When it comes to food allergies, there are two trends in the United States today. First, we have lax labeling requirements that have spawned non-standard, voluntary allergen warnings that lead to confusion among the most vulnerable. Second, the allergic demographic is growing rapidly, and – though food companies are slowly taking notice – they are unsure how to engage.
Tracy Bush – author, advocate, and blogger, who is also known to the food allergy community as Nutrimom – has written an excellent article for the current edition of Food Safety Magazine entitled “Food Companies & Food Allergies: Unite!”, explaining how companies can gain a loyal following by applying some basic precepts to their labeling and production.
In the article, Tracy encourages companies to partner with a veritable Who’s Who of food allergy advocates and provides a primer with straightforward considerations to help guide these companies toward better practices.
We urge you to read the article and forward it on to food manufacturers and food service companies you come in contact with to help raise awareness of what they can do to better accommodate the needs of the allergic community. The article will also give you a better idea of the questions to ask manufacturers when vetting products for your family.
