No Such Thing As Allergy Safe
Many parents with kids with dairy, egg and other food allergies can tell you our frustration with companies and events that claim to be allergy free or allergy friendly. While they refer to their products and/or company as allergy free or allergy friendly, they are often unsafe for kids with possibly as many as 6 of the top 8 allergens as well as non-top 8 allergens.
I have a story to tell and I hope the company involved listens, and I hope the allergy community understands the everyday struggle in which even “allergy friendly “ companies put multiple food allergy families.
For many summers I have been the allergy specialist at a summer camp. I was the one adapting meals and handing out ice cream and ices. I took on this intense job a year after my own son had anaphylaxis at a camp because he was given an ice pop that nobody thought to look if it contained milk as an ingredient. After all, it’s ice right?
Rich’s ice cream company was used, but in 2016 they made the announcement that they were going nut free. Okay, great, I still needed ices. Luckily I found Rich’s products that were okay for dairy allergy too. Fast forward to summer 2019. Rich’s has ice pops that look almost identical to the ones that are safe for dairy allergy, but one contains milk and the other doesn’t. This is the case for 4 flavors, and it’s extremely easy for a mix up to happen. Pictures below.
I then went on to read Rich’s statement on why they have decided to become nut free and focus on food allergies. I wanted to scream. They clearly don’t “get” food allergies. Now, to be honest I don’t really expect an ice cream company to understand what it’s like to live with a life threatening dairy allergy. What I do expect, is that they make a clear distinction between products that contain milk and products that don’t. I expect them to recognize that ice pops shouldn’t have milk in them. It would also be nice — if they really want to be allergy friendly — if they understand the seriousness of all food allergies.
Allergy free is not possible. Food manufacturers need to be careful with their claims now. “School safe” is not realistic, that just means “nut free” despite the fact that schools have students presenting with many different food allergies these days. It’s time more food manufacturers stop focusing the lion’s share of their marketing efforts on those managing peanut and nut allergies. Food manufacturers should at least recognize that by doing so, they are putting consumers with other food allergies at risk by implying their products are safe for all allergies when they aren’t and could never be. It makes finding safe foods even more difficult for people managing non-peanut and nut allergies, and especially puts children with those allergies at greater risk. It’s irresponsible and our children deserve better.
