The 8 Top Food Allergens are dairy, eggs, fish, gluten, peanuts, shellfish, soy, and tree nuts. These food are the 8 most typically reported foods that cause an immune system overreaction. It is important to note that each country has its’ own list of Priority Allergens. Health Canada includes Sulphites, where the FARE website based out of the United States does not include mustard. Our colouring sheet includes 10 of the Priority Food Allergens – sulphites were pretty difficult to illustrate 😉 If you are looking for a printable copy, we can email you one. Simply sign up below and grab some of our freebies, just for joining our food allergy community.
Why know the Top 8 Food Allergens?
Why are the Top 8 Food Allergens important to know? There are many social engagements were food is a main focus of the party right? This is why having a knowledge of the Top 8 Food allergens, or the Priority Food Allergens is so important. Something to consider is where all of the priority food allergens can be hiding. Some unlikely culprits include, “spices,” “vanilla flavour,” “artifical flavours,” and the list goes on…unfortunately allergens are not always listed in plain english. Whey, lactose, and casein are the main milk derived ingredients that I come across on a consistent basis but there are many others. After countless calls, emails, and google searches I find this list from FARE to be the most inclusive. This long list is exactly why we choose to bring Sosi’s food to social gatherings because no matter how well-intentioned a host may be, being a food allergen detective is quite challenging and we don’t consider the risk worth it.
Top 8 Food Allergens, where do they hide?
There are many, many food items that contain, or “may contain,” milk, peanuts, and other allergens. For the purpose of familiarity, I will mention the seemingly random items that I’ve seen contain dairy.
- Soups, including broths
- Smoothies, supposedly “vegan”
- Cereals
- Crackers
- Breads, including bread crumbs, and croutons
- Vegan margarine
- Flavoured chips and rice cakes
- Salad dressing, BBQ sauces, hot sauces
- Olives
- Nutella
- Ghee
- Costco baked goods
- Sausages, hams (the glaze), meatballs, hamburgers, hotdogs
The Good News?
New Food Allergy Research Claims to Reverse and Prevent Food Allergies. The list of priority food allergens keeps growing along with the number of children and adults affected, but there is hope! New research has uncovered a bacteria in the gut that may be the key to reversing and preventing food allergies. Our take on the exciting NEW Research article can be found right here!
If you are new to the Food Allergy world, make sure to join our community of awesome food allergy supporters in our Facebook Group. We are all working together to keep our family members and friends safe and we would love for you to join us.
Mel, aka Sosi’s Mom
What are the most common food allergens in Canada? The Government of Canada recognizes the most common food allergens as: peanuts, tree nuts, seafood (fish, shellfish, crustaceans), egg, milk, sesame, soy, mustard, and wheat. Sulphite, an additive, is also recognized by the Government of Canada. A person can be allergic to any food, but since these are the most common, the government deems them “priority” allergens for labelling purposes.
Source* http://foodallergycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/Food-Allergy-Key-Facts-Sheet.pdf
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