Food Allergy News

Should restaurants be required to list allergen ingredients?

by on March 15th, 2010

Wouldn’t It Be Amazing If We Knew EVERY Ingredient In Our Restaurant Meal?

I read an interesting blog entry posted some months ago by Verona Raymond for Ezine Articles, entitled “Restaurants and Food Allergies – A Problem?” Verona, who is allergic to dairy products, relates the difficulties she has in determining which restaurant dishes contain milk products. With little or no information on the menu, she almost always has to ask her servers, who then usually have to consult the kitchen.

“They usually come back to the table and explain that the chef doesn’t know what is in some of the sauces or ingredients because they are sent to them pre-packaged or bottled,” Verona writes. “So I sometimes take a chance and order an entree thinking that it is okay.”

Verona’s solution is for restaurant menus to be treated like consumer products.

“I really appreciate the fact that it is now mandatory that the allergen ingredients are listed on most all types of products in the grocery stores! Especially when the label plainly states that the product contains milk, instead of having to read through the long list of ingredients that often list milk as ‘whey’ or ‘casein.’”

A lot of thoughts came to my mind when I read that article. Here are a few. I’d like to hear yours as well (just click on the Comment link at the end of this entry).

• Thankfully, I find fewer and fewer restaurants have servers or chefs who are not knowledgeable about food allergies, even if this means they know that they don’t know!
• Verona writes that when the chefs don’t know what is in some of the sauces or ingredients, “I sometimes take a chance.” Wow. I doubt this needs saying, but I would strongly advocate NEVER taking this chance.
• Similarly, Verona writes that if allergen ingredients were listed next to each item, “How extremely nice it would be to not have to bother the food server.” Again, I would caution that a food allergic diner would still need to inform their server in order to avoid cross-contamination, whether in the kitchen (shared utensils, oils, etc.) or on the tray.

But let’s get to the heart of the article. Verona believes that restaurants should have to list the major allergens included in their menu items just as consumer products now do. As I’ve added specific restaurant information to AllergyEats, I’ve been able to include this information for the few restaurants that list it publicly, but certainly just a small minority. In my opinion (biased due to my own children’s food allergies), I agree with Verona. How difficult would it be? However, I’m sure some restaurateurs would disagree, possibly referencing the fact that their menu items frequently change, they can’t always audit changes their suppliers make, they sometimes have to make subtle substitutions of items on the fly, and they’re afraid that listing these items will make them more liable if a patron does suffer an allergic reaction. I’m not justifying these answers or even sure if they’re the correct ones; I’m trying to guess what the restaurateurs would say based on what I’ve heard in the past.

Any restaurateurs out there reading this? Any servers? I’d love to hear your opinion. It would be very informative and valuable to the food allergy community to understand the issues that you would face. Of course, I’d also like to hear the opinions of those of you with food allergies or intolerances as well. Please click on “Comments” at the end of this post to share your thoughts.

Finally, I hope you all will consider using the main AllergyEats site (www.allergyeats.com) to not only find those restaurants that list allergen ingredients, gluten-free menus, etc., but also to rate restaurants based on your own experiences. If you’ve found yourself in situations such as Verona’s, it would be very valuable for the rest of us to know that. Just as helpful would be hearing about your positive experiences.

The more people that use AllergyEats and rate restaurants, the better this tool will be for our entire food allergy and intolerance community!

Comments

    Author:
    Pammy
    Written:


    Having food allergies myself, having a fiancee also allergic to milk, and being a bartender at a corporate restaurant, I can empathize with all the sides of the argument in this article. Patrons are often asking me what the ingredients are in a certain dish, and for the most part I know every dish very well. If I don’t, its quite easy to find out. All you really have to say to your server is “I’m allergic.” We even have a special button on our computers to push so that when I write “no cheese” I can add the warning: “ALLERGIC” to it so they no its a serious request. It’s true we have certain sauces pre-made and delivered, but the ingredients are usually on the packaging, if not the managers are able to contact the supplier for a list of ingredients. Liable is liable. If you eat at the restaurant, they’re liable for you whether they list allergens or not. On a PR perspective ( I also have a degree in public relations), we’d rather give you all the facts upfront than cause you accidental harm so as not to be sued. And its just the right thing to do. So, yes, it would be great if allergens were required to be posted on menus as the calorie counts are by law required to be posted (in CA), but there’s no shame in asking either. A great restaurateur will not want to harm their patrons, but will jump through hoops to please them.

