New Rules May Protect Food Allergy Sufferers in Canada
As it stands currently in Canada, manufacturers of food products list ingredients that are added to foods, but they do not have to list what may be a component of an ingredient. Under new rules, this will change.
Food producers will need to list ingredient components especially as it relates to known food allergens according to an article in the Globe and Mail. For example, whey, a milk protein, added to margarine will need to be listed so that milk allergy sufferers will not be affected as will wheat which affects many allergic to the grain.
In that this big change is now happening in Canada, labels for food products are not quite at the required level of detail, but the article makes several important suggestions about buying food in the interim:
- Always read ingredient lists and get comfortable with knowing the ingredient names that may indicate known allergens for you or your allergic family member or friend. For example, casein is not good for those with milk allergies.
- When dining out, always ask about ingredients. And, if you don’t get an answer from the server, ask the chef directly.
- Make sure that you don’t cross-contaminate your food by preparing foods with allergens in the same area as foods that are allergic-ingredient free.
- If you suffer from food-related anaphylaxis, do not eat unless you have your epinephrine auto-injector. Epinephrine should be with you at all times.
