Disclaimer on “The 9 major food allergens”: None of the information provided in these posts should be taken as medical advice. Please consult with your doctor before trying recommendations or if you have concern
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Welcome back! Today I’m going to share information about the nine major food allergens in the United States (and there’s a surprise at the end of this post). Sadly, I’m allergic to (or partially allergic to) five of these allergens. Yes, food shopping with me is an adventure in learning new swear words and phrases. Here’s a little history.
Been around longer than we thought
Awareness of food allergies goes further back in history than many may realize (including yours truly). I’m not going to go through the whole timeline. I’ll just touch on a few points in history. In 2700 BCE, Chinese emperors Sheng Nong and Huang Di received written advice regarding foods pregnant women and people with skin “ulcerations” should not eat. Later, in ancient Greece, Hippocrates, who lived in the early 400s BCE, observed some people had strange reactions to eating cheese. Moses Maimonides, in the late 12th century, described how some foods trigger asthma.
In 1902, Charles Richet introduced the term “anaphylaxis” (which I touched on briefly in my last post) and connected it to food allergies, and Albert H Rowe and Albert Rowe Jr. published the first allergy textbook in 1931. In 1965, Teruko Ishizaka and Kimishige Ishizaka discovered immunoglobulin E (IgE). While that’s just some highlights, there’s more to the story.
The original 8 major food allergens
According to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), eight allergens accounted for 90% of food allergies and allergic reactions in 2004 when Congress passed the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, also known as FALCPA. This law listed the following eight foods as major food allergens:
- Milk
- Eggs
- Fish
- Crustacean shellfish (shrimp, crab, lobster, mussels, etc.)
- Tree nuts
- Peanuts (which are a bean, not a nut)
- Soybeans
- Wheat
- (Sesame landed a spot on this list later)
FALCPA also required food suppliers and manufacturers to list all ingredients and call out which of the eight allergens were included in food products. Manufacturers also had to let people know if a certain food was processed or created in a facility that also included any of the eight main allergens
Number 9 makes the list
In April 2021, the United States government passed and signed into law the Food Allergy Safety, Treatment, Education, and Research (FASTER) Act, which added sesame as the ninth major food allergy. This law also applied all FDA regulations to sesame. The law went into effect January 1, 2023, and products already on shelves did not have to be recalled and relabeled. Since, in some cases, there could still be long-term items that aren’t labeled as containing sesame, the FDA has a video that provides more information about the FASTER Act. Below is a helpful image from the FDA regarding food allergens and reading ingredient labels.
Surprise! A Recipe
I’m going post recipes in the blog posts from time to time, and I’m going to avoid, as much as possible, the painfully long posts we all scroll through to get to the recipe. I don’t tend to read them, so I’m not going to make you do it, either. I will offer some tips and, more importantly, some suggestions on substitutions. I’ll do my best to keep it short.
Since grilling season is quickly approaching here in the Midwest, where I am, I’m offering a barbecue rub recipe I created several years ago. I found that it’s wonderful on pretty much any meat but fish (mainly because I haven’t tried it on fish; if you do, drop me a line and let me know how it tastes). The recipe will make enough to use and store, so you can adjust it to fit your needs. Here you go!
Brigitta’s Barbecue Rub
2 Tablespoons coconut sugar
2 Tablespoons light brown sugar
1 Tablespoon dry mustard
2 Tablespoons smoked paprika
2 Tablespoons sweet paprika
1 Tablespoon dried basil
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
2 Tablespoons onion powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 Tablespoons kosher salt or course-grain salt
1-2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon black pepper
Mix all the ingredients together and use as needed or store in a jar for later use. Quick notes: If you cannot use, do not like, or cannot afford coconut sugar, use dark brown sugar. Also, if you are allergic to capsaicin, replace the paprika and cayenne pepper with cumin and wasabe powder. They will give you the spicy kick you’re looking for without sending you to the hospital.
That’s all for today. If you have any comments, please feel free to leave them below.
Be safe. Eat safe. And savor life!
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