Category Archives: Food Safety
Food Allergy or Intolerance?
Gluten Sensitive Children and Play Dough
You see, a friend was telling me about his daughter who is extremely sensitive to gluten. When she played with play dough, she would play with it for hours on end, sometimes even eating some. He described it like she was getting some sort of contact high from the play dough. Come to find out, she was. Because the play dough had gluten in it.
Talking Nutrition and ADHD
Allergic Reaction to Food is SERIOUS!
Here are some things that you need to be aware of:
Do Kids Outgrow Food Allergies?
The answer to that is: Maybe. It’s not uncommon for a child to outgrow a food allergy. Of course, you’ll want to discuss this with your allergist and have them do the testing; especially in the case of severe, anaphylactic reactions. Following is information on some common food allergies:
- Milk Allergy – About 19-75% of children have an oral tolerance by age 4
- Egg Allergy – About 4-50% of children have an oral tolerance by age 4
- Peanut Allergy – Roughly 20% of children will develop an oral tolerance
- Tree Nuts – Fewer than 10% of children will develop an oral tolerance
Do you have a child that has outgrown a food allergy? Leave a comment for the benefit of other parents.
Food Allergies at the Crafts Table
- Macaroni art could be a problem for children allergic to wheat or eggs.
- Food baking projects.
- Any project involving nuts, beans or seeds.
But there are some others that you need to be aware of.
- Craft paste – craft paste can contain wheat starch. Check with manufacturers for their ingredients.
- Some crayons contain soy. You’ll want to check with the manufacturer.
- Play-Doh® contains wheat. An alternative is modeling clay.
- Reuse of empty containers – It seems like a good idea to reuse empty containers such as egg cartons and milk containers. But if there’s any allergen residue left behind, it could be a problem. Better to use new containers.
- Tempura paint typically contains egg. Look for other paints.
Ingredients can change so it’s a good idea to check regularly with the manufacturer of craft supplies.
The Fox is Guarding the Hen House!
We like to think that the food we buy at the grocery is safe to eat. That all of the ingredients are approved by the Food & Drug Administration (FDA). That there’s no way we could wind up with untested ingredients in our food. Wouldn’t you agree with this?
Well, guess what. It just isn’t so. Not according to this article: Who determines safety of new food ingredients? In fact, most new ingredients added to foods in the last 15 years have not been reviewed by the FDA. Furthermore, at least 1,000 ingredients have entered our food with the FDA’s knowledge since 1958.
An FDA policy change in 1997 effectively transferred responsibility for food safety from the FDA scientists to the food manufacturers. Which puts the public at increased risk. Bottom line from this article is that it seems that the same people that make money selling foods are determining that their foods are safe. With no oversight from the FDA.
Caveat Emptor!