Food Allergen Labeling, Part 1

When a family member has a food allergy, especially a life-threatening one, reading food labels becomes an obsession.  I don't think I purchase a single thing anymore without first reading the label.  Even if it's a product that I know to be safe, I still take a quick glance to make sure that the label hasn't changed to now include a cross-contamination warning.

I thought I'd spend some time discussing food allergen labeling. Even though, I've read labels faithfully now for almost 6 years, I recently learned something about the allergen labeling law that surprised me.

In January of 2006, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) went into effect.  Here's what it addreses:

• Food manufacturers must disclose "major food allergens" to include milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and Crustacean shellfish.

• The allergen must be identified by name, i.e., cashews, tuna, shrimp, etc.

• A scientific ingredient like casein may be listed, but a more consumer friendly term, like milk, has to also be included.

What it doesn't address:

• Allergens not considered major, for example, sesame seeds or cinnamon do not have to be listed and can be included in the terms "spices" or "natural flavors".

• Non-crustacean shellfish like clam and squid are not included.

• The "May Contain" advisory statement is voluntary.

That last one was the shocker for me.  For whatever reason, I've been under the impression for the last 6 years that labels had to include the "May Contain" statement and that a statement like "Manufactured in a Facility that also Processes Peanuts" was the voluntary one.

I didn't realize this until I recently contacted Pepperidge Farms about their products.  I was looking at one of their variety cookie products and was shocked to see that pecans was included in a very long list of ingredients, but there was no "May Contains" statement.  I e-mailed them questioning this, and they advised me that they were in complete compliance (I'll post their response at a later date).  Doubting them lead me to further research.

I can't believe all this time I thought a "May Contain" statement was a requirement.  In fact, as published in The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, an audit done in 2009 of 20,241 products showed that only 17% included an advisory statement.  Chocolate candy, cookies and baking mixes had the highest frequency.  Here's a chart (found in a report given to the FDA on the Use of Advisory Labeling of Allergens in Foods) indicating the products with the highest usage of an advisory statement.

A subset of this audit also indicated that there were over 25 different advisory terminologies, i.e., "May Contains", "Manufactured in a Facility", "Manufactured using the Same Equipment", etc.  No wonder we spend so much time reading labels at the grocery store.  And for me, contacting companies for clarification of their labels.  Wouldn't it be nice if there were some regulated standardizations!!

There is another study indicating consumers perceptions of risk associated with the various advisory terminologies which I will review in my next post.  In the meantime, I have a question for other parents of children with life-threatening food allergies.  What is your comfort level with food packaging labels?  Are you okay with products made on the same line?  What about in the same facility? And, if a manufacturer tells you it's safe, do you take their word for it without understanding their manufacturing process?  I've included a poll at the top of the blog for your answers.

Grocery Shopping Woes

Grocery Shopping is no longer easy.  Not that it's always been a walk in the park...especially those trips where both kids are with me.  But, now that I'm reading labels not only for peanut allergens, but also for GMO's, rBST, artificial colors, sweeteners, etc., it's become a major, time-consuming effort.  I've gotten pretty good about knowing what products meet our family guidelines.  It's just that I can't purchase them all at one store.  In fact, I now shop at seven different stores.

Our Sunday School class is doing the Crown Financial Study.  My husband and I have started to take a close look at our day to day expenses.  I was pleased to see that eating healthy hasn't increased our food expenditures by a huge amount.  What was shocking was to see that I had made over 21 trips to a grocery store in a one month period.  Quite frankly, I've got better things to do with my time!

Here's what's happening.  I love Trader Joe's.  The prices are very reasonable and their foods meet our healthy eating requirements.  However, because of Abigail's peanut allergy, I can't purchase any of their breads, the majority of their boxed products (cereal, snack bars, etc.), a good many of their baking items, a lot of their frozen items or any of their cookies or other sweet treats.  So, at Trader Joe's, I stock up on what I can, but that leaves a ton of items that I have to purchased elsewhere. They also have the best price on organic produce, but it's a 30 minute drive to the closest store so I only make the trip once a month.  That leaves me looking for everything else we need at the other 6 stores that I shop.

I should explain that the reason we haven't seen a huge increase in our food budget even though we are purchasing organic, natural and peanut free is because I shop at so many different stores.  For instance, I stop into Food Lion to purchase our Jone's Colas.  They're just $2.99 versus $4.99 at Harris Teeter.  Wal-Mart carries a few organic products and have the best prices on those items, but the selection is very limited.  I go to BJ's for diapers and paper products.  While Harris Teeter tends to be the most expensive on basics, they have the best selection and a few products that I can't find anywhere else.  Fresh Market has the best price on certain organic produce items, and Target has rGBH-free dairy items that I purchase when I can't get to Trader Joe's.  And, if a store does a special event with triple or double up to $1.99 coupons, I'm probably shopping there too.  Don't laugh (my husband does), but I've had to create a spreadsheet to keep track of all of this.

So, what to do?  This is going to be a stretch, but I'm going to try to plan a monthly menu.  I've started this weekend working on just a 2 week menu and will work my way up to doing a month at a time.  Considering that there are many evenings that I don't start figuring out what's for dinner until dinnertime, this is a big deal.  Hopefully, the payoff will be big.  My goal is to simplify my afternoons and decrease our food budget by purchasing in bulk.  Mostly though, I want to gain lots of time by eliminating the 3 to 4 trips I make each week to grocery stores.

There are a lot of resources on the internet.  Last night I found someone that put their meal calendars and shopping list templates online for upload.  It's a good starting place.  I also purchased a 5 ingredient crock pot cookbook.  My kind of cooking!  Now, I just need to take my menu and translate it into 6 different shopping lists!  Wish me luck!