The law of unintended consequences strikes again.

Brookswood

Brookswood

Senior Member
Folks you really can't make this stuff up......

In its wisdom the US Government has added sesame to its list of allergens. Products that contain sesame now must be labeled. Unfortunately, many food producers, especially bakeries cannot be sure that all of their products haven't come into contact with sesame put into another product.

In order to avoid the stringent labeling and legal issues this involves, they have simplified matters by putting a little sesame into all of their products and adding sesame to the label. One restaurant now puts sesame into its bread sticks. Another has added sesame flour to its sandwich buns. And another now puts a bit of sesame into its rolls. Now nobody will inadvertently be exposed to sesame.

It's possible over time the bakeries will be able to isolate sesame, but as of today they are not setup to do so and can't be certain that no sesame is accidently getting into a food product. So in the short term the best and easiest solution is to put it into everything.

Problem solved?
 

Why couldn't they just do like nuts and put on the label that the food was processed in a facility that also processes sesame? It would be weird for each allergen to have different labeling requirements.
 
Oy! Our IT department is going to be burning the midnight oil to get that added into everything we sell in the bakery. When we print out labels for products, the ingredients are listed on the label. Sometimes, the list is so long that it runs over into another label. Imagine trying to put two 6" labels on some of the smaller packaging. Chihuahua!
 

Let me ask a question that has troubled me since my daughter first started preschool, and I learned of the mania over food allergies.

Now, I'm not denying that there is such a thing as food allergies, but growing up, eating cafeteria lunches, snacks at friends' house, etc., were you ever aware of one of your friends getting sick from eating a specific food item?

I agree that there was "indigestion" and that might have been food allergies, but did any seem life-threatening?

Me, I cannot recall this.

So maybe there are food allergies, but you simply learned to avoid certain foods.

What do you think?
 
Sawfish said:
were you ever aware of one of your friends getting sick from eating a specific food item?
Click to expand...
My sister was allergic to wheat, milk, and a bunch of other foods. They mostly just made her break out in hives, get itchy, and get cranky. She had to have allergy injections every week.

I don't remember being aware of any deadly danger, but I was mostly unaware of everything in life unless it directly affected me or my friends.
 
My best friend actually went into anaphylactic shock and came close to dying in high school when she ate a Fig Newton. She was allergic to figs (and several other things)but I can`t remember now,as this was 57 years ago,if she knew she was allergic or wasn`t thinking that a Fig Newton contained figs. After all,back then,all we cared about was whether or not we had enough orange juice cans to set our hair that night!
 
Mrs. Robinson said:
My best friend actually went into anaphylactic shock and came close to dying in high school when she ate a Fig Newton. She was allergic to figs (and several other things)but I can`t remember now,as this was 57 years ago,if she knew she was allergic or wasn`t thinking that a Fig Newton contained figs. After all,back then,all we cared about was whether or not we had enough orange juice cans to set our hair that night!
Click to expand...
Hah!

Thanks for sharing!
 
Brookswood said:
So in the short term the best and easiest solution is to put it into everything.

Problem solved?
Click to expand...
I love sesame and am not allergic to it or nuts etc. I'm all for labeling for processed foods. The food manufacturers add many different forms of sugars to keep the consuming public hooked. Likewise the pharmaceutical industry has put acetaminophen(Tylenol) in all sorts of pain and OTC meds, in order to keep profiting off a chemical compound that is as effective as a placebo. The practice has stymied the FDA's desire to outright ban acetaminophen.
 
Georgiagranny said:
Oy! Our IT department is going to be burning the midnight oil to get that added into everything we sell in the bakery. When we print out labels for products, the ingredients are listed on the label. Sometimes, the list is so long that it runs over into another label. Imagine trying to put two 6" labels on some of the smaller packaging. Chihuahua!
Click to expand...
I'm not eating anything that has Chihuahua in it. ;)
 
Sawfish said:
Let me ask a question that has troubled me since my daughter first started preschool, and I learned of the mania over food allergies.

Now, I'm not denying that there is such a thing as food allergies, but growing up, eating cafeteria lunches, snacks at friends' house, etc., were you ever aware of one of your friends getting sick from eating a specific food item?

I agree that there was "indigestion" and that might have been food allergies, but did any seem life-threatening?

Me, I cannot recall this.

So maybe there are food allergies, but you simply learned to avoid certain foods.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
For many people peanut butter has caused death, including kids. I had a friend whose child had this risk and he fought a public battle against the schools.
 
Lawrence00 said:
For many people peanut butter has caused death, including kids. I had a friend whose child had this risk and he fought a public battle against the schools.
Click to expand...
I want to clarify this, and focus.

This is what I *heard* for the first 8-10 year of her public school life, and she had several friends that were very anxious about this.

