As a parent of a child with food allergies I spend a lot of time reading labels.
I'm talking about A LOT OF TIME.
If you happen to see my in the grocery store it's a good bet that you'll find me reading a label.
Food labels are a tough nut to crack sometimes (sorry). There's no rhyme or reason really when it comes to food labeling. Sometimes allergens are listed, sometimes they're not.
The FDA requires that the top eight allergens are listed - milk, egg, peanut, tree nut, wheat, soy, fish, crustacean shellfish - but other than that it's sort of a free for all. There's no real requirement about the whole "manufactured in a facility that processes" labeling.
Which is why parents of kids with food allergies read EVERY SINGLE LABEL.
And if something says "processed in a facility" or "may contain" or anything of that sort and those words are followed by peanuts or tree nuts, it's going to be off limits for Olivia.
The hardest ingredient right now is sesame seed because it doesn't have to be listed at all.
Why?
Because it's NUMBER 9 on the FDA's list of top allergens and only the TOP 8 MUST BE LISTED.
Yep, that's right. There's not a top 10 list of allergens that must be listed - there's a top 8 list. And sesame is number 9.
Things that contain or may contain sesame seeds include bread crumbs, most of the Pepperidge Farm breads, bagels, hummus, Asian food, Mediterranean food, crackers, some pretzels, some chips, and the list goes on.
And it's not always food that is the culprit. Last December I discovered the Lip Smackers brand lip gloss is made with sesame seed oil (WTH?).
So the label reading goes as far as beauty products, lotion, shampoo, makeup, etc.
You just never know where those pesky allergens are going to show up!
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