Food Allergies: Be Aware

I just watched on the news that a local 13 year old girl died from her allergic reaction to peanuts. 

She was at camp with other children and it was snack time, though the room was dark. They passed out rice krispie treats. However, those treats turned out to be ones with chocolate and peanut butter in them. She was allergic to peanuts. She tasted it and spat it out right away. But still, it was enough to cause her to go into anaphylactic shock and cardiac arrest. She died in her father's arms. My condolences to her family. 

Here's the link to the video on yahoo. 

http://news.yahoo.com/video/teenager-dies-fathers-arms-camp-013900034.html

We all need to be aware of the food allergies that are out there. Food allergies can be life threatening. Peanut allergies has increased 3 fold the past decade and we need to be aware of that. Those suffering from food allergies should be cautious of what foods they are eating, making sure they know what ingredients are in them. 

1. Never accept food from others unless it's from people you know and trust. They should be aware of your food allergies. Family and close friends are the people who it would be safe to accept food from. 
2. Be sure to read the ingredients list on boxes. Companies are required to tell if there are any foods in their products that most people with food allergies are allergic too. 
3. If you know someone is allergic to any types of foods and you are preparing different types of foods, be sure to not cross-contaminate the utensils used when cooking/baking. Even a hint of the food can cause an allergic reaction. It's better to be safe than have something happen. 
4. If you are preparing food for a class or work place (whatever it may be), ask if there are any known food allergies in that class/company (don't ask for who, just be general). If there are, ask what food should be avoided when preparing it. 

Here are two websites about food allergies and regulations from the FDA and CDC, the US Food and Drug Administration as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAllergens/default.htm

http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAllergens/ucm079311.htm

http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/foodallergies/

This is very important. Be aware of food allergies out there. I say this because I remember one year, there was a senior prank and peanut butter was smothered all over the door handles of the doors to every entrance of the school (that was just part of the prank). There were at least two people who were severely allergic to peanuts and couldn't attend school that day. They couldn't risk getting a reaction. 

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The eight major food allergens identified by the law are:
Milk Eggs Fish  Crustacean shellfish  Tree nuts  Peanuts Wheat Soybeans

What I am trying to say is that please be aware of food allergies. If you know someone is allergic to foods, watch out for them. There is more that I want to say about this topic but I will just leave it at this for now.