But some of these self-same friends later ate all of the stuff that they were scared to eat when young.

I can understand this from a parent's perspective: you have one, maybe two kids, late in life. You know NOTHING about raising kids, your mom being either dead or in a retirement home, and you are scared to lose this one.

But is this fear of death realistic, or simply a late 20th, early 21st C popular neurosis?
 
In junior high school I had a friend who was deathly allergic to peanuts. Another friend gave him playful smooch on the lips after eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and he went into anaphylactic shock. Allergies ain't no joke.

Adding sesame to baked goods to get around proper labeling is beyond stupid. It's crazy. @HoneyNut is right. Just label it as they do for products that are used on equipment that also process nuts.

Bread Suppliers ‘Adding Sesame’ as Seed Becomes Top Allergen > https://www.allergicliving.com/2022...s-adding-sesame-as-seed-becomes-top-allergen/

"Excerpt from the above article -

"A growing number of U.S. commercial bakeries are intentionally adding sesame to some breads and baked goods, then labeling sesame as an ingredient.

These additions just barely precede a new law coming into effect that makes sesame the ninth top allergen in the United States. The new practice is eliciting frustration and concern in the food allergy community.

The FASTER Act is meant to make food safer for Americans who are allergic to sesame. Under the law, which takes effect January 1, 2023, the FDA requires sesame to be clearly labeled on food packaging in plain language.

But news that baking industry companies and restaurants, such as Chick-fil-A and Pan-O-Gold, are instead adding a small amount of sesame to their products, in light of the new requirements, are “horrendous,” says Jason Linde of the nonprofit FARE. He says these businesses “chose to turn their backs on the approximately 1.6 million Americans with sesame allergy.”

“We are disappointed and frustrated that previously trusted companies would rather add small amounts of sesame flour to their bakery products than comply with the intent of the FASTER Act, clean their lines, and safely feed members of our community,” said Linde, FARE’s senior vice president, government and community affairs.

Allergic Living reached out to several restaurant chains and baking suppliers to learn more about sudden sesame flour additions. We’ve discovered the practice is widespread and growing. As well, we reached out to the FDA, which enforces food allergy labeling.

“While a practice of adding sesame and then declaring it on the label is not violative, it would make it more difficult for sesame allergic consumers to find foods that are safe for them to consume,” an FDA spokesperson said in an email. This is “a result the FDA does not support,” the spokesperson said."

You do know what FDA stands for don'tcha?... Fu*ked up Dopes and A$$holes!
05


Bella ✌️
 
Sawfish said:
Let me ask a question that has troubled me since my daughter first started preschool, and I learned of the mania over food allergies.

Now, I'm not denying that there is such a thing as food allergies, but growing up, eating cafeteria lunches, snacks at friends' house, etc., were you ever aware of one of your friends getting sick from eating a specific food item?

I agree that there was "indigestion" and that might have been food allergies, but did any seem life-threatening?

Me, I cannot recall this.

So maybe there are food allergies, but you simply learned to avoid certain foods.

What do you think?
Click to expand...
My brother is ten years younger than me. At about a year old, he began having breathing problems. This little, tiny baby would wake me up from the other room with his loud gasping for breath, and wheezing. The neighbors could hear the sounds of my 20 lb. brother trying to breath. After many hospitalizations, it was determined he was extremely allergic to eggs. When he was two, my parents taught him what "eggs" looked like on the ingredients list. His life depended on him checking for eggs. He now eats eggs. His allergies faded, as most childhood allergies do. My point being, it may be a lot of needless grief, if you don't have allergies, to cope with lists, etc.; but if you are allergic, it may mean hospitalization, or death.
 
I can only think of one way to get past the allergy issues.

We should all become Breathairians and only live on the air we breath.

Breatharianism is the belief that survival without the consumption of food is possible and that prana alone can sustain one's life. Also called inedia, a Latin word which means "fasting," breatharianism is to live on sunlight, the source of prana, which is considered the life force by Hindu philosophy.
Click to expand...
 
And what about "Natural Flavors" and "Artificial Flavors" ? Neither one has to be itemized on the label by the manufacturers. If you have an allergy you have to call the manufacturer and ask.
 
Now the bakeries can join the fans of Frank’s RedHot Sauce, and say that they “put that **** on everything!” 😸

CECFB6F2-3DD0-4F24-8B0B-013187B19662.jpeg
 
Wigglestein said:
The most important thing our government can do regarding our food is require labels to include "Country of Origin".
Click to expand...
That is required here in Canada, on every food product sold in Canada. Are you saying it is NOT required in the USA ? I am surpised if that is the case. Link to Canadian food labelling regulations about "Country of Origin " link. Country of origin labelling for food products - Canadian Food Inspection Agency (canada.ca) JimB.
 

You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top