Kids Food Allergies Blog

 A mom in my food allergy support group provides additional thoughts to support to Beth’s comment that Back to Nature Oreos may not, in fact, be peanut free.  She writes:

Back to Nature recently came out with a Peanut Butter sandwich cookies.  It is in the same shape as their Chocolate Creme (Oreo-type) Sandwich cookie, and it has the exact same emblem on the cookie, same packaging, etc.  Which would lead one to assume that they are made on the same equipment or at least in the same facility.  (I should also add that on the Peanut Butter sandwich cookie box, no where does it have any allergen warning; just says “peanut butter” in the ingredient list — and not in bold print, I may add).

 So since I use so many of their foods, I called many times to try to get answers and was given the same schpele over and over about how, if there was a risk, they would label it.  (I am attaching the schpele below because it is what they put in email form when you email the company).  I also want to add that one time when I called customer service and spoke with a supervisor, the supervisor said “there are not peanuts in the cookies — it is peanut butter”.  So clearly, there are some issues with Back to Nature.  This is the schpele:

 ”We understand that allergic consumers are concerned about the potential carryover of an allergen between products that are manufactured on shared equipment. Most of our production lines are designed to be convertible to other products. If a product is made on shared equipment, every reasonable precaution, including stringent cleaning and sanitation practices, is taken to prevent cross-contact with the eight major allergens (eggs, fish, shellfish, milk, peanuts, soy, tree nuts and wheat). When contact with one of these allergens is unavoidable, then the product is labeled appropriately. Please be aware that formulas may change and the best source of information is the ingredient line. We ask that our consumers take the time to check the ingredient line prior to purchasing a product.

I hope this information will assist you with your food choices.

For more information about food nutrition, visit www.kraftfoods. com and click on Healthy Living.”

The bottom line is that my instincts are telling me that they are doing a very poor job of labeling.  The fact that there is no sort of allergen warning or bold print on the Peanut butter cookies is a clear example to me.  And, again, I have no proof, but my gut says that because the cookies are identical, I would assume that the Chocolate Creme cookies are made on the same equipment or at least in the same facility as the PB cookies, without any cross-contamination warning.  If that is true, that would lead one to reason that they have dropped the ball on cross-contamination labeling in general.

I’m convinced.  Over my daughter’s vehement protests, no more Back to Nature Classic Cream Cookies for my family.  That means I have 11 months and 3 weeks to find another peanut-free cookie to send in for next year’s birthday snack.  Oy vay!

Purple Mommy has done it again. Made me laugh out loud. Not a ha-ha laugh, mind you. Rather an “isn’t the world a sad, strange place” laugh.

Her post about peanut oil appearing in eczema remedies made me think. So many babies and toddlers suffer from eczema. Mine did terribly. And I slathered on her whatever prescription cream(s) her doctor(s) prescribed, hoping it would bring her a little relief. I wonder whether those remedies also contained peanut oil. It never occurred to me to check.

Eczema is an allergic disorder. Food allergies are an allergic disorder. One would think drug manufacturers would take every caution to make eczema medicines hypo-allergenic. Or at least to wave huge red flags for potential patients about the risks of introducing one allergen to combat another.

A London study is examining the correlation of peanut allergies and eczema remedies.

New theories have linked (peanut allergies) to the use of eczema creams containing arachis oil, a medical name for peanut oil. Scientists have found that 90% of children with peanut allergy had previously suffered from eczema, raising concerns that exposing broken skin to peanut oil could trigger the allergy.

The research is part of a 10 year study in the Bristol area called Children of the 90s, following 12,000 children and their parents. Dr Gideon Lack, a paediatric allergy specialist based at St Mary’s Hospital, London, carried out the study into eczema. His initial findings suggest that the breakdown of the top layer of skin in eczema can expose the immune system cells to peanut allergens present in emollients. This could make the cells abnormally sensitive to these allergens.

It is already known that there is a genetic link between eczema, asthma and other allergic conditions, but Dr Lack’s research indicates that emollients could be a key factor in triggering peanut allergy. Children with the condition were eight times more likely to have had their eczema treated with creams containing arachis.

So thanks to Purple Mommy for the reminder to check ingredients in medicines before taking them or administering them to your children. And, as someone who has suffered several bouts of eczema in recent months — my heart goes out to Purple Mommy. And I hope her ear gets better soon.

Three cheers for the Seattle Mariners. The Mariners have designated two “peanut controlled” seating sections for the Aug. 5 game against the Twins and the Sept. 9 game against the Rangers. According to an article posted yesterday on MLB.com:

Sections 311 and 312 in the right-field upper seating area will be cleaned thoroughly before each of the games. Signs will also be posted nearby to alert fans of a ban on all peanut products in those two sections. No peanuts or foods containing peanut products will be sold at nearby concession stands to ensure the safety of those in the section. People who buy tickets in those sections must agree to obey the peanut ban.

If other baseball clubs would try this out, I bet parents of food allergic kids would feel safer taking their kids to games. The only practical downside from my perspective is the seats. My daughter is an avid Nationals fan. And, she has a serious crush on Ryan Zimmerman. She loves sitting on the 3rd baseline to cheer him on. (This season he’s been out with an injury for most of the season, so it hasn’t much mattered.) Something tells me she wouldn’t be happy that — because of her allergies — she was restricted to an upper seating area.

