This just came through the news. Read it, it is important!

ALLERGY ALERT - UNDECLARED PEANUTS IN JAPANESE STYLE SESAME MOCHI

OTTAWA, March 4, 2009 – The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is warning people with allergies to peanut proteins not to consume the Japanese Style Sesame Mochi described below. The affected product contains peanuts which are not declared on the label.

The affected product, Japanese Style Sesame Mochi, product of Taiwan, is sold in 210 g packages bearing UPC 4 712905 016043. All codes are affected.

This product is known to have been distributed in British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario and Quebec, however, it may have been distributed nationally.

There have been two reported allergic reactions associated with the consumption of this product.

Consumption of this product may cause a serious or life-threatening reaction in persons with allergies to peanut proteins.

The importers are voluntarily recalling the affected product from the marketplace. The CFIA is monitoring the effectiveness of the recall.

For more information, consumers and industry can call the CFIA at 1-800-442-2342 / TTY 1-800-465-7735 (8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday).

For information on Peanuts, one of the nine most common food allergens, visit the Food Allergens web page at: http://www.inspection.gc.ca/english/fssa/labeti/allerg/peaarae.shtml

For information on receiving recalls by e-mail, or for other food safety facts, visit our web site at www.inspection.gc.ca.

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Media Inquiries:

Shashi Kulkarni (English)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Office of Food Safety and Recall
613-368-1622

Karl Probst (French)
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
Office of Food Safety and Recall
613-755-3332

Living Peanut Free,

Dan.

This blog is all about living life full out, and how can you do that without the odd vacation? Flying with a peanut allergy is not an easy task. Until recently there were no peanut free airlines which made travel risky at best for those with a peanut allergy.

Here is a brief history on airline peanuts in 3 sentences or less. When airlines first took off peanut allergies were much less prevalent and the world was not the considerate place it was, but quickly airlines introduced peanut free flights and would cater to those with an allergy if alerted. A few accidents occurred when peanut allergic  individuals  had a reaction on board due to peanuts brought on by other passengers or the air circulation system and this stopped to prevent law suits (as a safe environment couldn’t be guaranteed). Today many airlines has stopped serving peanuts entirely; many airlines still serve peanuts and others serve tree nuts.

Personally I took a hiatus from air travel from the age of about 10-22 because of this. I suspect I am not the only one with a food allergy who has missed out on travel, it is very tragic. Today many airlines have become peanut free and I’ve been making up for lost time.

Both Air Canada & Westjet have stopped serving peanuts on their flights. Westjet is a Canadian domestic airline and Air Canada flies internationally. I have flown on both airlines numerous times without even a scare. My Westjet flights have been short so I can not comment on their food; on my Air Canada flights I found suitable meal options (even with my soy allergy and vegetarian preferences).  I strongly recommend both these airlines for allergy safe travel.

For more information on flying peanut free check out my complete guide which includes complete information for 14 international and domestic airlines so you’re guaranteed to find the right airline for your part of the world. Not only does this guide offer great value but by purchasing it you support my work. The more people who support my products the better I will be able to invest in creating more!

LIVING Peanut Free,

Dan.

Ladies & Gentlemen, my ambition is your opportunity.

On January 5th while at a goal setting workshop I set some lofty goals which included some intense punishments if I don’t meet them. Well, one of these goals was to help a certain number of people by February 15th through my Peanut Free Guides. As we enter February I’m a bit behind and that means WE’RE HAVING A SALE!

From now until February 15th enter coupon code –>   feb15 when you purchase any of my guides and you will receive 70% off! I promise you this is an only once sale as I won’t be setting the same goal twice! To be on track to reach my goal I have set up my shopping cart to accept the coupon only 9 times until it will be cancelled forever.

There is no limit to how many products you can buy with the coupon, the 70% off applies to your entire shopping cart.

LIVE Peanut Free,

Dan.

