Food Allergies

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Food Allergies

• Presented by
• Bonnie S. Tazewell
• Extension Agent, Family Consumer Science
• Virginia Cooperative Extension Chesapeake Unit
• Abigail Villalba
• Food safety Specialist- Virginia Cooperative
  Extension

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Food allergies can be life threatening

• Recognize the severity
• Reduce the Risk
• Provide Safe Environment
• Camp staff, kids, parents, and physicians

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Food Allergens

• Outline
• Common Food Allergies
• People Affected
• Symptoms
• Food Allergy vs Food Intolerance
• Controls
• Food Labels
• Identify hidden allergens
• Guidelines to Managing Food Allergies

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What is a food allergy?

• Abnormal response of the body immune system to a
  food
• Can occur within minutes or hrs
• Allergens- Proteins (Heat stable)

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Who is affected with food allergies?

• 6-7 million Americans have food allergy
• 6-8 schoolage children
• 1-2 adults
• Hospitalizations 30,000
• Deaths 100-200 /yr

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Common Foods that Causes Allergies

• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Milk
• Eggs
• Soy
• Fish
• Shellfish
• Wheat

And their products
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Common Food Allergies in Children

• Cows milk
• Eggs
• Peanuts
• Tree nuts
• Soybeans
• Wheat

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Common Food Allergies in Adults

• Peanuts
• Shell fish
• Fin fish
• Tree nuts

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Why do people develop allergies?

• Genetics
• Exposure to allergenic food
• Age at exposure
• Dose, frequency, and duration of exposure
• Immunogenicity of the food
• Development of immunological tolerance

Food Allergy Research and Resource Program
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Food Allergen symptoms

• Hives, Swelling, Rash
• Stomach cramps, Nausea, Vomiting
• Swelling of the throat, tongue
• Difficulty breathing
• Sweating
• Seek emergency assistance!

Occur 2 minutes to 2 hrs after eating
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Food Allergen symptomsAnaphylactic shock
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How a child describes symptoms

• My tongue is hot
• My mouth itches
• My lips feel tight
• My mouth feels funny
• There is something stuck in my throat

Raspy voice, slur speech
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What is a true food allergy?

• A true food allergy occurs if the bodys immune
  system
• overreacts when a certain food is eaten.

• coughing and wheezing
• difficulty in breathing
• stomach cramps
• vomiting and/or diarrhea

• Symptoms
• swelling lips, tongue, throat
• rashes
• itchy skin and/or eyes
• sneezing/runny nose

Severe food allergies can be fatal if not treated
promptly.
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What is a food intolerance?

• A food intolerance mimics a food allergy but does
  not
• cause a reaction by the bodys immune system.

• Example
• Lactose intolerance
• not an immune system response
• unable to digest the sugar in milk
• symptoms similar to allergy
• stomach-ache
• diarrhea

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Controls

• Avoid allergenic -foods
• Read labels
• Ask about ingredients
• Antihistamines
• Less severe symptoms
• Epi-pen
• Severe symptoms
• Future?
• Vaccines

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FDA Food Allergen Labeling Example Option 1

• Ingredients Enriched flour (wheat flour, malted
  barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin
  mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar,
  partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and/or
  cottonseed oil, high fructose corn syrup, whey
  (milk), eggs, vanilla, natural and artificial
  flavoring, salt, leavening (sodium acid
  pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), lecithin
  (soy), mono- and diglycerides (emulsifier)

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FDA Food Allergen Labeling Example Option 2

• Ingredients Enriched flour (wheat flour, malted
  barley, niacin, reduced iron, thiamin
  mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid), sugar,
  partially hydrogenated soybean oil, and/or
  cottonseed oil, high fructose corn syrup, whey
  (milk), eggs, vanilla, natural and artificial
  flavoring, salt, leavening (sodium acid
  pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate), lecithin
  (soy), mono- and diglycerides (emulsifier)
• Contains Wheat, Milk, Eggs and Soy

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Hidden Milk Allergens

• Casein
• Caseinates (ammonium, calcium, magnesium,
  potassium, sodium)
• Hydrolysates
• Lactose
• Nougat
• Whey

Luncheon meats, hot dogs, margarine, Sour cream,
Pudding
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Hidden Egg Allergens

• Albumin
• Lysozyme
• Globulin
• Egg Substitutes
• Dried, powdered, solids

Egg Nog, Surimi, Meringue Mayonnaise, Macaroni
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Hidden Peanut and Tree Nuts Allergens

