Top 14 Allergens Universal List A Great Idea for Every Country
It was a pleasant surprise to visit England and Ireland recently. The top 14 food allergens are in a numbered list that is used in restaurants on menu items. For a person with food sensitivities this felt like a warm welcome! So what is this list? Read on for more.
Fourteen key allergens which must be clearly identifiable by law:
- Cereals containing gluten
- Crustaceans
- Egg
- Fish
- Peanuts
- Soybeans
- Milk (including lactose)
- Nuts
- Celery
- Sesame
- Seeds
- Sulphur dioxide and/or sulphites
- Lupin
- Molluscs
One can quickly learn their ‘numbers’ and then more confidently eat out. For me personally, I was able to try so many more dishes that I wouldn’t have known were safe for me to eat and it was really fun.
As a grain free mama, if I could help to further differentiate, I would change #1 from ‘Cereals containing gluten’ to include all of the edible grasses (the plants from which we derive the cereals, flours, cane- and corn- sugar). In case you are unfamiliar with the list of these edible grasses, they are; wheat, oat, rye, barley, millet, sorghum, teff, spelt, corn, rice and sugar cane.
Why? The whole family of edible grasses cause unstable blood sugar and raise inflammation. High levels of inflammation eventually trigger autoimmune disease development. Chronic blood sugar instability often signals the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.
Thus including this whole group in #1 would be of benefit for many people worldwide.
It s a big issue and can seem like it is too big to change, yet when are we going to stand up for change in this area. Every one of us has exactly one life to live in the here and now…and we can’t just hit the ‘re-do’ magic button if we do not like the condition of our health as we age.
What we CAN do is eat with the end in mind. We CAN push for a system that works for every person. We CAN demand more transparency with ingredients that are in the foods that are so readily available for purchase.
When there is no cleaver packaging and marketing screen to stand behind, food producers and restauranteurs can be held to a standard. Consumers will stand behind companies that are honest and are part of the solution.
Each food group on the above list is not just a good idea for some people, but can actually be deadly if ingested by an unsuspecting allergy-affected person. Health has to be maintained pro-actively.
Every life is worth protecting.
In the past couple of years the call and cry for truth in packaging and disclosure of ingredients has been steadily growing. Let’s also include ‘natural flavors’ to this group. If these mystery flavors are so natural, then why are they not labeled by their names?
A worldwide adoption of one standard, which could then be implemented not just in restaurants, but additionally on packaged goods, at quick pickup or fast food restaurants, events, etc. This would go a long way towards making life much more accessible for people who are affected by food sensitivities or health concerns.
Please visit our website, Grain Free Mama’s to learn more about our products (Grain Free Mama’s baking mixes), read more great articles, and also to access our online training course, “Sustainable Clean Eating Made Simple.”
You can read more about the UK standards in this article, Allergen Guidance For Food Businesses
Written by Margie Traxler
Grain Free Mama’s is a FoodTech Consumer Product Goods company. We make gluten/grain/sugar free (Edible Grasses Free), dairy free and botanical nut free baking mixes that put the simple back into simply good for you. We also have educational resources to help you on your healthy eating journey. Margie, the Founder/CEO, received her B.S. in Biology from Portland State University. She has 22 years of experience as a successful Restaurant owner. She lives and operates her business in Henderson, Nevada.