    Author:
    administrator
    Written:


    This perspective was so valuable… and encouraging too. Thank you Pammy.

    Author:
    Maureen
    Written:


    Pammy,
    Interesting response. Could you elaborate on the “Liable is liable. If you eat at the restaurant, they’re liable for you whether they list allergens or not.” If restaurants are not required to list allergens, how can they be held liable if a patron has a reaction? Is this something that is particular to CA law?

    “A great restaurateur will not want to harm their patrons, but will jump through hoops to please them.” – yes, yes, yes!!

    Is it not up to the patron to ask about possible allergens as well? Sometimes I see the phrase “Please inform your server of any allergies” on the menu. (In Massachusets) How would that affect the issue of liability? It would be wonderful to have restaurants list all ingredients but I wonder about their ability to keep up with ingredient changes. I once worked at a company (not food related) where documents had to be updated if certain ingredients changed, and there could be weeks or months before the “new ingredient” information was included in the consumer document.

    Another issue is the generic “processed in a facility that also processes wheat/nuts/soy” – how to prevent restaurants from using this phrase as a sort of liability protection?

    I think that allergens should absolutely be listed. I have a wheat sensitivity but do not have Celiac Disease and appreciate servers and restaurants that are informative about their menu items – as you certainly are, Pammy! Restaurants are becoming more sensitive to allergy issues but I wonder if smaller restaurants would have an easier time complying with a “listed allergen law” precisely because they are more involved in the purchasing, processing and operations of their own restaurants.

    My two cents!

    Author:
    Pammy
    Written:


    Hi Maureen!

    I’m really more familiar with CA laws, but many business laws are universal throughout the U.S. When I say “liable is liable,” it means just being in their place of business makes them responsible for you. If you slip and fall or get hurt in any way, their responsible for your well-being once you set foot into their establishment. Now, that’s not to say you shouldn’t take it upon yourself to ask questions and take the initiative to protect yourself. Incidentally, as a PR person, the first thing I’d look into if you were harmed by an allergen is, “Did she ask if there was wheat in the ingredients?”

    Because its not required by law to list allergens, many restaurant cover the liability by printing “Please inform your server of any allergies.” They’re essentially putting the responsibility on you, implying if you didn’t ask then its your fault. Now, unfortunately, I can tell you that there are some servers who are bothered by you asking. It’s horrible to say, but true. I would preface your questions by using the phrase “extremely allergic” even if you’re not. This phrase usually makes a server take questions more seriously.

    Even if the menu changes often, they know the ingredients. All the cooks at my restaurant are trained to make the new dishes, including given a listing of all the ingredients. And they have control over using the same pots and pans used for multiple dishes. And I say again, its possible for the managers to contact a supplier for any allergen warnings on their pre-made sauces. It’s a lot of hoop jumping, but your safety is worth it. So many people have food allergies these days, I’m sure they can sympathize.

    I hope that helps. I don’t consider myself an expert or anything 😉

    Author:
    michabu
    Written:


    Pammy and Maureen,
    your input and opinion is great. I have a 21 yr old son with severe and multiple food allergies (more severe and extensive than most) and I developed a tree nut allergy about 8 years ago (go figure)! I also grew up in the restaurant business with my family owning a number of different restaurants of which I worked in every aspect. This is my take on the issues… Because of my background, when my son was diagnosed with food allergies there was little support and knowledge of the issue but I felt strongly that we should continue our lifestyle to the best of our ability which included eating out weekly. I understood the kitchen and what to ask which I did. We were successful in avoiding all reactions in restaurants by talking and asking the 3 point people that we identified as the most essential in knowing the food ingredients (this was before any labeling requirements). We first spoke to the manager, than often the chef (depending if one was there and available) and definitely to the wait staff since they handle your food, serve it and may have food for other tables on the same tray they are carrying your food. When my son had severe reactions to dairy, we brought our own food, which most reataurants allowed with an explanation and slowly progressed from there. I personally think dairy is one of the hardest allergens to contain in a restaurant so we were extremely cautious and felt unsafe having him eat any prepared foods in the restaurant until his dairy sensitivity decreased so that he now has few reactions to it.
    IIn the restaurant we owned, we used a main chef who prepared the foods in the morning and line cooks which would warm the food or cook the food later in the day or throughout the evening. The line cooks may not know the ingredients in a food prepared by someone else (now they do, I think because of labeling laws) but that was the problem back then and still may be in small mom and pop restaurants, although access to that information is most likely not difficult.
    I do not think there is a substitute for asking and informing restaurants about your food challenges and restaurants are very respectful and have much more knowledge than yrs ago when we were often asked to leave…
    I guess the bottom line is that if you have food allergies or sensitivities, it is very important to have the conversation with the restaurant staff and not to think you will be safe by reading ingredients off a menu. Menu change, ingredients change, restaurant staff change, so protect yourself by feeling comfortable with the discussion. It would be like letting the chef know how you want your meat cooked, rare, med. etc. In all these years, we have never had a reaction from eating in a restaurant and we eat out regularly. My son is now away in college but feels comfotable eating out when he has the money! Liability is an issue in any business but no one wants to see anyone hurt! And always have the ability to treat a reaction if it should occur.
    Sorry for being so long winded!

