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 be troublesome to you and alternate names shown for them.

Also be on the lookout for precautionary statements. These are statements that indicate an allergen may be in the food, due to cross contamination during processing. Examples of precautionary statements include: “May contain sesame” and “Manufactured in a facility that contains sesame.”

Allergists generally advise people with  sesame or other seed allergies to avoid all products that contain precautionary statements about their allergens. If you are ever uncertain about whether a food product is safe for you, call the manufacturer to confirm. When in doubt, don’t eat it.

In Canada, new regulations have been proposed that would require food manufacturers list priority allergens in plain language on packaging, rather than using alternate names (ie: tahini, for sesame). Ingredients of ingredients that are priority allergens would also have to be listed. For example, manufacturers couldn’t simply list “flavouring” if the source of the flavouring is a priority allergen, such as mustard.

More on Canada’s New Food Allergen Regulations.

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act went into effect in 2006. FALCPA requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The allergens included in this regulation are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat peanuts and soybeans. These regulations do not include sesame and mustard, unlike the proposed Canadian regulations.

Separate legislation requires companies to declare sulphites if they are present at more than 10 parts per million, or if they had a technical or functional effect in the food.

Both Canada and the United States are studying ways to regulate the precautionary statements used on packaged food labels.

When a family member has an allergy, reading is protection.

Reading the ingredients on every packaged food label becomes a way of life when you have food allergies and are at risk of anaphylaxis. Labels have to be carefully before a food is sampled by the allergic family member. While labels are supposed to by law be written in plain English, look for hidden sources of allergens and other less obvious names for allergens (such as “casein” or “whey” for milk).

Also be on the lookout for precautionary statements. These are statements that indicate an allergen may be in the food, due to cross-contamination during production. Examples of precautionary statements include: “May contain wheat” and “Manufactured in a facility that also processes tree nuts.”

Allergists generally advise people with allergies to avoid all products that show such statements about their allergen(s) – dubbed “may contains” – because they often “do contain” the allergen.

If you are ever uncertain about whether a food product is safe for you, call the manufacturer to confirm. When in doubt, don’t eat it.

In Canada, new regulations come into effect in August, 2012 that would require food manufacturers list priority allergens in plain language on packaging, rather than using alternate names (ie: arachidic acid, for peanuts). The ingredients within listed ingredients that are priority allergens would also have to be shown. For example, manufacturers couldn’t simply list “flavouring” if the source of the flavouring is a priority allergen, such as mustard.

More on Canada’s New Food Allergen Regulations.

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act went into effect in 2006. FALCPA requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The allergens included in this regulation are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat peanuts and soybeans. These regulations do not include sesame and mustard, unlike the new Canadian regulations.

Separate legislation requires companies to declare sulfites if they are present at more than 10 parts per million, or if they had a technical or functional effect in the food.

Both Canada and the United States are studying ways to regulate the precautionary statements used on packaged food labels.

Reading labels is a way of life when you or a member of your family has a tree nut allergy. Before eating anything in a package, be sure to read the label carefully. Look for hidden sources of nuts and alternate names for it.

Also be on the lookout for precautionary statements. These are statements that indicate an allergen may be in the food, due to cross contamination during processing. Examples of precautionary statements include: “May contain tree nuts” and “Manufactured in a facility that contains tree nuts.”

Allergists generally advise people with tree nut allergies to avoid all products that include precautionary statements about their allergen. If you are ever uncertain about whether a food product is safe for you, call the manufacturer to confirm. When in doubt, don’t eat it.

In Canada, new regulations have been proposed that would require food manufacturers list priority allergens in plain language on packaging, rather than using alternate names (ie: Bertholletia excelsa instead of brazil nut).

The ingredients within listed ingredients that are priority allergens would also have to be shown. For example, manufacturers couldn’t simply list “flavouring” if the flavouring included a priority allergen, such as almond extract.

More on Canada’s New Food Allergen Regulations.

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act went into effect in 2006. FALCPA requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The allergens included in this regulation are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat peanuts and soybeans. These regulations do not include sesame and mustard, unlike the proposed Canadian regulations.

Separate legislation requires companies to declare sulphites if they are present at more than 10 parts per million, or if they had a technical or functional effect in the food.

Both Canada and the United States are studying ways to regulate the precautionary statements used on packaged food labels.

Reading labels is a way of life when you or a member of your family has an allergy to sulphites, the food additive. Before eating anything in a package, be sure to read the label carefully. Look for hidden sources of sulphites and alternate names for it.

If you are ever uncertain about whether a food product is safe for you, call the manufacturer to confirm. When in doubt, don’t eat it.

In Canada, new regulations have been proposed that would require food manufacturers disclose if sulphites are present in a product at a level of 10 parts per million or higher.

More on Canada’s New Food Allergen Regulations.

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act went into effect in 2006. FALCPA requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The new regulations also apply to food allergies, and require that allergens are declared in plain language, and are disclosed when they are components of other ingredients (i.e. mustard as a component of “spices.”

More on Canada’s Food Allergen Regulations

In the United States, the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act, which went into effect in 2006, requires manufacturers to use plain language when listing priority allergens, and to declare all allergens either in the ingredient list, or in a “Contains:” statement at the end of the list.

The allergens included in this regulation are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, wheat peanuts and soybeans. These regulations do not include sesame and mustard, unlike the proposed Canadian regulations.

Separate legislation requires companies to declare sulphites if they are present at more than 10 parts per million, or if they had a technical or functional effect in the food.