Do you take your peanut allergic kid to baseball games? How do handle it?

I have never been, and probably will never be, a big Rush Limbaugh fan.

So you can imagine my skepticism in opening this link to his comments today on peanut allergies — fearing what he would say and how his followers would respond.

I was surprised and heartened by his response.  According to Limbaugh, this issue is real and can be deadly if not dealt with in time.   He highlights one of my deepest fears as a food allergy parent: mean kids using food to bully and harm others.

Contrast Limbaugh’s position on peanut allergies with this article from a steadfastly liberal magazine, Harper’s: “Everyone’s Gone Nuts: The exaggerated threat of food allergies.”  Never have I read an article that got the whole food allergy issue so totally and completely wrong.

I usually love Harpers — and cringe at Limbaugh.  Here is a case where the exact opposite happened.  Seems ironic that the usually libertarian right wants to help us to protect food allergic kids, and the left thinks that this type of protection is excessive and unnecessary.  In this case — the left got it wrong, and the right got it right.

So, from this reliable Limbaugh foe: mega dittos to Limbaugh for being so right on this very important issue.

Doctors and scientists are working hard to find a solution to peanut allergies. Two approaches look promising: oral immunotherapy and the development of an allergy-free peanut.

As I’ve written before, I am optimistic about oral immunotherapy. So is Dr. Wesley Burks, food allergy expert at Duke University Medical Center, an integral researcher at one of the five research centers conducting the oral immunotherapy trials. According to Reuters, Dr. Burks says that immunotherapy may be available within the next five years.

On to the allergy-free peanut. The good news at least two universities are doing groundbreaking work to develop an allergy-free peanut: N.C. A&T’s School of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, through a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant, and the University of Georgia through a grant from the Georgia Commissioner of Agriculture. If these university research trials are successful, how might this work and how fast would this come to market? A University of Florida newsletter reports:

The next step would then be trying to find or create other stand-ins for the usual suspects of peanut allergens. If that were accomplished, then they would all have to be put together to produce a peanut plant that would replace those used by peanut farmers today.
“Don’t look for this to be something that you’ll see in the next twenty years or so,” said Peggy Ozias-Akins, a peanut genome researcher at the University of Georgia. “There’s a lot of genetics groundwork that we still have to lay before we even know if something like this can be done.

In addition to the long-time horizon, I am a skeptic of the allergy-free peanut. Why? I am guessing that it will be costlier than regular peanuts. Therefore, I would suspect that conventional peanuts will continue to be used by large-scale manufacturers in the products my daughter’s peers eat. So, even if there is a “peanut”-butter she will be able to eat — she will still be eating it by herself at a nut-free table while other kids enjoy their conventional peanut butter and jelly.

I guess five years isn’t so long to wait for oral immunotherapy. Just in time for my second child to enter kindergarten.

If you’re reading this post, I imagine you’ve heard about the “allergy desensitization studies” or “oral immunotherapy studies” that are taking place at several major medical facilities across the United States.

• Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York; Principal Investigator: Hugh Sampson, M.D.
• Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore; Principal Investigator: Robert Wood, M.D.
• Duke University School of Medicine, Durham, NC; Principal Investigator: Wesley Burks, M.D.
• University of Arkansas Children’s Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock; Principal Investigator: Stacie Jones, M.D.
• National Jewish Medical and Research Center, Denver; Principal Investigator: Donald Leung, M.D., Ph.D.

Some studies focus on milk or eggs. Others, peanuts. From what I understand, in these trials, allergic individuals ingest increasing doses of an allergen. As they are able to safely ingest more of the allergen, the immune system is strengthened to better tolerate the allergen and protect against future allergic reactions.

Sounds like the same concept as an allergy shot. And preliminary findings of these trials seem encouraging, though the results are not yet conclusive. So why am I so reluctant to consider it? If an allergy shot goes bad — you might be uncomfortable for a couple of days. But food allergies seem like an entirely different (and more severe) animal. And the reactions can be much more rapid and severe, with more dire consequences.  My daughter’s reaction to peanut is so high that her allergist no longer feels comfortable skin testing her for fear of sending her into anaphylaxis. Why on earth would I purposely ask her to swallow peanuts?

On the other hand - maybe the severity of her allergic reactions makes this type of treatment even more important and dare I say necessary. As she makes her way in the world, inadvertent exposure to her allergens seems nearly inevitable. Even if oral immunotherapy can’t “cure” her allergies — but rather lessen the severity of her reaction to them — it might be worthwhile to consider.

The results of 2 clinical trials seem illustrative.

Johns Hopkins conducted a trial of 11 young children and teens (ages 6-17) with proven milk allergies. At the beginning of the study, all 11 kids exhibited symptoms after ingesting 40 milligrams of milk protein. At the end of the trial, the researchers gave the kids an 8,140-milligram challenge: 10 out of 11 passed.

Duke conducted a trial of 20 peanut-allergic children who were initially given the equivalent of 1/3,000 of a peanut. Most were eating a peanut a day within six months with little reaction. By the end of the Duke peanut desensitization trial — 19 out of 20 (95%) participants were able to tolerate 8 grams of peanut protein, or the equivalent of more than 13 peanuts.

Maybe this idea isn’t so crazy after all. Or is it?

If anyone has direct experience with these trial studies, please share your experiences here.