Day 9 - Just Read the Label People

 

 

Are you allergic to anything?  In my family, we have some pretty significant food allergies and have for the last three years.  My daughter is allergic to all nuts and bananas and my husband is allergic to all nuts and all fish.  Again, this is not a new thing.

 

When we have family dinners, it's important to be able to check the labels of the foods we did not cook ourselves so that we know what is safe and what is not.  It's not a difficult thing to do...you just read the label on the package.  You have to look for any of the allergens in the list of ingredients or in the warning/caution labels that tell if the food was manufactured in a safe place or not.  The packages almost all clearly state this information.

 

So...we found ourselves at a family birthday dinner today.  My daughter wanted a hotdog with a bun.  Simple!  I reached for the bag of buns and noticed it was an unfamiliar brand.  I turned the package over and it clearly stated that it was made in a facility that also processed nuts.  She would not be able to eat the bun.  Then I realized that the hamburger buns were the same brand and carried the same label.  My husband would also not be able to eat the buns.  The cake was a store bought cake made in a bakery which also (of course) processes nuts.  They would not be able to eat the cake either.

 

I realize that this probably seems like a small thing to people that don't have to deal with severe food allergies.  I do.  However, to my family reading the label is a matter of life or possibly death.  It really isn't hard to check the label.  It really isn't hard to find brands that are safe. 

 

It seems like people, especially family members, would be careful to make sure they are serving food that everyone can eat.  It's only one meal every once in a while but it creates huge amounts of frustration and often feelings of being left out.  Just a little extra care would really go a long way.