Allergen Where It Hides Alternate Names Sesame, Other Seeds     Sesame: baked goods, e.g., breads, cookies, pastries, bagels, buns Bread crumbs, bread sticks, cereals, crackers, melba toast, muesli dips, pâtés, spreads, e.g., hummus, chutney dressings, gravies, marinades, salads, sauces, soups ethnic foods, e.g., flavored rice, noodles, shish kebabs, stews, stir fry flavor(ing) herbs, seasoning, [...]

If you were to ask people on the street what are the most common food allergies, they would likely answer: peanuts, nuts, seafood, wheat or milk. But sesame? Probably not. So how did it land on Health Canada’s list of priority allergens? In short, in the ‘80s and ‘90s sesame became more common in breads, [...]

Seeds are a good inexpensive source of protein, and we’re eating more of them. They lurk in unlikely places. While sesame is the only seed trigger on Canada’s current priority allergen list, medical studies show people have reacted to mustard seed, sunflower, poppy seeds, flax seeds – and even perilla, an Asian seed used in [...]

Mustard has taken its place among the top foods of concern for allergies in Canada. Health Canada announced in September 2009 that it is adding the seed on its list of “priority allergens”, which also includes peanuts, tree nuts, sesame seeds, milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, soy, wheat and sulphites. Health Canada also developed criteria with [...]

You’ve just come home from the doctor’s office. You have a white prescription slip for an EpiPen and a newly diagnosed sesame allergy for your child. Life is about to change, but rest assured, food allergies can be managed. It helps if you to adopt a cautious, not fearful, approach and develop a plan. Allergy [...]

Sesame seed allergy is not one of the most common allergies – but it is on the rise and Health Canada has put it on its “priority allergens” list, implicating it as a culprit in many food allergy reactions. A recent Canadian population survey estimates that .23 per cent of Canadian children have a “probable” [...]

Dr. Antony Ham Pong knew that sesame allergies were on the rise. It was the mid-1990s, and at the time, no other countries in the world had included the tiny seed on their lists of “priority allergens” – that is, the foods most likely to cause significant problems. But the patients coming through Ham Pong’s [...]

When a family member has a sesame allergy, reading is protection. Reading labels is a way of life when you or a member of your family has an allergy to sesame. Before eating anything in a package, be sure to read the label carefully. Look for hidden sources of sesame or other seeds that may [...]

While sesame is one of the more common food allergens in North America, its incidence is still relatively small compared to allergens such as peanut and tree nut. In Canada, 0.9 per cent of people have the allergy and in the United States that figure is 0.1 per cent. For other seeds, such as mustard, [...]