<http://www.enviroblog.org/2008/11/not-a-scientist-not-a-doctor-j.htm>Hidden food allergens: Label reading ain't what it used to be
By <http://enviroblog.org/bio.htm#Lisa%20Frack>Lisa Frack November 25, 2008 [] Enviroblog readers are a label-reading bunch. And in my case, a bit suspicious, to boot. I'm all too aware of our country's weak product labeling requirements, and what I see as a clear bias toward industry. I know <http://www.womenandenvironment.org/newsreports/media/News%20Item%202008/news_item.2008-10-21.8348650556>the cleaning aisle offers incomplete ingredient lists, and have developed a Michael Pollen-esque approach when shopping, excluding products with too many tongue-twisting ingredients that would cause Grandma to say, "what's that, honey?" But I like to think that if a product clearly states that it doesn't contain something, it doesn't. Well I should've known better. This is America 2008, and there's little evidence that our government is successfully preventing unsafe products from hitting the shelves. So parents with seriously allergic children have no way of knowing if that gluten-free corn dog is, in fact, gluten free. Whatever happened to truth in advertising, the whole point of which was to prevent product manufacturers from misleading consumers?? So when one mom recently fed her gluten-intolerant child food clearly labeled 'gluten free' and wound up in the emergency room as a result, where to turn? FDA? USDA? If you can even decipher which agency regulates what, you're doing well. But, really, why bother because neither is effectively protecting the public. A <http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/chi-081120-allergens-tribune-investigation,0,506031.story?page=2>recent investigative report in The Chicago Tribune describes the product testing system this way: Many manufacturers test their products for allergens and have set up special assembly lines to prevent cross-contamination. But other companies, particularly small ones with limited resources, acknowledge taking limited precautions. Others do little or no testing, and the government does not require them to do so. The FDA, which oversees the vast majority of packaged foods, said it trusts firms to police themselves. The USDA, which regulates meat, poultry and egg products, is even more lax. It said it never tests for undeclared allergens, such as eggs or peanuts, because these ingredients by themselves are not prohibited foods--ignoring the fact that products containing hidden allergens are potentially illegal and deadly. The Tribune's research shows an average of five products are recalled every week due to hidden allergens, making it one of the top reasons for product recalls in the U.S. But the laws remain weak, and as a result, the Tribune concluded that "American children with food allergies are suffering life-threatening--and completely avoidable--reactions because manufacturers mislabel their products and regulators fail to police store shelves." For those of us familiar with our country's <http://www.ewg.org/files/EWG-Kid-Safe-factsheet.pdf>extraordinarily weak chemicals policy, this let-'em-suffer approach isn't at all surprising. It reveals a consistent attitude towards human health, especially children, whom - as the Tribune states - we use "as guinea pigs, with the government and industry often taking steps to properly label a product only after a child has been harmed." And while I'd like to tidily wrap this up by calling for stronger oversight and better laws (both important), I can't in good conscience ignore the fact that the specific foods discussed in the Tribune article are complex combinations of multiple ingredients, processes, growers and manufacturers from (potentially) around the globe that present real safety and health challenges. Not that a simple head of lettuce can't wreak some serious havoc, too, but I'd bet that Kids' Dinosaur Shapes Chicken Bites would definitely raise Grandma's eyebrows. Check for recalled ingredients in the Tribune's extensive <http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/health/allergen-database,0,7219804.htmlpage>Allergen Tracker database. Because product labels just aren't enough. 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