My Mother’s Day Meal: simple and fresh

Boys got me this beautiful artichoke flower at the market.  Fresh market berries and homemade Thermomix coconut milk with Mother's Day breakfast

Boys chose favorite, seasonal market veggies to include for my special lunch

Preparing the first corn of the season

Corn steams perfectly and effortlessly using Thermomix Varoma dish

Artichoke flower followed us outside and inside

All freshly grilled and Thermomix steamed for me today

Real, homemade food is always a good thing.  Some sobremesa to follow outside on the patio :))))

Sesame in Candy Corn? Who Knew?

I wouldn't want my child eating this scary list of chemicals as is.  But look at the last ingredient: Sesame Oil.  I wonder why?

Found, Safe Good-Priced Organic Raisins

I was just at home visiting my family in the United States, and being that sesame is not a priority allergen in the United States, I contemplated bringing raisins from Toronto with us.  Before leaving I decided to contact Trader Joe's directly to inquire about their raisins and possible sesame cross-contamination.  To my delight, Trader Joe's has confirmed that their Organic Thompson Seedless Raisins are safe.  The email response reads as follows: "There is no sesame in the facility that processes our Trader Joe's Organic Thompson Seedless Raisins".  Raisins that are cleared for tree nuts and sesame seeds; good for our family and good for snacking.  *Keep in mind that some raisins may contain certain oils that an allergic family is avoiding.  

President's Choice Organics Peanut Butter: free of sesame cross-contamination

Finding peanut butter or peanuts from a sesame-free facility took some time and work. After a few months of searching, I got good news: Loblaw's President's Choice Organics Peanut Butter is a safe option for my family.  I called the customer service number and was told:  "no sesame in manufacturing plant or lines".  If this is a good option for your family, just make sure to make the call or email yourself; I always feel most comfortable when I speak or write directly with the company.

Rice Cakes and Possible Sesame Cross-Contamination

I like to travel with a bag of rice cakes.  I have checked with two brands, Koyo and Lundberg, about sesame cross-contamination.  


Koyo's response:  The rice cakes have no traces of egg.  They do have sesame-flavored rice cakes.  They clean the machine each time they change ingredients; however, since the plain rice cakes share the same machine with the sesame-flavored rice cakes, there are possibilities of cross-contamination.


Lundberg's response: They do not have eggs in any of their facilities.  They do have sesame in their rice chips and rice cakes.  They included an allergy sheet with detailed allergen information.  They consider sesame, sulfites, and soon mustard, to be priority allergens in accordance with Canadian law (So fantastic!).


I am curious to hear from other sesame-allergic families their thoughts on the matter.


Websites: 
http://www.koyonaturalfoods.com/rice_cakes.aspx
http://www.lundberg.com/

Searching: spices made in sesame-free and egg-free facility

I have not found spices I am completely comfortable with.  I have my pantry stocked with Frontier/Simply Organics and Whole Foods 365.  My toddler has not had a problem with any of these spices to date (we had been using them prior to confirmed sesame allergy). Still, I feel like I should do more research in order to find a brand that does not process or package sesame.  


Thus far I have contacted several companies. All responded promptly.   


Frontier:  Company's customer service informed me the facility is not allergen free. They do not state that any of their products are allergen free. They follow strict Good Manufacturing Practices to minimize the potential for cross-contamination, but do not test for the presence of allergens in final products. Both eggs and sesame are present in their facility. Since they utilize the same lines for allergen and non allergen spices, to be on the safe side, they unfortunately recommend not purchasing this line of products. Customer Service emailed a list which includes the allergens present in their facility below. 


www.OrganicSpices.com: Company's customer service informed me that they do not carry or offer egg in their plant however they do pack sesame seeds in their facility.  They stressed that there is always some risk of cross contamination.


Whole Foods 365 organics:  The label in Canada states, "Good manufacturing practices used to segregate ingredients in a facility that also processes tree nut, milk, egg, wheat and soy ingredients."  So, no sesame is mentioned (It has to be since sesame is considered priority allergen), but egg is listed.  Personally, I am ok with with the tree-nut warning.  As a mother, I am not comfortable taking the risk for my child.  


As you can see, the labeling practices are not consistent.  Is the Whole Foods 365 organics more safe or less safe than the the other brands compared in this post? It's the only brand of the three in this post that has allergy information printed on the product. Should a consumer assume that if no allergen information is present, than the product is safe?  


The allergic individuals have the responsibility of making sense of labels.  We all have different comfort levels with labeling, but I think that we can agree that it is a hard call to make when, as a parent, you are making the decision for a child.  


Do we contact each and every company to inquire about their facilities?  This process could drive anyone nuts.


I am hoping that someone has already done similar research and can share there results with me. 

ShaSha Bread Is Sesame-Free!

little train-shaped bread for
avocado sandwiches

We always have a few loaves of their spelt bread in the freezer.  ShaSha Co.: Natural Artisan Bakery, makes a wonderfully delicious organic sprouted spelt bread.  Very short list of ingredients: Organic Whole Spelt Flour, Filtered Water, Organic Sourdough Bacterial Culture, Organic Sprouted Spelt, Pure Sea Salt.  They are located in Toronto. Their products are available throughout the city.  They also have a store, and I believe they ship as well within Canada.  It is not clear to me if they ship to the United States.  


I often cut out shapes with cookie cutters and store the crusts in freezer bags in the freezer.  When I need breadcrumbs, I pull what I need.  Breadcrumbs are ready in a second, just throw into Thermomix turn the dial and they are ready. 


Please contact them if you have a peanut allergy, I just noticed that one of their new snacks contains peanut butter.  I am going to contact them again to require about both peanuts and tree-nuts.  I will also find out about shipping to the U.S.
*SINCE DISCOVERED NO SHIPPING :(


Visit their website:
http://www.shashabread.com/product/20/format/6

Safe soy sauce for families with sesame allergy!

Finally, after a lot of searching, I have found what I was looking for.  Bragg Liquid Aminos do not share a line with sesame.  I emailed the company and they quickly responded with the answer I was looking for.  If you are looking for a safe alternative to tamari or soy (both often run the risk of cross-contamination with sesame if product shares line with sesame).


Here is the link to the product:  http://bragg.com/products/bragg-liquid-aminos-soy-alternative.html


Please note that Bragg does not label for sesame.


I have also researched Eden Organic Tamari.  The customer service department responded with the following statement: "The line where the Tamari is bottled also has sesame oil bottled.  The lines are cleaned thoroughly in between runs".  

EnerG-voluntarily labels for sesame seeds

Great news, EnerG does label for sesame seeds.  I sent an email to EnerG customer service and they got back to me quickly with a detailed answer.  EnerG informed me that they only run sesame seeds on their pretzel line. The pretzels are processed in a different facility than the rest of their products.  Look for "May contain sesame seeds" on their pretzel labels!

I will support EnerG products since they support us!

Political action: sesame as priority label in the United States

The U.S. labeling laws presently do not include seeds as a priority allergen.  Canada and Europe do consider sesame as a top allergen and are labeling for sesame on food labels.  How can we increase awareness and demand political action?  Here is a simple way to voice concern:


1) Go to the following website:  http://www.faiusa.org/?page=home
2) Click on "Advocacy"
3) Click on "Write Congress" in drop-down menu
4) Write simple letter,  you could include what is written below:
Please support the inclusion of sesame as a priority allergen for food labeling in the United States. Seed allergies are on the rise.  Public awareness needs to increase in order to keep allergic individual safe.  

5) Fill in basic personal information and you will automatically receive confirmation of receipt and see the names of your U. S representatives and Senators who received it.