Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series about food allergies and the efforts by public health agencies, schools, legislators and parents to make it easier and safer for allergic individuals to manage risks.
A chronic disease with no known cure. An emerging epidemic that affects up to 15 million people in the…
Food recalls related to illness outbreaks tend to get a lot of headlines, but undeclared allergens in foods continue to be a leading cause of recalls.
To read a report from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Food Allergy Research and Resource Program about the number of FDA and USDA recalls related to…
The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) reports “a notable increase” in the number of recalls due to undeclared allergens in regulated products and the agency has called a public meeting to talk about it.
According to FSIS, more than 170 foods have been reported to cause allergic reactions, but most…
Kraft Heinz Company of Fullerton, CA, is recalling approximately 959 pounds of ready-to-eat “Lunchables Ham and American Cracker Stackers” packaged lunch products due to misbranding and undeclared allergens, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) announced Sunday.
The product contains wheat and soy, known allergens,…
Of the estimated 15 million people in the U.S. with food allergies, nearly 6 million are children. And those who are severely allergic to a particular food item, especially kids, can become very anxious when they run into the problem food in any form. For example, someone with a peanut allergy who gets close to…
On Friday, Eastland Food Corp., based in Columbia, MD, recalled a single lot of Euro Custard Cake because it contains an undeclared milk ingredient. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to milk run the risk of a serious or life- threatening allergic reaction if they consume the affected Euro Custard Cake. 
The impacted…
It’s a mystery playing out in post-Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA) fashion. Supply chains are being laid down side by side to see if there is any way that soft red winter wheat grown in southern Georgia could have been contaminated with peanut residue. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is looking with fresh…
(This article was originally posted here and is reposted with permission.) People with allergies know how important it is to stay away from allergens to which they are sensitive. But what if those substances are in your food and you don’t know it? You can check the food label for certain allergens. The Food Allergen…
In an effort to reduce adverse reactions to food allergens, along with potential recalls, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) has released a 26-page set of guidelines to assist meat, poultry, and processed egg product producers in properly managing ingredients which could trigger such problems. “Our mission as a public…
(This article by Roy Costa, a registered sanitarian and president of the consulting firm Environ Health Associates Inc., was originally posted here on May 31, 2015.) A recent spate of food product recalls due to undeclared allergenic agents illustrates the problem the food industry has in preventing allergen exposures.
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