A Winnipeg parent and the national agency dealing with food allergies are calling for clarity when it comes to food labelling and the use of ‘may contain’ disclaimers.
Teresa Yehudaiff’s three-year-old son Kobe’s anaphylactic reaction to sesame resulted in a 911 call when he was just a baby. He broke out in hives all over his body and he was throwing up.
“Ever since then, it’s just been like very, very scary, checking the labels and everything, making sure all the foods are safe,” the mother of two said.
“Sesame can sneak up in so many different foods.”
They purged their cupboards of anything that could contain sesame, “which was a majority of our foods,” she said.
When shopping, Yehudaiff checks food labels again and again, even for products she’s familiar with, in case companies change their ingredients.
So many products have “may contain” statements that her family is very limited at the grocery store, she told Global News.
“The first time I actually went grocery shopping, trying to find a safe bread, I almost cried in the bread aisle because I couldn’t find any product that was safe for him at the time,” Yehudaiff said.
Experiences like hers aren’t uncommon. About six per cent of Canadians live with a physician-diagnosed priority food allergen, including eggs, fish, sesame, sulphites and tree nuts, Health Canada says. The others are crustaceans and molluscs, fish, milk, mustard, peanuts, soy along with wheat and triticale.
Food Allergy Canada says “may contain” warnings began appearing on pre-packaged goods more than two decades ago and were intended for products where cross-contamination was possible — but now companies are using them more broadly, for bulk foods and in restaurants.
“In some cases, you know, consumers are questioning that. Why is every allergen in a ‘may contain’ statement when this is supposed to be a cracker or a cookie?” said Beatrice Povolo, the organization’s director of food safety and regulatory affairs.
The labels would be more helpful if they explained the risks, Povolo said. Clear labelling is especially critical for people managing multiple allergens, she said.
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“We talk about food labels being the lifeline for consumers.”
Precautionary ones like “may contain” are voluntary and aren’t regulated by Health Canada. Food Allergy Canada wants that to change.
“For a manufacturing perspective, I think that means taking a risk-based approach to the decision on whether or not to use a ‘may contain,’ and looking at where allergens can be controlled throughout the manufacturing process in order to minimize the risk of an allergen ending up in a product where it was never intended,” Povolo said.
In a statement, Health Canada told Global News it’s working with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency along with Food Allergy Canada to improve precautionary allergen labelling. Few countries have specific regulations on how and when to use them, a spokesperson added.
“Currently, Health Canada is examining the use of thresholds for allergens, above which precautionary allergy labelling could be required through its work at the international level. However, any approach taken will need to ensure that allergic consumers are not exposed to unintended adverse consequences,” they said.
Discussions at the international level through the Codex Alimentarius Commission are ongoing, but they won’t lead to any changes in the near future, they said.
Ideally, manufacturers will only use precautionary allergen labelling when, despite good practices, the unintended presence of an allergen is unavoidable, the spokesperson continued.
In the meantime, Yehudaiff won’t let Kobe take the risk because he’s so young. Food Allergy Canada advises avoiding products that list a person’s allergen. The organization recommends doing a triple check: before buying a product, before storing it at home and before eating.
Her toddler outgrew his peanut allergy, but annual skin prick tests confirm he’s still sensitive to sesame. His allergies surprised the family without a history of either. Yehudiaff said she did everything she’d researched about reducing the risk of her children developing allergies: introducing them early and often.
“A food allergy can really hit anyone,” she said.
Yehudaiff picked up baking and teaches Kobe how to make foods safely.
“It would be nice to have some type of regulation, more of what that ‘May Contain’ statement means, so that we can make a more informed decision.”