Two new studies suggest that such a treatment could help children increase their tolerance for nuts.
Researchers gave allergic kids doses that began as small as one-thousandth of a peanut and gradually upped their intake to about 15 peanuts a day. Many of the kids in the studies were able to tolerate the treatment, but four kids dropped out because they had allergic reactions. The research at Duke University and Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock involved a small sampling, just 33 kids in one study and 18 in another.
Researchers, who presented the results at a conference on Sunday, said the the results were promising and could eventually lead to some sort of treatment for peanut allergies, the New York Times reported. For now, parents are advised not to try such treatments as home. About 2.2 million American children suffer from food allergies, and exposure can lead to severe reactions and even death.
The grocery store was responding this week to reports that Wellshire Kids brand products actually contain the substance, even though they were labeled “gluten-free.” Previously, Whole Foods had hesitated to remove the foods, saying it was the supplier’s responsibility, not the store’s, to make sure they were safe.
An investigation last month by the Chicago Tribune uncovered that Dinosaur Shapes Chicken Bites, Chicken Corn Dogs and Beef Corn Dogs made by Wellshire Kids and sold exclusively at Whole Foods contained high levels of gluten. The protein is found in wheat, rye and barley and cause severe reactions in those with wheat allergies.
Whole Foods told the Tribune that it will more closely monitor “gluten-free” items and have a stricter definition of which products meets its standards.
Peggy Pridemore of Hebron, Ky., wonders why Whole Foods didn’t do all that earlier. Her 4-year-old son is one of at least two kids who had to be treated at a hospital after eating the dino-shaped chicken nuggets. “It’s shameful that it wasn’t done sooner because they were knowingly putting customers in jeopardy,” Pridemore said.
Read more here about how many foods are mislabled allergen-free, but are not recalled.
U.S. companies are recalling Irish pork products after an announcement from Ireland this week that some Irish pork tested positive for illegal levels of dioxin, a toxic chemical. The government has ordered a recall or destruction of all Irish pork products produced since Sept. 1.
No illnesses have been reported, and Irish, British and European Union officials say that dioxins have to be consumed for years to pose a cancer risk. The items being recalled in the United States include:
– Rosderra meats and Roscrea pork loin back ribs that were sent to restaurants in California.
– Dawn Pork & Bacon and pork loin back ribs that were stamped “Product of Republic of Ireland,” shipped to distribution centers in Florida.
– Tommy Moloney’s Traditional Irish Breakfast Bacon, made from imported Irish pork, sent to retail stores in California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and Virginia. Stop & Shop Supermarket issued a notice saying that products can be returned to its stores for a refund. Consumers with questions can call Tommy Moloney’s, a New York-based company, at (800) 431-6365.
All batches of low-protein imitation cream cheese and peanut butter made by Cambrooke Foods LLC are being recalled because they may be tainted with Listeria, an organism that can cause fatal infections in young children and elderly people
No illnesses have been reported, according to a news release from the Massachusetts company. The contamination was discovered during routine batch testing at a processing facility. The company has stopped production until an investigation is completed by the Food and Drug Administration.
Consumers are advised to return any of the products bought since May 2008. For more info about how to obtain a refund, call Cambrooke Foods at (866) 456-9776, ext. 1015, or go to its Web site.
California-based Kashi Company is recalling 110,000 canisters of its GoLEAN Powder chocolate Energy Shake Mix because it contains milk, which is not listed on the product. No allergic reactions have been reported. The affected cannisters have a “better if used by” date between Jan. 17, 2009 and Nov. 15, 2009 and were sold at various grocery, health food, pharmacy and online stores. More info is available by callling (877) 747-2467.
Vegan Rella Cheddar Block, a cheese substitute, is being recalled because it may contain an undeclared milk protein.
One person has reported an allergic reaction, according to a news release posted by the Food and Drug Administration. The product, made by Panos brands of New Jersey, has a sell by date of Dec. 9 and was sold in various retail stores. Conumers can return the product to the place of purchase for a refund. Those with questions can call (800) 494-8839.
Increasingly, many packaged foods marketed as allergen-free have to be recalled. Read a previous Minor Troubles posting on the topic here.
Many packaged foods marketed as allergen-free actually are not. About five items a week are recalled after hidden allergens are found and many of those are kids’ foods, according to an investigation by the Chicago Tribune. Thirty six companies are repeat violators, with five or more recalls for hidden allergens since 1998.
Many products aren’t even recalled or the recalls are not announced to the public, even in cases where the Food and Drug Administration has classified them as likely to cause serious harm or death. Of the 260 complaints to the FDA that the Tribune examined in which people with known food allergies reported a reaction from a mislabled product, just seven percent resulted in a recall.
It’s a dangerous situation - about 30,000 Americans have to go to the emergency room and 150 die each year from allergic reactions to food. For unknown reasons, the number of kids with allergies has jumped in recent years, to about 3 million nationwide. That’s one in 25 children.
Two mothers, one from Kentucky and the other from California, told the Tribune that they bought Wellshire Kids’ Dinosaur Chicken Bites for their sons because it was labeled “gluten free.”
When the kids ate the nuggets, they started coughing and had trouble breathing. Both had to be taken to the emergency room. The mothers said they contacted federal agencies and the nugget manufacturer, but didn’t receive clear answers on whether something would be done.
