Food allergy notices

[Freefaller]

In the UK you can buy a pack of peanuts which states a warning that the packet may contain nuts and that people who suffer from nut allergies ought to seek advice before consuming.

You get packets of baked beans which no doubt have "trace of nuts" on them too now probably...

Now I spend a lot of time in other parts of Europe, France and Spain in particular, and I'm just tucking into some nice "saucisson sec" (do a google image search if you don't know what it is) that we often get (among other things) from France, and have in constant supply (well I am a froggy afterall ). Now this particular one has hazelnuts inside it - which is absolutely divine. And on the cover it says "Saucisson sec avec noisette". It's pretty obvious it contains nuts. However there are no warnings for allergies.

Then I look at other products I have from France which "may contain traces of nuts" or "milk" or "gluten" or "every allergy known to man" and they have none of that. They don't seem to have it in Spain or Italy either.

Now is this because they are generally healthier and don't suffer from allergies or just have better quality of foods? Is it because they have better genetics? Are their diets more balanced allowing them to cope with more foods and hence not have allergies? Or is it just because they are too lazy/intelligent to put warnings on? Or is it just plain common sense?

I have never seen so many allergy warnings in any other country bar the US on foods. Your body can build up a resistance or a rejection of certain types of food if you eat too much of it, so it could just be that the UK diet is a bit poor? Too many additives?

I'm just intruiged and would be interested in the input from you lot as to why generally in Europe food allergy warnings seem to be of less importance or less of an issue than they seem to be in the UK. I know this is fact as I talked about it to locals in numerous countries.

 

[Freefaller]

I understand why they do it. However, how come the UK has a much bigger prevelance of nut allergies (for example) than the rest of Europe? Funnily enough there are the same amount of suffers apparently in France as they are in the UK. However publicised cases of allergy issues are almost unheard of (certainly in France) - hence the lack of warnings I guess? Is it because people use their common sense more, or maybe they are less serious?

There seems to be a prevelance in the UK for allergies it seems. Having lived in other countries it seems to be less publically known at any rate as you hardly see it. I just find it amazing that there are no allergy warnings in the Med or France and that part of the world. Anaphylaxis is not exactly an unknown or uncommon thing anymore.

It must be something to do with our culture or diets that we seem to suffer more than the rest of Europe. Or maybe it's just we're more careful and aware and believe in prevention rather than cure?

This is coming from a 3rd party (i.e. me) who isn't allergic to anything, but as an interested observer.

 

[Freefaller]

I think with a lot of the products it's just a disclaimer, the stuff doesn't have any nuts/nut traces in but has been prepared in a factory where they also handle/prepare nuts so there's an outside chance that cross-contamination could happen, and the manufacturer is simply covering themselves.

What do the poor people who really are dangerously Anaphylaxic do? They must have to avoid so many foods and never trust restaurants?!

My cousin (froggy) is apparently Anaphylaxic (nuts) but as long as they're not peanuts he's fine. And never pays attention to what he eats... :/

 

[Freefaller]

I would imagine our diet is very strongly related to the increased prevalence of the allergies. I don't think there is another civilised European country which has such poor diet and nutrition. And even when you say something like 'fish', generally the quality of farmed foods in the UK is much much poorer than countries on the continent, without spending vast amount of money, which the majority of the population simply don't have. Tell me, how many French or Italian etc families will you see sit down to dinner on a daily basis to eat something which has come out of the microwave, stuffed full of god knows what?

I fear this may be a somewhat pertinent post, which I agree with.

I was just interested what the people who were allergic who browse the forums (as Bernard - sorry to hear that it's that bad - must be a right pain in the behind!) how they cope with it, and how they cope when they live/go abroad.

 

[Freefaller]

How strange, in the allergy notices on something I bought today - 'contains celery, milk, wheat, gluten, soya, yeast. May contain traces of sesame seeds and nuts.'

When did celery start having to be listed? Forgive my ignorance if this is something else that large amounts of people now have an allergy to. Here is a better idea, put a warning on the pack 'Allergy advice - please check ingredients list'.

You would have thought so wouldn't you? Which is why I guess a lot of countries don't have allergy advice because people generally look at the ingredients for themselves and make up their own minds.

 

[Freefaller]

Well, I doubt that saucisson is particularly healthy - full of saturated fat.

Fantastic!

I never said it was healthy, but to be honest, it's not that bad at all. A few slices is much better than a pack of crisps or peanuts. Besides this is not a discussion of my diet (which is extremely healthy) but of plastering foods with allergy notices in what seems to be an over zealous way, and comparing it to that of the continent.

 

[Freefaller]

We have a guy in work who eats sliced Chorizo for breakfast

You did mention the possibility of the UK diet being so poor, hence the comment about sausage which is quite popular in those parts.

Fair point. You do realise that saucisson is just a snack that is eaten a little bit like tapas, and not main meal The french do have a very varied diet and IMO along with the Mediterranean eat much more healthily.

I often have cold cuts in the morning, but I also have fruit as well. And my porridge (my non french side obviously )

 

[Freefaller]

Basically you have to trust your supermarkets with your life it seems. Which is an awful position to be in I feel.

A couple of friends have changed their live styles and diets, as well as moving to other countries to find their ailments have decreased in severity. Surely there must be a link?

 

[Freefaller]

Do you have any allergies? You would be surprised how much time the 'allergy advice' sections save over reading the ingredients list, especially when you have to check every single product you buy and a lot of them have two dozen different ingredients printed in font size 2.

What if they miss something that not many people have... like celery for example (which I've never heard of before!) - surely then they are more liable owing to the fact that they've actually made a point of pointing out alergy information. It seems to me to be getting to the stage where allergy advice is pretty much just listing the ingredients anyway. I'm sure E-numbers have a lot to answer for...

 

[Freefaller]

So if the labels aren't that accurate it makes it harder for people to trust them, and then people will start ignoring them (a la "boy who cried wold") and that is where the problems start. I wonder if there is a "cure" for allergies? I couldn't imagine what it would be like living with one :/

Believe it or not our bodies haven't adapted yet to bovine milk, and we shouldn't really have it as it's far too rich for our system. Nature/evolution hasn't modified our genetic code enough yet - which is why I guess there are so many allergies. As for bread/wheat, I think that has to do with the way it's processed. Processed foods are always going to contain contaminants that will not do your body any good. I guess our bodies are more susceptible to "alien" products than we realise.

It will be a sad day when our bodies start rejecting all good foods. Maybe it's a natural cycle and it's just nature's way of keeping the population in check?