Living with food allergies is challenging for those with the allergies as well as their families, but it's also not easy for those who need to manage the environment outside the home setting.  This page is intended to provide some useful resources for teachers and caregivers of children with severe food allergies.

Steps for Ensuring That a Food Product is "Safe" From a Food Allergy Perspective

• Always check the ingredient listing first.  "Allergy alerts" (if the company puts them on) will not be used if the offending allergen is already listed as an ingredient (alerts are only intended for allergens which are not "official ingredients" of a food product, but which may have inadvertently come into contact with the food product during storage, processing or packaging procedures). Be aware that "hydrolyzed vegetable protein" may use peanuts as its base, so anything that states this as an ingredient is not considered safe for a peanut-allergic individual (some companies now specify the source of the "hydrolyzed protein" - e.g "hydrolyzed soy protein"). 

Although food ingredient labeling is currently under review in the U.S., "vegetable oil" of unspecified source can still be a potential hazard if the company does not adhere to recommendations in the FDA legislation.  Food products made in the U.S. can also have potential food allergens effectively "masked" in ingredient listings by using non-specific terms such as "natural flavors", "seasonings" and "spices".

• If a food allergen (e.g. peanuts) is not mentioned in a list of ingredients, or if there is no food allergy alert printed on the packaging, many people mistakenly assume that the food is safe for a food-allergic person to consume.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Allergy alerts are a purely voluntary measure taken by some food companies - they are not required by law.  Even if the company uses allergy alerts, it is difficult for them to be 100% certain that their employees are observing all the safety precautions put in place at the workplace, all of the time.  That means food allergy sufferers and their parents always need to be prepared for an emergency, even with products that food companies believe to be "as safe as humanly possible".  Furthermore, international companies may have different policies, practices, and product lines in different countries.

• Another factor to consider is the potential for cross-contamination that may occur in food preparation areas, childcare settings, camps, etc.  It has been my personal experience that many workers in these settings are not necessarily familiar with all the potential ways in which food allergen cross-contamination can occur.  Often, anaphylactic reactions may be a result of cross-contamination in these settings, not at the production facilities of the food manufacturer.  For further information about cross-contamination risks, click on the link below to go to a page on the Calgary Allergy Network site where you can download a Word 97 version of an article entitled "Cross-Contamination:  What is Peanut/Nut Free?"  This site also has other helpful articles in Word 97 format which can be downloaded, including "A Guide for Parents/Students with Anaphylaxis", "Managing Food Allergies in the Classroom/Preparing Food Safely", and "Teacher's Guide to Allergy and Anaphylaxis".

You may also consider putting yourself on the following e-mail notification lists, simply by clicking on the links below:

• In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency Food Product Recalls (for food allergy-related and other reasons).

• In the USA, the Food Allergy Network sends e-mail alerts about companies who have recalled food products due to accidental cross-contamination with food allergens in their manufacturing plants.