Talking Allergies

Given the fact that sesame is among the top 9 allergens out there, and is emphasized as such by Health Canada, can someone help me understand why there appears to be NO sesame free bread on the mainstream market??? I've been to three stores in Toronto so far (just getting started) and am shocked at the trouble I'm having finding a simple loaf of bread for my son. What can we DO?

Hi Catmaz and welcome. We have been dealing with sesame allergy (and others) for 6 years now. Sesame was very challenging to deal with, but we are used to it now. Bread was the biggest problem We purchased a breadmaker and make most of our own bread, hot dog & hamburger buns and pizza dough Having said that, over the years, we have found many bread products on the market that are safe. I'm not sure where you live, but live near Toronto. There are good lists on the sesame section of various breads. Here is a condensed list:

Bread: Dimpflimier rye bread, Dempsters Enriched White bread in the silver foil packaging

Tortillas: We use Casa Mendosa, but I have seen others that are safe - check the label!

Pitas: always check the label, but there are some mini-pitas that are safe - I don't have any in the house right now, so I can't tell you the company name, but check out the mini-pitas. But there are some that are NOT safe, so make sure you check the label.

Sandwich Pouches: Dempsters

That's all I can think of at the moment - these are the more regular bread products we use in our house, but we usually have the breadmaker going every second day, so we make most of our bread. It does get easier to manage as you adjust to this new way of life, but it's a tough adjustment at first. Best of luck to you!

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

Julie I'm glad to hear you've found a few more bread products. So far all I've found is the Dempters Soft Slice. I'm going to go and look for the rye bread this week. Thanks!

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Thanks for the warm welcome!

For those looking, the Dimpflemeyer (sp) bread is usually near the deli counter, not always with the bread.

Thanks for all these tips. I found a basic whole wheat bread by Vege Hut at the Big Carrot in Toronto, by a small Guelph based bakery. I emailed them last night and confirmed that they don't use sesame in any of their baking.

Small victories. Hooray!

There are some other Dempster products that are safe. They do label for *may contain*, so no warning means I'll buy it.

This week we found safe english muffins. They were made by Demptster's as well.

I might try them for hamburgers.

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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

Dempsters softslice regular slice and thick slice wholewheat bread is safe
POM ultraclub sandwich wholewheat bread is safe.

both are available at LOEB in Ontario and Metro in Quebec.

Scott

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9 yr old daughter - no allergies
7 yr old daughter - allergic to peanuts, nuts, sesame, kiwi, soy

Thanks, Scott. I'll look for these.
I've been enjoying an email correspondence with an R&D food scientist at Cara foods (Harvey's) and he's looking into Canada Bread manufactured options. Stay tuned.
SO glad to have found this forum! Thanks, all.

Ooh, Cara supplies many restaurants with products!

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

My contact confirmed that Canada Bread does NOT have any sesame free facilities. He's contacting Weston for me (us!).

I wonder where the tortillas, English muffins, POM and Dempsters' silver bag bread come from...maybe they could make hot dog buns in that seedless plant!

Bread: Dimpflimier rye bread, Dempsters Enriched White bread in the silver foil packaging

Tortillas: We use Casa Mendosa, but I have seen others that are safe - check the label!

Pitas: always check the label, but there are some mini-pitas that are safe - I don't have any in the house right now, so I can't tell you the company name, but check out the mini-pitas. But there are some that are NOT safe, so make sure you check the label.

Sandwich Pouches: Dempsters

Hi there, I'm new to this so if I'm repeating something that's already been said, I apologize. My daughter is allergic to sesame seeds and we also had a hard time finding bread that she didn't react to but I called Dempsters and they told me that any of there products with the tag on it starting with the letter F is from there nut/seed free facility. Not all stores carry this bread and some only get a few loafs each time because they only have the one facility and the demand is growing so they try and spread it out. If you approach you grocery store and request this, they should be able to help you out by putting it aside for when you come in.

Since my first post on this topic, I've had a lengthy email conversation with a very helpful and knowledgable senior food scientist who works in Research & Development at Cara Foods (Harvey's, Swiss Chalet, etc). He kindly did some asking around on this topic amongst colleagues in R&D for Canada Bread, Weston and with another friend who manages a Metro grocery store.

Unfortunately, he confirmed that there are NO guaranteed nut/seed free bakeries amongst the mainstream majors (Canada Bread, which includes Dempsters or Weston Bakeries). However, Canada Bread's Etobicoke bakery CURRENTLY does not have any recipes that include sesame. So, there are items coming out of that bakery (always read the label) that don't bear the 'may contain sesame' warning.

A follow up call to Dempster's/Canada Bread today confirmed this: there are some seed free items on the market now but no guaranteed seed-free facility. The agent was very clear in reminding me that a recipe including sesame could be added to the roster at that bakery at any time, reinforcing what we all know: we must read the label every time we buy something. Even if we've had it successfully many, many times.

I lodged a suggestion to Canada Bread. Congratulating them on their clear warnings that consider the top nine allergens, I urged them to consider dedicating production at at least one of their facilities to nut/seed-free (or more broadly allergen-sensitive) production. It's a fantastic marketing opportunity for them...allergy-friendly, school safe, and still the same old items non allergic people are used to. Who knows, we could get hot dog buns one day!

Catmaz, Thank you for this very helpful information! You've been a very good spokesperson for our sesame allergy group! I sure hope Dempsters does not make any changes to the manufacturing process and introduce seeds to the line, but we must be sure to check carefully every time. Wouldn't it be great if they added hamburger and hot dog buns?! Did you have a chance to "request" this?

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

I spoke with Dempster's today & they said that they now only produce flatbreads in their Etobicoke plant. I was trying to get the local Walmart to order some bread from their plant. Does anyone know the plants in Ontario that are seed & nut free? Where is the bread that you are getting coming from? I have never seen Sesame free bread here only flatbreads & pouches by Dempsters. I am having a hard time getting answers from Dempsters. I had to ask for management & even then the answers were really hard to get. Does anyone have any more info?
Thanks,
Brenda

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Brenda (asthma)
DH (asthma, environmental allergies, milk intolerance)
DS 6 YRS (allergies - sesame, poppyseed, tree nuts, shellfish, soy intolerance, asthma, eczema)
DD 4 YRS (asthma)

I posted this in shopping but thought I'd add it here. Soft Slice/Dempsters now lists trace of sesame....today is the first time I've found it listed that way. I called also a few weeks ago and was warned that the plant was likely being changed to another location where sesame products were made.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

That is most disappointing.
Bread and buns are so hard to come by with sesame allergy.

Maybe a bunch of us can write letters. It might be possible to keep the Soft Slice uncontaminated even within a factory with seeds. Depends on where they make/process.

If you think it might move Dempster's to act, can you find and post their CEO's name and the mailing address? What do others think?

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Allergic to soy, peanut, shellfish, penicillin