These fact sheets offer families tools for managing food allergies effectively, including posters, fast facts, topic sheets (such as myths about allergies or diagnosis) as well as checklists and tips.
Food businesses must provide allergen information upon customer request. This must occur both during prepacked and non-prepacked food ordering processes.
Food Allergies in Schools
Since children spend much of their day at school, ensuring safe educational environments for students with food allergies is of utmost importance. Schools must create policies centered around allergen avoidance; provide staff training on recognizing and responding to allergic reactions (including anaphylaxis), and offer equal opportunity learning accommodations.
As part of your research into your child’s school’s management of food allergies and their development of key relationships, educate yourself about its practices. Begin by meeting with their school nurse and teachers. Depending on the individual circumstances of your student, it may also be worthwhile meeting with administrators at his or her school.
Ask what written plan your student will have at school to protect him or her from allergens, as well as what accommodations might be necessary. This plan should include your student’s allergy symptom history, food allergen names and emergency contact information, along with instructions on how to administer epinephrine in case of an anaphylactic reaction. Your family should review and update this plan with their doctor annually.
Discuss with the school the procedures surrounding class parties, field trips and other classroom activities that involve food. Determine if your student can carry their own epinephrine as well as how staff will manage such situations; including use of alternative foods and how these foods will be kept separate from allergy-safe options.
Food Allergies in Child Care
Young children spend up to 12 hours every day at child care facilities. It is their duty to ensure all health and safety needs of their students are fulfilled, including prevention, recognition, and treatment of food allergies.
Food allergies are immune system responses to certain foods, triggering the body to release chemicals like histamine that cause symptoms like hives, breathing difficulties, stomach cramps or diarrhea – usually the initial warning signs and potentially life-threatening. Other symptoms could include feeling lightheadedness, an irregular heartbeat or sudden loss of consciousness.
An intolerance, on the other hand, refers to difficulties digesting certain foods that can result in nausea, cramps, gas, bloating or diarrhea. While such intolerances aren’t as serious as allergies and are easily treated using medication, allergies must always be managed accordingly.
Children with food allergies must be properly diagnosed by a healthcare provider and given a written care plan from their child care facility to adhere to while at child care. This plan should list which foods cause allergic reactions as well as prevention measures. It should also contain details regarding treatment plans like doses, timing and ways of administering any necessary medications (e.g. epinephrine). In addition, their healthcare provider must give the child care facility copies of this care plan with instructions to store emergency medicines in an unlocked cabinet accessible for staff staff only.
Food Allergies at Work
Allergies in the workplace can be challenging for everyone involved. No one enjoys having to say “No thanks, this contains X?” at every company lunch – yet these actions must be done for safety purposes as allergic reactions in the workplace could become potentially life-threatening, leading to anaphylactic shock or worse.
Employers should ensure their employees with food allergies have access to allergen-free zones in break rooms and cafeterias, and all kitchen appliances, utensils and storage areas are free from allergens. Furthermore, companies should develop detailed policies and provide training regarding managing food allergies in the workplace.
Employees should know the signs and methods for using an auto-injector of epinephrine. Furthermore, they should share their Allergy & Anaphylaxis Emergency Plan with managers and human resources departments; at least three trustworthy co-workers should also be appointed in case an anaphylactic reaction arises.
Employers should try their best to avoid scheduling team outings or events that involve food; if this is not feasible, employers must accommodate an employee with food allergies by permitting them to bring their own lunch, informing colleagues in advance about events that involve food, and offering flexible scheduling so the person with food allergies can work when there are less people present.
Food Allergies in the Home
Home is often where food allergies are most prominent, so families must take precautions against accidental cross-contact between allergens in food being prepared at home and those that contain allergens in your home environment. Some families opt to eliminate problem foods altogether from their households entirely while others create a safe kitchen and dining area while teaching family members to consume safely outside this space.
Before handling food, always wash your hands with hot, soapy water and dry them thoroughly – commercial hand wipes won’t do as good of a job as soap and water do in terms of protecting against allergen-containing ingredients. Teach all members of your household how to properly care for dishes, pots, pans and utensils used when preparing for someone with food allergies; consider dedicating dishes specifically for allergy-safe eating; keep allergen-containing items separate on shelves while allergy-safe ones on separate ones; store allergy-safe foods on separate shelves while label food containers with allergy alert labels so family members know which ones they should avoid; these techniques should help them identify safe items among them all others in their family unit!
Food Allergen Labelling and Consumer Protection Act, or FALCPA, requires most packaged foods sold in Canada to include an allergen disclosure statement on their labels if containing milk, egg, wheat, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and crustacean shellfish allergens as part of a “contains” statement. This rule covers most packaged food (excluding meat products regulated by Canadian Food Inspection Agency ), dietary supplements drugs cosmetics as well as most food served through retail or food service establishments.
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