Talking Allergies

I find it so annoying that my local big-chain grocery store keeps the huge open boxes of bulk nuts around all the produce. They used to only be around at Christams and then at least they were all together away from the produce. Tonight there were bulk pistachios ( so some were unshelled, little pieces everywhere) right up against the grapes.

I guess I'll have to be the weird lady who calls the store.

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

We prefer the term "advocate" around here.

But seriously - just remember that you are also speaking for others who maybe don't have the courage to point out the risks involved in having nuts so out there. You might never hear it, but I'm sure others will appreciate that you are willing to go out of your way to address the issue.

K.

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Karen, proud Mom of
- DS1 (12 yrs): allergic to cashews, pistachios, Brazil nuts, potatoes, some legumes, some fish, pumpkin seeds; OAS
- DS2 (1o yrs): ana. to dairy, eggs, peanuts; asthma

Yes- advocate is much better than "weird lady"

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts

i've noticed that too and i don't even have food allergies, i look and shake my head, and think wow another challange for the ladies (and gents) on my allergy board. i have even decided to stop buying bulk nuts to show my support for you guys, maybe we can start a letter writing thing, would that help?

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

I don't like bulk nuts either. In this one grocery store I used to shop at, they'd have them in baskets, and they'd also put other produce in the same baskets. I hope the nutty ones were kept separate, but I wasn't betting on it. I usually avoid whatever produce is in the immediate vicinity of the nuts.

dustytiger, that's kind of you to avoid the bulk nuts on our account! If nuts are important to your diet, though, and you miss the bulk nuts (I don't know if they would be available in packages), you could maybe reduce the risk of cross contamination by buying them last? Just an idea! Letter writing would probably help if we wrote a lot of letters to one store.

I e-mailed Health Canada about my local IGA supermarkets, which do the same thing. Imagine the idea of a store clerk handling allergens such as nuts and then touching the raw fruit. Doesn't sound too weird to me.

Emailing the CFIA sounds like a great idea!

i'd be more worried about customers cross contaminating things you can ask for employees to be trained or hope that they have some commen sence when it comes to the number one allergy, but you all know what the general misinformed public thinks about allergies, that's what i think of more then anything else...

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

As a grocery store employee (in Ottawa) , I just had to sign up and put in my observations. I'm not in produce, I am the baker, but all the same:

When those bins are out, or when pistachios are on sale, shells are everywhere (customers like to munch on them as they shop). In between the bread, apples, hidden across the store amongst the cans, etc. When we see the shells that hungry customers have left, we throw them away, so you might not even realize they were there.

I wouldn't personally buy anything that wasn't prepackaged in plastic or can otherwise be washed. Just my observations.

Letter writing certainly does help, we've seen a lot of changes made due to letters and complaints. (Nutritional labels, packaging bread in plastic instead of paper are just a few examples.)

Thanks for your input, Squiggle. It helps to get the perspective of someone who has 'insider knowledge'! When in the store, I do try to watch out for any areas surrounding nuts, but I try not to think about the possibilities of cross contamination too much. Still, it is good to be aware.

Those bulk bins make me nuts (sorry, corny!)

Here is how to contact CFIA - I am frequently a "weird lady", and I have always had an excellent response from CFIA to specific concerns. We should really all try and get those nuts bagged, it is just so yukky and at least 4 times a year I am reminded in the grocery store why they should be bagged (eg- one time someone had spilled the ENTIRE peanut bin all over the floor and when the boy came to sweep them up, he had never heard of food allergies, and he clearly thought I was from another planet, another time there were shells in the bottom of my basket and when I explained how dangerous this was, the guy tipped the basket out, then handed it back to me and he wasn't trying to be a jerk, he just didn't get it).

This is from their site:
http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/util/faqe.shtml


Food Safety
Q. How do I report a potential food safety incident?
A. If you believe a product presents a health and safety risk, you can report a potential food safety incident to the CFIA:

* by contacting an area recall coordinator
* through the Internet at cfiamaster@inspection.gc.ca
* by telephone at 1-800-442-2342

If you suspect that your health has been compromised because of food, contact your family physician or local health authority who will follow-up with the appropriate treatment. You can report any concerns about restaurant food to your local inspection authority. If they determine that food appears to be the likely cause of illness, they will contact the CFIA to initiate an investigation.

Thanks for the heads up Squiggle. I now see pistachio shells all throughout the produce aisles. I have been going elsewhere to buy produce. So disgusting!

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daughter: 6 years tree nuts, peanuts