Food allergies are not uncommon. In fact, they impact 1 in 13 people (adults and children) in the USA. While that represents less than 10% of the population, it’s at a rate high enough that you probably know someone with a food allergy. It’s a child in your son’s class. It’s a teammate on your daughter’s lacrosse team. It’s your co-worker. It’s a friend from your book club. Maybe it’s your child. Maybe it’s your partner. Maybe it’s you.
Somewhere in your sphere, there’s someone who is at risk from a particular kind of food. Being aware of food allergies, and how to keep people who live with them safe, is increasingly more important. There are, however, many misconceptions about the potential risk of cross-contamination with food allergens that can often put those living with allergies at risk. Let’s dispel some of them.
“Cross-contamination labels are more CYA than anything else.”
Depending on the study you find, up to 10% of products with precautionary language regarding the potential for cross-contamination contain enough of the listed allergens to trigger a reaction in an allergic person. In other words, “may contain” or “processed in a facility” or other related language on the label is not legalese. It means of the 1000 bags of candy with such language placed in front of you, statistically, 100 of them might be a problem for someone with a food allergy.
Allergic individuals should assess their actual risk and the proper way to respond to such labels with their allergist. Those of us providing food for class parties, sports teams, and social gatherings, should be aware that cross-contamination labeling is a valid reason to avoid a particular product.
“Labels that say processed on shared lines are more serious than [fill in the blank]”
Let’s be clear, at the moment, cross-contamination labeling is completely voluntary and unregulated. There is no legal, nor research-based standard of when a product is labeled. Nor is there any agreed upon common language for those labels. Researchers have found no difference in overall risk to a food allergic patient based on the language used in voluntary labeling.
In other words, products that say, “May contain peanuts, egg, milk” are no different in terms of overall risk to an allergic person than a product that says “Processed in a facility that also processes peanuts, eggs, milk,” as well as one that says “Processed on shared lines with…”
This is important. If you want to avoid products that are at risk of cross-contamination based on voluntary labeling, you need to avoid all variants of that labeling. There is no option that is at less risk than another.
“I’ll just take out the nuts…”
You picked up a variety pack of the best cookies you’ve ever had for a social gathering. These aren’t individually wrapped cookies on a platter. There are scrumptious chocolate chip cookies layered next to beautifully frosted sugar cookies, macadamia nut white chocolate chunk cookies and peanut butter cookies. Setting aside the chocolate chip cookies and the sugar cookies for your tree nut and peanut allergic pals is not an option. Having them all in the same package means any cookie in that container is no longer safe for someone with an allergy to those macadamia nuts or peanuts.
From crumbs to oils, there may be bits of the protein that can trigger a reaction in an allergic present on the non-peanut/tree nut cookies. Likewise, picking out the almonds from the yummy salad you made doesn’t make the dish safer for your allergic pal any more than pulling the cheese off the pizza is okay for your dairy allergic friend. Once something has been in contact with an allergen, it's no longer safe for an allergic person.
“A friend of my aunt’s neighbor safely eats this…”
Food allergic individuals have different allergy management protocols. Their plan should be developed in consultation with their allergist based on their specific medical history and lifestyle. The best way to keep a food allergic person safe is to respect their specific allergy management protocol. Ask them what they can and can’t have. Don’t make assumptions.
Some individuals have made the choice to not worry about avoiding products with cross-contamination labeling. Some have made the decision to only eat the food they personally bring to activities and events. Some are comfortable eating out. Some are not. And the reality is, they are all correct if that’s what is working for them. They have all made the choice to do what’s best for them, (hopefully) based on a conversation with their doctor.