• Cold pressed, expelled, or extruded peanut oil
• Ground nuts/mixed nuts
• Peanut butter
• Peanut flour

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Hidden Soybean Allergens

• Hydrolyzed soy protein
• Soy sauce
• Tamari
• Tempeh
• Textured vegetable protein
• Tofu

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Hidden Wheat Allergens

• Bran
• Bread crumbs
• Cracker meal
• Flour
• Gluten
• Semolina
• Whole wheat berries
• Whole wheat flour

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Hidden Shellfish and Fish Allergens

• Lobster
• Crab
• Shrimps, Prawns
• Fish

Surimi, Worcestershire sauce, Fish/shellfish
flavoring, stuffing
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Hidden Allergens
Granola Bars
Whole grain oats, sugar, canola oil, rice flour,
honey, soy protein, brown sugar, almond flour,
peanut flour, baking soda
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Hidden Allergens

• Egg Substitutes- Contains egg (whites)
• Non- Dairy Creamers Contain milk and soy
• Surimi (imitation crab meat) contains fish, eggs

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Common Food Additives

• Sulfites (Sodium Bisulfite, Sulfur Dioxide)-
  bleach, preservative
• Can cause severe reactions in sensitive people,
  especially those with asthma.

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Common Food Additives

• Artificial Colorings
• Found In
• Candy, beverages, gelatins, sausage,etc
• May cause allergic reactions in some.

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Common Food Additives

• Casein, Sodium Caseinate
• Found In
• Coffee creamer ice cream, ice milk, sherbet
• Casein is the principal protein in milk. Used
  sometimes in non-dairy and vegetarian foods,
  people who are allergic to milk need to real
  labels carefully.

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Common Food Additives

• Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein (HVP)
• Consist of plant protein (usually from soybeans.
  
• HVP contains MSG, and may cause reactions in
  those sensitive to MSG.

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Common Food Additives

• Lecithin (soy or egg)
• It occurs naturally in soybean oil and eggs
• Found in Baked goods, chocolate, ice cream,
  margarine

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Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies

• Written policy
• Physician statement
• Train food preparation staff
• Authority to give medication

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Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies

• Family Notifies Camp
• Camp application Camper allergies
• Camp staff and volunteers are notified
• Cafeteria workers, life guards, nurses, etc
• Camp Allergy Emergency Plan

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Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies

• Staff Training and Education
• Read labels
• Know names of allergens
• Recognize foods with hidden allergens
• Recognize symptoms
• Use of Epi-pen

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Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies Food
Preparation

• Prevention of cross-contact during food
  preparation
• Separate areas
• Sharing of utensils
• Transfer of food allergens in oil (frying)
• Avoid cross-contamination
• Wash surfaces and hands

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Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies

• Camper Should Know
• Safe and unsafe foods
• Read labels
• No sharing of food or utensils
• No drinking from containers
• Tell if having a reaction

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Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies

• Written emergency instructions and policies.
• Emergency medications and phone numbers
  accessible
• on field trips

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Food Substitution
Regular Lunch Meal Cheeseburger on bun Carrot
sticks with ranch dressing dip Tater tots Apple
slices with peanut butter Choice of milk
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Be aware that

• Some foods labels are older and may not be
  properly label
• Learn or Post the lists of ingredients that might
  indicate hidden allergens
• Teach kids to be sensitive to other kids with
  allergic reactions to foods

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Things to considered

• Classes, crafts, etc. foods may need to be
  substituted
• Wash tables, etc.
• Hand washing after food handling

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American with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Civil rights law
• prohibits discrimination on the basis of
  disability in employment and education in
  agencies, programs and services that receive
  federal money
• Asthma and allergies are considered disabilities
  under the ADA

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Food allergies can be life threatening

• Education, Communication, and Cooperation are
  the keys to preventing allergic reactions

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Sources

• FDA
• www.cfsan.fda.gov
• USDA
• http//www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/pubs/bibs/gen/allergy
  .pdf
• National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
  Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health,
  U.S Department of Health and Human Service
• http//www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/foodAllergy/PDF/f
  oodallergy.pdf (PDF)
• The Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN)
• http//www.foodallergy.org/
• http//foodallergy.org/Spanish/alergenos.html
  (Spanish)
• Guidelines for managing food allergies at camp