How to Find Allergy Free Snacks
If your child has food allergies, you know how difficult it can be to buy allergy-free snacks. Let's be realistic. Your kid is not suddenly going to decide munching on celery and carrots are all he wants to do just because he has food allergies. Here are some ways to find allergen-free snacks and some that are even individually packaged for travel or school. Does this Spark an idea?
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Instructions
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Join Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis (FAAN). FAAN is a great resource for learning about labeling laws, food allergies in general and keeping yourself informed about federal and state laws. FAAN also advocates for research and better labeling for those who have food allergies.
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Read an article on the Allergy Moms website listed on their blog that talks about online companies that make allergy free snacks, then visit the companies' websites by clicking on the links in the article. You can decide which companies sell allergy free snacks that your kid can eat.
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Educate yourself. It can be overwhelming trying to understand all the implications of dealing with your kid's food allergies. Educate yourself about labeling laws in order to understand how to keep your child from having a reaction when eating.
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Shop whenever possible at stores like Whole Foods that list ingredients on everything in the store, including deli items and prepared foods.
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Access a food seller's website to see if the company has ingredient information and manufacturing procedures listed for a particular food. At the least, you can obtain the company's contact information if you need to do further research on whether a snack is allergy free.
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Contact the manufacturer when in doubt. The longer you deal with food allergies the more you realize that sometimes you need to contact the manufacturer to determine whether a snack is safe for your kid.
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Use your common sense. If you're not sure if a snack is safe, don't let your child eat it. Not eating a particular food is less traumatic than visiting the emergency room after a reaction. If you do some research, you can relax while your kid snacks.
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Tips & Warnings
The article at Allergy Moms tells you what allergens the companies avoid in their products.
No Nuttin allows you to buy sample packs of some or all of their products. You get reimbursed the full amount of the sample pack once you place a regular order with the company.
Vermont Nut Free candies sells delicious chocolate candy in a variety of fun shapes and with holiday themes for special times of the year. The website is user-friendly and explains prices and sizes very clearly.
Gak's Snacks not only sells snacks but also sells an allergy free cookbook. You can actually make brownies that taste good with your egg-allergic kid.
Sticking with local companies if a company is not an allergen-free facility can sometimes be a good bet. But when in doubt, check with the company or avoid the food.
At a regular grocery store, you may not get the full picture when you read the ingredients due to labeling laws. U.S. companies are not required to warn consumers about the possibility of cross-contamination in the manufacturing process.