One of the biggest issues for anyone living with a peanut allergy is travelling or flying peanut free. The airlines have went through various phases in regards to peanuts and peanut allergies over the years. Some of these phases left individuals like myself going without travel for over 10 years. Thankfully this phase has passed and ITS TIME FOR A VACATION!

A problem I ran into when booking my first vacation after a long time without was finding the right peanut free airline. Sometimes it can be easy, especially one direct domestic flights with tons of carriers. On the flip side, booking an international flight on points with multiple transfers while insuring each plane is peanut free is another story! Adding to the headache many airlines don’t publish their policies online and finding the right customer service numbers for airlines always proves to be a challenge in itself.

I created the Peanut Free Airlines Guide to simplify this problem for everyone in the community. With the guide you can quickly and easily determine which airlines are peanut free. For each airline profiled there is a guide to their peanut policy as well as contact information to directly connect with customer service should you wish to confirm this policy. You can purchase the guide in our products section here, or below.

Flying Peanut Free,

Dan.

Peanut Free Airline Guide

• A comprehensive guide to 14 international airlines including their policies on peanuts (if they are ever served, if peanut free flights are available and if peanut free meals are an option) and their head office contact information.
• While beneficial for residents of any nation, the guide is written specifically for the United States, UK, Canada and Australia.
• This is the most comprehensive, accurate and clear guide available anywhere.
• The guide is delivered to you conveniently in PDF format so you have access to the information instantly.
• Buy it now for only $24.99 USD.

For those of us with a peanut allergy we tend to throw our guard up the instant we read or hear the word nut. Case in point, despite how cute they are, does anyone else have a slight prejudice against squirrels because of their love of nuts? I thought so.

I’ll take this opportunity to answer common questions really quickly here.

Should I be terrified of nutmeg?
Only if you have a crazy aunt who loves to cook with it, or perhaps consume so much of it you start hallucinating. Nutmeg is derived from trees and will not affect anyone because of their tree nut or peanut allergy.

Can I eat water chest nuts?
They have these as part of the stir fry mixes at Costco and I wondered about it myself. As it turns out water chest nuts are a vegetable and totally safe for anyone with a peanut or tree nut allergy. Chest nuts are still nuts though! Try not to confuse the two.

Thats all for today folks. For more information on peanut free dining be sure to check out the internation cuisine guide in my products section.

Living Peanut Free,

Dan.

I’m aware that some individuals are worried about a potential allergy or allergic reaction to palm oil or palm kernel oil. This is a super short blog just clarifying there is no reason to worry.

Coconut, while officially a tree nut, tends not to be related to other tree nuts in regards to allergies. You should ask your doctor if you should avoid Coconut. Additionally of course Coconut oil is not allergenic because a pure oil should not contain any proteins which are the allergen.

Palm oil comes directly from a tree but is not related to tree nuts. Additionally Palm oil should not contain any protein allergens as it is an oil.

Now, whether or not either of these oils are going to clog up your arteries is another story for another time!

As always, Living Peanut Free,

Dan.

I thought this was very cool. The Minnesota Twins are offering those with a peanut allergy special peanut free seating in their Sky Box. I still remember being terrified the last time I went to a Seattle Mariners baseball game and peanuts were being thrown everywhere; I definitely left before the end of the 9th inning! I’m sure this idea will spread around the league as it is a great thing to do, and great PR for the team as well. You can find out more and buy tickets here.

So you’re deathly allergic to peanuts, how much worse can it get right? As it turns out it can get a lot worse if you’re not careful. Here is my story:

Since as far back as I know I have been allergic to peanuts. Growing up I also had allergies to dairy, eggs and seafood (all of which I’ve outgrown -> For more on outgrowing allergies and the importance of testing see my other article here).  When I was about 16 I started eating a ton of Vector (a high protein cereal made by Kellogg’s). Vector derives the majority of its protein from Soy Protein Isolate (which is basically 100% allergen). As I ate more and more of this cereal I started to react to it. Eventually I stopped eating it. A few months after this I naively drank a protein shake derived entirely of soy protein and ended up in the hospital. Today, I’m very much allergic to soy.