    Author:
    TomG
    Written:


    I agree that the restaurants should list the eight major allergens and I hope they do not just list all of them for every dish just to cover themselves for cross contamination. My son is allergic to wheat, soy, peanut, milk, egg, beef, pork, shellfish,and tomato so eating out for us usually means bringing food for him. My daughter is peanut, milk, egg, sesame and white fish (cod haddock, etc). When we are in a hotel, we ask them to prepare a chicken dish with olive oil and herbs with steamed vegetables. That usually gets us by. Or we just travel with a couple of bags of rice pasta (Tinyada is the best).

    The main problem with telling a server about the allergies is that, in the case of milk, the ingredient can be called many things like whey and casein to name a couple. They will look for milk and not see it but it could contain whey and frankly, most of the servers we have experienced don’t know that they are related (no offense meant to anyone out there who is a server).

    When we look at packaging in a grocery store the first thing I look for is the isolated BOLD allergens, which saves me a lot of time and I wish all manufacturers would bold the allergens! If we had this on a menu it would greatly simplify eating out.

    We had a case where we used to go to a local restaurant and my daughter would get their chicken fingers because we checked the labeling and they were fine for her. Then one night we went in and the fingers looked slightly different but not enough to throw up a red flag. Half way through the meal she bolted to the bathroom. When we checked the ingredients (we had the server bring us the ingredient panel from the box of frozen fingers) there were three versions of milk and some egg in the list. They had changed vendors and we did not know it. It was the last time we stepped foot in this restaurant.

    We always thought McDonald’s fries were safe until we checked their website and it lists:

    CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK *(Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients). So much for my daughter eating their fries anymore!

    Let’s keep up the crusade for restaurants to list the allergens!

    Author:
    administrator
    Written:


    Great comments, Tom (and everyone else). That last point surprised me because my milk allergic son has been eating McDonalds fries for years w/o ever having a reaction. We rarely think twice these days. Might be time to reevaluate. Thanks for the heads-up.

    Anyone know a chef who could add his/her perspective here on this thread?

    Author:
    Don Messina
    Written:


    While in theory the ability to label menus with allergens is possible, but I have to say it is not very realistic as a solution. What restaurants would have to do is list the entire menu as possibly containing the item to limit exposure to liability. Cross contamination is always possible, and that would be the position of every restaurant. If this was required you would end up with a bunch of microwave food items stipulated by legal departments that would be presented much as Kosher meals are served. I doubt anyone wants to go down that road.

    Author:
    Annette
    Written:


    I have multiple food allergies and gluten intolerance. It is hard enough for me to make my own food, so I rarely eat out. When I do, it has to be somewhere the cuisine can more readily handle my allergies or a high end restaurant that will take the time to care for me. Since I cannot afford to spend over a hundred dollars for dinner for two often, we eat out very infrequently.
    If chain restaurants could provide a COMPLETE list of ingredients at the restaurant, I might be able to eat out with my friends again. A complete list that included seasonings would be a God send for me. I am highly allergic to the capsicum (peppers) family which includes the seasonings paprika, chili powder and red pepper spice.
    I think it is asking too much to request it be put on EVERY menu though. Having a list to accompany the menu would be fine with me and easier to update than a whole menu. Special menus really aren’t of much help since I have multiple allergies and often menus are tailored (gluten-free, vegan, etc).

