High School Freshman in Coma

A 14 year old, high school freshman girl is in a coma after going into anaphylactic shock. The coma is a result of delayed CPR and an extended period of time without oxygen flowing to her brain. There are plans later this week for her to undergo surgery so that a feeding tube can be inserted.

Apparently, she was hanging out with some friends after school and they were eating Kellogg's Crunchy Nut cereal for a snack. The words "peanut" or "nutty" appear about 20 times on the cereal box. She did know the severity of her allergy. There is no mention of an epinephrine pen anywhere in the article. Her dad mentions that Benadryl had worked on past minor allergic episodes to MSG and preservatives.  Here's the link if you'd like to read the full story and see the Fox News video clip interviewing the girls father.

I really don't know how to comment. It's a very tragic tale that brings up more questions than answers.  I can say this though.  It's a perfect example of one of the main reasons that my husband and I decided to pursue the peanut clinical trial at Duke, and why we're putting Abigail as well as our family through repeated 290 mile round trips to the Duke Clinical Research Unit, multiple blood and skin tests and a daily regiment of drops for 3 years.  We were very concerned of what would happen when our very strong-willed, opinionated daughter reached the pre-teen and teenage years and was no longer under the constant supervision of either ourselves or another adult.  My husband agrees.  Ironically, when I told him about this girl in Phoenix and the tragedy, his first comment was, "that's why we are in the clinical trial."  What a blessing this trial is for our family, and we pray that the results bless many in return.

A mom wrote on a food allergy message board that she trains all of her teenage daughter's close friends on the signs of an allergic reaction and the administration of an EpiPen.  Prior to letting her daughter go anywhere with her friends, she makes sure that they are all aware of where the EpiPen is and asks that they make sure it doesn't get left behind in the car.  What a great tip.

In the meantime, we need to keep this young girl and her family in our prayers.  I can't imagine what they must be going through or how much they are suffering.

Girl Scout Cookies - 2011

Abigail "bridged" from a Daisy to a Brownie Troop this year.  When the cookie sales started in January, we didn't have a mother that wanted to be "Cookie Mom."  I thought we were going to get away with not having to sell cookies.  It's not that I don't love a good Thin Mint or Samoa, but the cookies don't come close to meeting my healthy food standard nor are they particularly food allergy friendly.  Well, one of the girls in the Troop really wanted to have the cookie selling experience so, here in February, her mom said she'd assume the role of coordinating the cookie sales.  Our Troop could use the money so with some enthusiasm, I'm off to go help Abigail sell some cookies.  It's stiff competition around here and we're late entering the game so we'll need some luck.

It appears that the Regional Council can decide which of the two licensed Girl Scout cookie manufacturers they'll use.  Our cookies come from Little Brownie Bakers (LBB) in Louisville, Kentucky.  It's a subsidiary of Keebler, owned by Kellogg's.  If you guys are frequent readers of my blog, you know that I've posted about the Kellogg's company and their use of genetically modified ingredients.  If not, here's a link to that post.  ABC Bakers is the other licensed Girl Scout cookie manufacturer, and they're located in Richmond, Virginia, ironically, closer to us than Louisville, Kentucky.

Each bakery can offer up to 28 different varieties and are responsible for naming them.  According to Wikipedia, "the national Girl Scout organization reviews and approves all varieties proposed by the baking companies, but requires only three types: Thin Mints, Peanut Butter Sandwiches (ABC)/Do-Si-Dos (LBB) and Shortbreads (ABC)/Trefoils (LBB). The other kinds can be changed every year, though several popular favorites, such as Caramel DeLites (ABC)/Samoas (LBB) and Peanut Butter Patties (ABC)/Tagalongs (LBB), are consistently available."

This year there are four peanut/tree nut safe cookies offered by Little Brownie Bakers.  They are the Trefoils, Samoas, Thank U Very Munch and Thin Mints.  According to their website, they label using a "May Contain" statement.. "For peanuts and tree nuts, we have chosen to include cautionary labeling in the form of a "may contain" statement. This indicates that the product shares processing equipment with another product that contains peanuts or tree nuts."  Here's a link to their Nutrition Guide.