In its investigation, the Tribune bought the nuggets at a Chicago supermarket on two different occasions and sent samples to a food-allergy test lab at the University of Nebraska. Both samples tested positive for gluten. Two other Wellshire Kids’ products — the “Gluten Free” Chicken Corn Dogs and the “Gluten Free” Beef Corn Dogs — also were tested, and high amounts of gluten were found in both.
Wellshire Farms owner Louis Colameco told reporters that he stopped production of the three Welshire Kids’ products in June. However, he has not recalled the items already in stores because he said they were in compliance with federal rules.
Nurses in elementary and middle schools may not not be fully prepared to handle children with food allergies, a new survey discovered. A reaction to food allergies can be life-threatening, which underlines the need for a good action plan.
The researchers looked at 43, or two thirds, of all elementary and middle school nurses in Greenville County, S.C., to discover how food allergy was handled. The nurses worked at schools that had at least one student with food allergies. But nearly half the schools did not have action plans for their reactive students.
“I would encourage parents to be proactive with their child’s health,” including requesting the physician provide or recommend a food allergy action plan for their child, Dr. John M. Pulcini of University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson told Reuters.
A new study suggests that drinking gradually increasing amounts of milk could become the closest thing to a “true” treatment for milk allergy.
Still, don’t start pouring just yet. Scientists from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Duke University say that more research is needed and that parents should not try such tests at home.
In their study, 12 children with severe milk allergies were given escalating doses of milk powder. Meanwhile, seven others received a placebo. Over a period of four months, children who had been receiving milk powder were able to tolerate an average of five ounces of milk without an allergic reaction or only suffered mild symptoms such as itching around the mouth. The kids who received the placebo couldn’t tolerate much milk at all.
It’s unclear how long the kids can maintain their tolerance. The study, published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, is the first ever blinded and placebo-controlled study of this type of milk allergy therapy.
Currently, the only approved treatments for food allergies are complete avoidance of the products, waiting for a child to outgrow it, and treating the reactions when they occur. “Given that the quality of life of a child with a food allergy is comparable to the quality of life of a child with diabetes, we urgently need therapies that go beyond strict food avoidance or waiting for the child to outgrow the allergy,” said Dr. Robert Wood, the principal researcher of the study, in a news release.
Milk allergy is the most prevalent food allergy. More than 3 million American children have adverse reactions to a certain type of food, according to federal report. The number of allergic children has jumped 18 percent in the past decade, but it’s unknown what is causing this rise.
Both food products could pose problems for people with allergies, the Associated Press reported.
Tofu scramble, made by Amy’s Kitchen Inc. of Santa Rosa, Calif., has milk in it even though the item is labeled non-dairy. Amy’s Tofu Scramble in a Pocket Sandwich could cause an allergic reaction to anybody allergic to milk. The code printed on the the end of the package with the easy open zipper is 10 H148, A, B, C or D. Customers can call the company collect at (707) 568-4500 and ask for the consumer services department at ext. 4571.
Sea Best’s shrimp skewers in a 1.5 pound bag is being recalled because some lots of the product contain undeclared sulfites. Poeple who have sensitivity to sulfites could face serious or life-threatening reactions. No illnesses have been reported to date, but all 1.5 pound bags of shrimp skewers from China that do not list sulfites on the ingredients label are being recalled. Consumers can return the product to the place of purchase for a refund.
The affected garments were made by Carter’s Inc. and feature tagless labels. The children developed a skin rash on their upper backs in the area of the labels, the Associated Press reported on Friday. A company spokeswoman told the AP that she could not comment on how serious the rashes were.
The rashes were linked to products in the company’s fall 2007 product line of 110 million items, including knit body suits, shirts and pajamas manufactured in various countries. Although the Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued an advisory, the clothes are not being recalled.
Babies with sensitive skin may be allergic to the heat-transferred, or tagless labels, according to a news release from the Atlanta-based company. Carter’s said its labels do not contain any known skin irritant or abrasive chemical. Previous and current Carter’s product lines, which have labels with stencil backgrounds, have not been linked to skin rashes.
Consumers can find refund info here.
More than 3 million children and teens in the United States have a food or digestive allergy, an increase of 18 percent in the past decade.
Why all this illness? Experts don’t know for sure, but one factor might be that parents and doctors are more likely to investigate symptoms and pinpoint food allergies. Eight types of food are blamed for 90 percent of all food allergy: milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, soy and wheat. One in 26 kids have food allergies, according to a new study by the Centers for Disease Control.
“A couple of decades ago, it was not uncommon to have kids sick all the time and we just said ‘They have a weak stomach’ or ‘They’re sickly,’” said Anne Munoz-Furlong, chief executive of the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, a Virginia-based advocacy organization, in an Associated Press story.
Peanut allergies have become so widespread that some schools have banned peanut products. Food allergies are more common in children than adults, according to a CDC news release. Many kids do outgrow the allergies, but some are stuck with them for a lifetime. Kids with food allergies are more likely to have conditions like asthma and other allergies.
The CDC’s report was the result of an in-person survey of 9,500 families with kids under 18. The study is available here.