    Author:
    Heather
    Written:


    I enjoy going to the local Friday’s restaurant when I am in Springfield. They have been very accommodating.

    When I found out about my wheat and my tomato allergies, I asked the server about my favorite dish: the jack daniels flat iron steak; I asked about the sauce because so many sauces have tomato and that is one of my severe. A manager even came to me and asked me about it. I explained, and he even called corporate to get the ingredients. He came back and told me it had neither.

    Another experience I’ve had at this restaurant is with the potatoes. On the menu, it says there are plain potatoes, so I ask every time if it has cheese, as I’ve gotten different responses. The last few times, there has been cheese in it, and the waiters always tell me it come prepackaged. When I tell them it’s a matter of an allergy to the cheese, they always come with cheese-less potatoes.

    Author:
    Heather
    Written:


    And yes, I think they should have the allergens on the menu like products in a grocery store have. It’s far easier with severe allergies to eat out when you know what the sauces and marinades have in them. I feel bad sometimes asking the server about tiny little details because they have to go back and forth to the kitchen so many times. I’d think it’d be embarrassing not to know certain things and be confronted with someone’s food allergies.

    Author:
    BARB
    Written:


    I STRONGLY AGREE THAT RESTAURANTS LIST THE INGREDIENTS OF THEIR PRODUCTS.
    I HAVE MANY ALLERGIES AND TELL WAITERS WHAT THEY ARE AND ASK WHAT DO THEY HAVE THAT WOULD BE SAFE FOR ME. THIS HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL FOR APPROXIMATELY 90% OF THE TIME. HOWEVER…
    I HAD A REALLY BAD EXPERIENCE WITH ONE RESTAURANT IN FAIRVIEW HEIGHTS ILLINOIS THAT SERVES GYROS AND OTHER GREEK FOOD. I HAD TAKEN TWO OF MY FRIENDS THERE, MY DAUGHTER AND SON IN LAW, AND MY HUSBAND AND I ATE THERE ON THREE OCCASIONS FOR LUNCH.
    EACH TIME I ATE THERE I WOULD GET VIOLENTLY ILL. SINCE I HAVE SO MANY ALLERGIES, I COULD NOT FIGURE OUT WHAT WAS WRONG. THE RESTAURANT HAD A 100% HEALTH RATING WHICH IS WHY I WENT THERE TO BEGIN WITH.
    ON MY LAST VISIT, I WAS ORDERING FOR MY HUSBAND AND I. I TOLD THE CLERK THAT I WAS ALLERGIC TO ONION…BIG TIME!!! YOU DON’T WANT TO KNOW THE RESULTS OF ME EATING THEM…IT AIN’T PRETTY.
    ANYWAY, I TOOK 2 BITES OF THE GYRO, THEN DISCOVERED THEY PUT FRESH RAW ONION SLICES ON IT. I TOLD THE CLERK TO GIVE ME A NEW ONE BECAUSE THAT WILL MAKE ME SICK. A FEW MINUTES LATER, SHE BROUGHT ME A NEW ONE. I ASKED DID THEY GIVE ME A NEW ONE OR JUST TAKE OFF THE ONIONS. SHE SAID IT WAS A NEW ONE.
    BY THIS TIME, I WAS GETTING NAUSEATED AND FELT HEATED ALL OVER. I GAVE THE MEAT TO MY HUSBAND TO EAT AND I TRIED TO EAT THE GYRO BREAD ONLY. WHEN I OPENED THE GYRO, I SAW THAT ONION PIECES WERE STILL ON IT. I TOOK IT TO THE OWNER AT THE FRONT COUNTER. SHE REFUSED TO REPLACE OR REFUND. HER HUSBAND STARTED SHOUTING AT ME. I TOLD THEM I WILL GET VERY SICK FROM WHAT THEY DID. THE HUSBAND WAS IRATE. HE STARTED GESTURING WITH HIS ARMS AND HAND, AND HE STARTED STOMPING TOWARDS ME. I TRIED SEVERAL TIMES TO GET THEM TO HEAR ME, BUT THEY REFUSED. THEN THE HUSBAND SCREAMED AT ME TO GET OFF OF HIS PROPERTY OR HE WILL CALL THE POLICE. MY HUSBAND AND I COULD NOT BELIEVE THE RESPONSE. WE WENT OUTSIDE TO GET TO OUR CARS. I CALLED THE POLICE TO ASK WHAT TO DO AND TOLD THEM WHAT HAPPENED. I TOLD THEM HOW HE CAME OUT FROM BEHIND THE RESTAURANT AND STARTED GESTURING AND SCREAMING AT US OUTSIDE. THEY TOLD US TO LEAVE RIGHT AWAY, BECAUSE HE IS THE OWNER AND HAS THE RIGHT TO ORDER US OFF HIS PROPER(ANOTHER ALLERGEN).
    I DO KNOW THAT THEY LOST A MINIMUM OF 90 CUSTOMERS, BECAUSE I AM NETWORKED IN THIS AREA AS AN ADVOCATE. HOWEVER, THAT DOES NOT COMPENSATE FOR THE DAMAGE TO MY BODY. I WAS ILL FOR A WEEK.
    BY THE WAY, MY DOCTOR HAD ALSO PUT ME ON A LOW ACID DIET OF WHICH I WAS TO AVOID PEPPERS AND ONIONS…OF ALL THINGS.
    THANKS FOR LISTENING. IF YOU HAVE ANY FEEDBACK FOR ME, I’D APPRECIATE IT.

