Talking Allergies

This is my ongoing pet peeve, and I would like help to contact the CFIA about it.

This is just the latest example: So I'm shopping in Superstore last week, and I walk by the bulk food bins and they have had a huge spill of peanuts (100's) on the floor. An employee is cleaning them up with a broom. So I asked her what the protocol was. Nothing. She did not know about food allergies, was not aware of peanuts being dangerous. There was no plan to clean the broom or the floor or do anything beyond sweeping the peanuts off the floor. The broom, full of peanut particles, will be swept around the floor indefinitely.

Many years ago, I was at Superstore and there were peanut shells in the basket I chose. I was in a very, VERY anxious state most of those days cos DS was a toodler and always putting things in his mouth and crawling around, so if I even saw a peanut I would have heart palipitations, and I also believed that if I explained the situation to people they would try as hard as I was to keep my kid safe,so I tried to explain to the clerk how necesary it was to have clean baskets, how dangerous it was to have loose peanuts in bins, etc. So he turns the basket over and all the peanut shells fall all over the floor, and he hands me back the basket!!! So then I phone the head office and try to explain to the man in charge of merchandizing, that it would be in everyone's best interest to bag peanuts(in those days they just had large bins in the vegetable section full of peanuts you could bag yourself), as they are losing lots of money as people wander around the store eating their product, and they would make the world safer for my kid and others like him. And bascially he said that people could be falling over dead in his store, but if it cost the store money to put peanuts in bags and Canadian law did not require it, it wasn't going to happen.

Another time, I was shopping in an family owned local grocery store. They had loose peanuts directly over the fruit, I tried to explain why this was not a good idea, but they could not understand what I was talking about, and yelled that I was crazy and threw me (not literally) out of the store...oh, what a wild ride this allergy advocacy has been ...that's the only time I've been thrown out of anywhere! Some people chain themselves to trees, I risk life and limb in grocery stores!!...but all for a good cause

Anyway, the point of all my rambling is, that if we wrote to CFAI and voiced our concerns about how the major allergens are packaged and sold in stores, we could probably get some changes made. I am sure I am not the only one who is having these kind of experiences. If I am, please let me know and I will seek help for myself, and get my husband to do the shopping in future

I agree with you that this is a problem to which more attention ought to be given. Another concern of mine----sometimes I notice other foods like cranberries or other fruit in baskets which are also used for nuts (in the shell). *Maybe* they keep the nut baskets in a separate area and reuse them only for nuts, but I wouldn't bet on it!

I haven't had any problems with peanuts or shells in stores.

But, I really wish they would hose down those baskets. I was digging through a pile, looking for a semi-clean one. An older lady was waiting patiently while I put them aside one after another. I came across two clean ones in a row, and handed one to her. I (kind of) jokingly said these were the only two that didn't look like they were loaded with botulism. She laughed. The store manager who was walking by didn't. I'm hoping the next time I go in maybe he will have started cleaning them -- if not, I think I'm going to ask. Once a week -- wash them.

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self: allergy to sesame seeds and peanuts
3 sons each with at least one of the following allergies: peniciilin, sulfa-based antibiotic, latex, insect bites/stings

I just got back from Superstore and nearly had heart failure walking around the produce department with all those huge open bins of nuts. It was a great opportunity to point out to my daughter all the items she must avoid. Is there a way to get these items contained in some way? I feel like I am walking around a mine field.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

wow that's pretty messed up that they don't even think to consider such allergies at grocery store of all places, scary, though since being on this board i've been so much more aware of cross contamination, so i guess it's a matter of if it has neverbeen brought to your attention it's not in your stream of consciencenous to think about sterlizing a broom or dustpan since it picks up dirt, but it really drives a point when dealing with alleriges you really have to think about every minute detail....

i went into the natural food pantry (in ottawa at billings bridge) at thanksgiving and i was SO impressed they provided gloves for handeling what is in the bulk bins, really made me think about what might be in the food at the bulk barn when i went a few days ago to pick up a scoop of bits and bites eewww

and i can only imgine the stress if there are any allergies involoved... so do you jsut avoid bulk bins all together?

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allergies - penicillin, benadryl, dust mites, enviornmental & chemical
conditions - dermatographism, eczema, well contorolled asthma
dietary - lactose intollerant, vegatarian

I agree completely with the bulk peanuts / nuts thing. I rarely bring my son into grocery stores these days -- it totally stresses me out watching people eating out of bags of nuts that they've bagged from bulk bins. Shells on and in baskets, on and around the floor of the produce section, I can only imagine the nut residue on the handles of baskets and grocery carts! I think it's a great idea to have guidelines for the sale of any of the top allergens. Pamela have you already written a letter? What do you suggest?