So here are the lessons:

1. You can develop food allergies over time. Those who already have allergies are most susceptible, and during adolescents is the most dangerous time.
2. Peanuts are a legume and therefore anyone allergic to peanuts are likely susceptible to, or already have, an allergy to other legumes (beans, peas, soy etc).
3. Each reaction you have strengthens the allergy. By ignoring my initial subtle reactions to soy and continuing to eat it and react I allowed my allergy to grow much stronger. For this reason it is best to avoid consistently consuming large quantities of potential allergens.
4. When you have an allergy you are allergic to the particular protein (this is why peanut oil will not cause a reaction). Soy protein isolate is particularly dangerous as it is pure allergy, versus say soybeans.

My advice is to be tested for legumes, especially soy, as an allergy as soon as possible. Avoid consuming too much soy because it is a painful allergy to develop. Soy (and especially soy protein isolate) is used by lower quality food companies to add texture and can show up in just about anything. Be particularly carely of any frozen chicken products, protein supplements or complete meals/meal replacements.

About a year ago I started enjoying life. I mean REALLY enjoying life. Since then I have my motorcycle licence, I have been sky diving more than once and have been atving through the Mexican Baja. When it comes to taking risk there are 3 kinds of people.

The first group I’ll call the nervous no-gos. This type of person avoids risk at all costs. If they are affected by a peanut allergy you better believe they are eating at the same couple of restaurants day after day. Sadly this individual is no safer than the other two as they usually create dangerous long term medical problems from stress and worry.

Like with any comparison of 3 groups, the middle is always a compromise between the other 2 and this is no different.

The third group lives life full out. They never say no to an opportunity because of what ifs. You can spot these individuals a mile away from their smiles, amazing vacations and lack of regret. Some individuals are just born this way, others fall into this category after almost losing their life and realizing how short it can be.

GOOD NEWS Allergy Sufferers: At any point in time we could drop dead. Mislabeled donut, BAM dead. Peanut Butter in the Chile (seriously, ALWAYS ask about Chile this is not uncommon) dead!  You get the idea. My point is we have all been given an amazing opportunity to live life to the fullest. When a cookie can kill you public speaking, exotic travel, or unbelieveable adventures are no longer so scary. If you’re a parent reading this, take a moment to consider your child’s allergy a blessing. Their allergy gives them an excuse to live the happiest possible life every moment, something few people really have a chance to do. God bless.

LIVING Peanut Free,

Dan.

In 2005 a story made international headlines. The story was about a 15 year old Canadian girl who died because of kissing her boyfriend 9 hours after he had consumed peanut butter (BBC Article here and CBS Article Here). This story brought a lot of much needed attention to peanut allergies and those affected by them. Unfortunately those involved allowed speculation to circulate before the medical profession confirmed the cause of death.

The original story brought a sense of terror to those suffering from an allergy as well as a much needed focus on communicating with those in your life. The safest thing one with a peanut allergy can do is simply tell those around them about it and make sure they know the severity of the allergy. I explore this concept of communication in another posting you can find here.

Back to the kissing issue. As it turns out peanuts were not to blame for this tragic death. Asthma was to blame for the girls death as reported by CBC News. It turns out she had spent the night at a house with numerous pets and heavy smoking which set off a severe attack. You can read more about this here.

The most important moral of this story is to enjoy life to the fullest yet always be conscious of your environment and those around you. While it turns out kissing (or for that matter sharing a drink) isn’t quite as dangerous as believed the danger is there and must not be ignored. Many of us with a peanut allergy also suffer from other allergies or asthma. It is important to be aware of our environment and our body and never delay treatment. Perhaps a reaction to a friend’s cat could cover up the symptoms of a pending serve re reaction to peanuts and delay treatment. Always carry and use your medicine and don’t delay treatment!

Living Peanut Free,

Dan.