More regulations needed around ‘may contain’ statements: Winnipeg parent, Food Allergy Canada

Article By Rosanna Hempel Published March 3, 2023
Article Source: (1) More regulations needed around ‘may contain’ statements: Winnipeg parent, Food Allergy Canada - Winnipeg | Globalnews.ca

More regulations needed around ‘may contain’ statements: Winnipeg parent, Food Allergy Canada

A Winnipeg parent and the national agency dealing with food allergies are calling for clarity when it comes to food labelling and the use of ‘may contain’ disclaimers. Rosanna Hempel reports.

A Winnipeg parent and the national agency dealing with food allergies are calling for clarity when it comes to food labelling and the use of ‘may contain’ disclaimers.

Teresa Yehudaiff’s three-year-old son Kobe’s anaphylactic reaction to sesame resulted in a 911 call when he was just a baby. He broke out in hives all over his body and he was throwing up.

“Ever since then, it’s just been like very, very scary, checking the labels and everything, making sure all the foods are safe,” the mother of two said.

“Sesame can sneak up in so many different foods.”

They purged their cupboards of anything that could contain sesame, “which was a majority of our foods,” she said.

When shopping, Yehudaiff checks food labels again and again, even for products she’s familiar with, in case companies change their ingredients.

So many products have “may contain” statements that her family is very limited at the grocery store, she told Global News.

“The first time I actually went grocery shopping, trying to find a safe bread, I almost cried in the bread aisle because I couldn’t find any product that was safe for him at the time,” Yehudaiff said.

Experiences like hers aren’t uncommon. About six per cent of Canadians live with a physician-diagnosed priority food allergen, including eggs, fish, sesame, sulphites and tree nuts, Health Canada says. The others are crustaceans and molluscs, fish, milk, mustard, peanuts, soy along with wheat and triticale.