    Author:
    T. Moore
    Written:


    I have an allergy to beef, pork, lamb and deer. I work with two people that have the same allergy! We also react about 8 hours after we eat the allergen so you can imagine how hard it was to get diagnosed. We also developed this past our 40’s.
    While dinning out I ask and have even gone into the kitchen and looked at ingredients myself. I found that Ruby Tuesday’s chicken Chile is made with beef stock! Popeye’s uses a lot of pork and pork fat in their food. I too believe they should also be required by law to list all ingredients. A good restaurant will cater to your needs. I just had one make my food from scratch. My seafood Marsala was made with veal stock! Do we know what we are eating? Really?

    Author:
    Nancy
    Written:


    It was interesting to see how helpful the Friday’s in MA was. I am recovering from an incident at Friday’s hee in San Diego. First I am allergic to Bell Peppers, not a very common allergy. I was trying to eat a healthier than normal so i tried a chicken dish. First i asked the waitress if I could get it without the suace becasue I am allergic to bell peppers. then I asked her to note teh allergy on the order becasue once a piece of pbell pepper touches teh plate I don’t want to go near it and you never know when they add it as a garnish. Everythign looked great. Image my suprise when I got half way though the chicken and found a piece of bell pepper in teh rice under teh chicken. None of teh other rice had peppers in it so it looked like they tried to pick teh peppers out instead of leavint the rice off. The waitress assured me she wrote ithe allergy on the order. teh manager came by and said I’s sorry. I asked how this happens and he siad the food staff did not realize thier wqas peppers in teh rice. Theya re visible how can they miss them. This is teh second incident at Fridays but teh otehr tiem it was so obvoiyus on teh plate that I did not get sick. I told the amnager this time that I expect to be compensated for my lost day of work. I am so tired of teh o well attitude.

    Author:
    Jason
    Written:


    Interesting responses. While I don’t have any food allergies, I am a very picky eater and often have to quiz servers and chefs on ingredients. After working in several restaurants, I’d have to agree that most will bend over backwards to try and accommodate special requests of any reasonable nature. Liability is a different issue though. A restaurant has a duty to serve clean and safe food, but food allergies are a specific personal issue. Even though a restaurant does everything they can to keep things safe, food can become cross contaminated in a kitchen that makes products you are allergic to. The risk is yours. If you don’t like the risk, then you should prepare all of your food yourself. Choice is the coolest thing about freedom, but it comes with responsibility too.

    Author:
    Steven
    Written:


    I aquired an Esinophilic allergy to whey protein sometime around my twenties. I ended up stopping eating out, and reading store labels. But lately I notice a local pizza joint has a Binder instore you can ask for anytime to read on the pickup bench or at your table; has all the full ingredients listing for everything. Can’t wait till some other sit down restaraunts follow suit and do the same.

