knowing that your child will be safe while eating it. And the joy that comes with finally finding a brand of ketchup your child can will have you doing the happy dance.
Before you became a food allergy parent, you may have been impressed that food labels used block letters to point out that Eggos you bought did in fact contain egg. I can only imagine the effort that food allergy parents before my time went through to get those labels required by the FDA. And I applaud them. They are great and can be so helpful. Until they are not.
The Food Allergen Labeling Consumer Protection Act of 2004 requires foods regulated by the FDA clearly state on their labels which, if any, of the eight common allergens they contain. In order of how common the allergen is, the eight most common are dairy, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat, and soy.
The problem is that many people are allergic to other things. One of my sons had three less-common allergens; sesame seeds, tomatoes, and garlic. (Thankfully he outgrew his tomato allergy years ago.) Often you can read the ingredient label and find out if your allergen is included in the product. But, beware, there is a loophole.
“Natural flavors,” “flavorings,” and “spices” are allowed to be listed on an ingredient label to help food manufactures keep their secret ingredients secret. This is where you can run into trouble.
In order to determine whether or not the allergens that concern you are among the “natural flavorings,” you have to contact the manufacture directly. You can call or email. Some manufactures are great. A real person answers the phone and directs you to someone knowledgeable about your issue. That person tells you what you need to know, and you’re on your way. But trying to figure out if your kid can eat something specific doesn’t always occur during business hours. Sometimes your call is sent to voice mail, and you get a response a month later. Or your email goes unanswered.
When Bryce outgrew is tomato allergy, I tried to find a ketchup he could have. Every ketchup label I read clearly said “garlic”, but I was undeterred. Heinz ketchup did not list “garlic” as an ingredient, but it did list “spices.” I knew it was a slim chance, but I was holding out hope. Ketchup felt like a pretty integral part of childhood. I placed a call to Heinz during business hours and was told that they could not tell me if garlic was one of the spices they used due to “proprietary reasons.” Seriously. I didn’t want the formula. I wasn’t asking for the amount of garlic or what else was included in “spices.” I just wanted to know if my son could dip his fries in something.
The woman I spoke with told me I could have my son’s allergist write a letter on her medical office letterhead explaining what she wanted to know and why. Once Heinz received the doctor’s letter, they would get back to Bryce’s doctor directly and let her know if there was garlic in their ketchup. Then the doctor could let me know. Whew! No other company has made me jump through so many hoops.
We did eventually find Annie’s Organic ketchup which, as of this writing, contains no garlic!
Manufactures also change recipes. A product’s packaging can look exactly the same as it did when you purchased it the previous week, but now it contains milk. You can’t stop reading labels. It will get easier as you identify brands that work for your child, but you still have to read.
You also have to read for yourself. Say your child is allergic to dairy. We meet and I tell you my son’s allergens, one of which is cow’s milk. You hear that as dairy and assume that your child can relax around my son because they are allergic to the same thing. You watch as our kids eat lunch together. The problem is that my son, while allergic to cow’s milk, is fine with goat’s milk. Fortunately, we stop Bryce from sharing his olives stuffed with goat’s milk, but that was a close one.
Reading labels will get easier every day, but it still has to be done.