Here is the link to the ABC Bakers' Nutrition Guide.  They also label with a "May Contains" statement, "in addition, we call out all allergens on our packaging and order cards and provide specific warning if a product is made on a line that also produces product with a common allergen such as peanuts."  There are just three peanut/tree nut safe varieties for this year.  They are Thin Mints, Thanks-A-Lots and Lemonades.

So, once again, Abigail will be selling cookies that she can't eat, and I'll be buying cookies that I don't want to eat.  I am really late in posting this information.  Most of you have already probably been approached to purchase a box..or two.  I was really hoping that we were getting out of selling this year.  So close!

Kellogg's and Kashi

If you're kept up to date by the Organic Consumer's Association, then this is old news; however, with an image like this, I find it very fitting to write this post here at Halloween.

Recently the OCA asked that consumers join them in boycotting Kellogg's based on their use of genetically engineered ingredients.  The catalyst for the boycott was a response received by a Kellogg's Consumer Specialist excusing the use of these ingredients by stating that because organic ingredients are subject to cross-pollination with other genetically modified (GM) ingredients than there's no need to bother eliminating the GM ingredients...or something to that effect.  I've copied the response from the OCA Take Action Alert:

Thank you for your comments regarding the use of biotechnology ingredients. Like you, we want only the best ingredients to go into our products.

Biotech ingredients are safe and have become common in the open market. Sixty to seventy percent of packaged foods in the U.S. include biotechnology crops. Even organic ingredients can contain biotech ingredients due to cross-pollination.

We use biotech ingredients based on the backing of groups including the World Health Organization, the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, and the American Medical Association that confirm there are no safety concerns.

Given that I was already unofficially boycotting Kellogg's, having already removed their products from our grocery cart due to their use of GM ingredients, this was no big sacrifice.  That is until I realized that Kellogg's owned Kashi.  Now it's an entirely different story.

I like the Kashi products and have highlighted them in past posts.  A big reason for that is I feel that the company is very responsible in their food allergen labeling, that their product is a healthy alternative to the main stream brands and that the company has a great focus on the environment and sustainability.  In a company profile, I learned that Kashi itself isn't a big company (if you take Kellogg's out of the equation) consisting of just 70 employees.  I had my suspicions about their use of GM products so I limited our purchases to their breakfast cereals.  My kids like the cereals and don't complain when they're served it for breakfast instead of something with an animal mascot on the front of the box.  Frankly, it's quite hard to find cereal that meets my high standards and is also safe for Abigail.  Most "organic" cereals are processed in a plant with other peanut products.

I recently contacted Kashi about their use of GM ingredients, and got the following response:

Thank you for contacting us about our products and the use of genetically modified organisms. At Kashi Company we believe in providing pure, delicious, minimally processed foods for our consumers.

The basis for our product line is our proprietary blend of Seven Whole Grains & Sesame. The whole grains include oats, long grain brown rice, hard red winter wheat, rye, buckwheat, barley, and triticale. None of these grains are commonly harvested using genetically modified organisms.

We do not voluntarily source ingredients that are genetically modified. Due to cross-pollination at the level of the farm and manufacturer it has created an environment in North America where GM is not sufficiently controlled therefore we cannot guarantee that the ingredients we source are GMO free.

Certified organic products are grown using non-GM seeds, but even organic products face significant challenges when it comes to controlling for contamination. Kashi does offer an organic line of cereals called Organic Promise™. 

I can see the Kellogg's influence in their statement concerning the cross-pollination of non-GM plants.  In addition to my reply, here's a link to a message board discussing Kashi's ingredient sources for some of their other product lines.

Here's what I decided.  My favorite cereal is the Organic Promise Cinnamon Harvest cereal and my kids go through a box of Oat Flakes & Blueberry Clusters every couple of days.  My cereal is organic, and the kid's cereal is made using their blend of whole grains none of which are high on the GMO list.  I've found a couple of other safe cereals at Trader Joe's that I now purchase in large quantities to add some variety.  As for the rest of the Kashi products, I don't purchase those anymore.

It makes me both sad and mad at the same time that this much thought, effort and research has to go into the food we purchase.  I'm also disappointed to find an otherwise healthy line of food made toxic by the use of genetically modified ingredients.  Kashi, take note....there are other really good food manufacturers doing what it takes to ensure that they use quality, organic ingredients.  And, as soon as Abigail finishes this clinical trial, and can eat foods processed in a plant that uses peanuts, we're switching!!