    Funny thing though is later when I spent 2 weeks in the hospital to have a ‘dead’ gallbladder removed; hospital asked about food preferences. They also had a special dietician to call. But they kept putting in the system that I was lactose intollerant; and I kept saying its whey protein that is the issue.
    But they said can’t put it in the system any other way. And kept bringing me stuff that obviously had milk products in it but apparently were lactose free. The person giving me food couldnt understand the difference between lactose intolerance and protein allergy, everytime I brought up the issue. Kept saying lactose intolerance was the only way to select milk issues in the computer. One even told me the cheesecake wouldn’t be an issue for me. 😛

    Author:
    Deanna
    Written:


    I have a nut allergy and feel very uncomfortable asking the waiter what is in every dish that I am considering. I feel that I am troubling the waiter too much especially if I want to order something then find out that there are nuts in it that can not be removed (like a pre-baked brownie). I get that I should take care of myself, but it would be easier to at least include, if just a little pamphlet, on the major allergies.

    Author:
    AEPaul
    Written:


    Deanna, if you don’t inform the server of your allergies, then you risk cross-contamination even if the food you specifically order doesn’t contain nuts. Some of those allergen lists are out-of-date with what goes on in the kitchen. And what if the chef that night decides to fancy things up a little? You owe it to yourself AND to the restaurant to be honest and upfront, and disclose your allergy to them. Sorry to be so direct, but neither of you wants a fatality in their restaurant!

    Author:
    A.B.
    Written:


    I am ANA level allergic to corn & corn derivatives (which means I react to at least 98.5% of ALL additives/preservatives that they could possibly add to food). On top of that, thanks to the corn affliction, my decades long relationship with my latex allergy heightened to include cross-reactives (which were never a problem before). So that added to my allergen list: melon, cucumber, sunflower, tapioca/cassava, apples, bananas (thanks to gassing of all bananas entering the country), grapes, shea, all berries I’ve trialed except cranberries and elderberry, and I can only eat zucchini, tomatoes, onions, peppers, celery, pumpkin and squash if cooked VERY thoroughly. Anything that’s waxed, forget it – corny. Anything that’s not listed as organic is highly risky. Anything that’s listed as organic is still suspect – if they used anything corny, corn can be organic too, so yay.

    I carry a full page of smaller font “no-no’s” that are known corn derivatives. A few on the list are asterisked as “can be made of other substance, best to check manufacturer’s sourcing”. I carry it to help me read labels faster (there’s too many to remember) as well as provide a copy to the chef if I try eating at a restaurant. I find most steakhouses, most ethnic (except Mexican or other high corn dietary countries) and farm-to-table options at least offer some dishes that are safe for me. Occasionally, I find pizza places that are purists and can enjoy a few slices safely.

    I can’t tell you how many times I’ve told the server about my corn allergy (being the most ridiculous, not-so-obvious and scary) only to have them come back with a gluten-free menu. Or the many times I’ve been told (very quickly and confidently) that there’s no corn in something and when I ask to see a label, there’s at least a dozen preservatives, modified food starch, white distilled vinegar or an extract (nearly ALL extracts are corny). I always have to ask what type of salt they use in the kitchen because iodized salt contains corny adhesive to bond the iodine and corn starch to keep it from clumping – none of which is labeled because it is used in the process and not as an ingredient. I react to even the smallest amount.

    So, yeah, having such a severely life-changing allergy, I can speak for all of you when I say that listing specific ingredients is EXTREMELY important to any business’ customers, especially in the food services!!!

    The following information isn’t exactly on topic, but I post this whenever allergies are on topic to help readers be aware of themselves and/or others when it comes to allergies. There is so much medical misinformation out there that it’s basically a global malpractice suit waiting to happen. So, read on if you’re involved in the allergy world/sick with no explained causes (you may find your own experiences within my story)/love someone that is, or just like learning. Symptoms are not allergy-type specific, so I’m sure the gluten-free and any other sufferer can attest to at least some that I mention…

    I, personally, can’t grab ANYTHING at fast food restaurants and can’t even be in the car with anyone going through a drive-thru…the fumes cause reactions. I can’t step foot near a movie theater. Anything with a fragrance or chemicals like perfumes or cleaners are 95% likely to cause a reaction. Anything waxed – forget it. Eco-friendly packaging/utensils/etc. is almost always corn. I must be diligent in labels/sourcing for everything in my life. I have to have my medicines specially compounded because they are ALL compounded with corn or corn derivatives!!!! Even the IV’s, hand sanitizer and disinfectants at the hospitals. Plastics, paper products, inks, cleaners, toiletries, clothing, makeup, soaps, lotions, shampoo, toothpaste – even feminine hygiene products! Talk about over-exposure to a substance! I have to wonder if this isn’t part of the problem with the causes of allergies in today’s society.

    It is NOT true that removing proteins from a substance removes any chance of allergic reactions. I belong to a corn allergy group of over 8800 members that clearly can prove otherwise! That misinformation is highly inaccurate for a vast majority of sufferers. It is possible in SOME cases, but is VERY much NOT the case in others. For example, I can’t have ANY form of corn derivative, protein or not, but I can have the thoroughly cooked versions of some veggies that I react to in their raw state. As a side note – Nearly all of us in the corn group also have multiple food allergies and I’m not even near having the longest list.

    Accurate labeling is truly the most basic necessity for protection of life and the quality of life. For anyone reading this that doesn’t personally suffer from allergies, let me inform you that we’re not talking simple congestion and/or a cough. As repeatedly shared by members of the aforementioned group, the list of possible symptoms includes things that mimic other maladies (and are WAY too often misdiagnosed, causing other major illnesses as a result) like hives, hair/tooth loss, vomiting, leaky gut, major GI issues, heart palpitations, fatigue, mild to severe sinus pressure, mild to severe acid reflux, migraines, confusion (similar to concussion level), suppressed immune system issues, rage, muscular and joint aches and pains, mild to severe eczema, respiratory issues, burning sensations, dandruff/dry skin, sores in the mouth/nose/throat/stomach/intestines, vision issues, loss of taste/smell, depression, anxiety, feeling of dread or something bad is about to happen, dry eyes/mouth, unexplained pain, any problem that can come about from inflammation (inflammation is the main killer no matter what the real cause, but allergies do cause inflammation and will attack any or all of your systems whether you can see/feel them or not)…and ultimately death (whether from lifelong inflammations/exposure to allergens or caused by anaphylaxis)…and any combo of these symptoms are likely to occur.

    The worse the allergy, the worse the symptoms are – as are the likelihood of the combos that make life a living hell. I didn’t realize I had an allergy until I was in my 40’s and had felt like crud for many years. I blamed it on probable arthritis, aging, too much stress, yada yada. Until one glorious day at the office, right after eating lunch, I ended up in the ER with the onset of anaphylaxis. Luckily, this made it obvious – anaphylaxis is an allergic reaction. I had exposed myself to an unknown allergen.

    After being able to read labels of the food I had eaten over the days prior to this ER trip, I was able to narrow it down to about 10 ingredients that were suspect. I couldn’t get an appointment to see an allergist until 10 days later. I was scared to use, eat, drink anything…petrified really, as I clung to the epi-pens the ER prescribed.

    I walk into the allergist office with a determination to find out what it was that could have killed me. I asked for a scratch test of the major local grasses, trees, pollen, common foods and about 6 other food items I knew I had eaten recently. I brought my list of suspected ingredients (all additives). The allergist cut me off saying I couldn’t be allergic to additives…uhhh, really now….I would have walked out at that moment, but I needed to have that scratch test to be able to calm my nerves. I reacted to the corn badly and cucumber, strawberries and grapes followed in lesser severity. The allergist apologized for saying I couldn’t be allergic, adding she should have said highly unlikely…uh huh…I went home and started to do my own research.

    I thank GOD I found the corn allergy group early in the process. They were walking, living cases of what I had been unknowingly battling for years! These people literally saved me from several reactions I would have caused myself just from not knowing what I didn’t know! I read everything I could that they shared, especially hidden corn (like citric acid not being citrus at all, but corn!) and how to relieve my symptoms (it takes up to 10 days to get relief from the most uncomfortable of them). Nearly ALL of these people had a few doctors/allergists telling them false info regarding this affliction based on outdated information. They literally had NO clue in what they call their profession. With all normally compounded meds being corny, and the misinformation about no protein/no allergy, imagine the years of misdiagnosis, pain & suffering from being GIVEN medications that they were actually allergic to and meant to treat an illness they didn’t even HAVE! Such tragedy.

    I do have to give fair warning…no matter what your allergen(s) is/are, everyone IS different in their level of sensitivity, the intensity of their reaction(s) and the places where your allergens hide. Any day could be the day YOUR allergy decides to take it to the next level. Do not consume foods with wanton abandon because another person with the same allergy said they do so safely. Trial cautiously and keep the awareness alive. Share what you know freely. Demand proper treatment, research and protections and never feel that you’re crazy or alone! YOU ARE NEITHER.

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