Category: Newly Diagnosed

 Model Photo: colourbox.com 

I remember the first shop so clearly.   It wasn’t actually for me, instead I accompanied my sister after her son was diagnosed with peanut and egg allergies.  Later when I was diagnosed with intolerances, it certainly was an easier first shop already having experienced one before.  Anyway, back to that first shop with my sister…I am sure the store manager thought we were casing the joint for a large-scale robbery – we spent 5 hours in the store.  We must have looked so dodgy, loitering in the aisles, picking up product after product and then putting them down again….they really must have thought we were mad or robbing the joint! 

This shop, aside from restocking the pantry, was also to ensure that there were some “treats” to show her son that this allergy wasn’t going to stop him eating yummy food.    Essentially we just started at aisle one and read label after label after label.  This is definitely the hardest shop.  After this, you know what brands to look for and subsequent shops require you to just cross check the label to make sure nothing has changed since your last purchase.

After the five hours in the store, of me reading the label, her reading the label, me reading the label, her reading the label, a discussion and then finally agreeing it could go in the trolley, we ventured home to unpack where I checked the label, she checked the label and then it went in the pantry.  Whilst my background as a food scientist certainly helped with this first shop and label reading, it was still a scary task even for me.  With my tips and information below, I hope that I make your first shop a little easier and less scary.    Every shop will get easier.  You will always need to check labels and be vigilant, but it will get easier.

Loni xx

MY FOUR SIMPLE SHOPPING TIPS:

TIP 1: Shop for single ingredient foods.

Fruit, vegetables, unprocessed cuts of meats (fillets, steaks, chops etc) only contain one ingredient so are easy to identify as suitable or not for your dietary requirements. Preparing food from single ingredient foods means you know exactly what you are putting into the dish.

TIP 2: Learn how to read a label.

This is critically important for processed foods (food that come in packaging).  Check out my label reading tips on my website or in my cookbook and also my identifying allergens pages to help you with terms commonly used and products allergens are commonly found in. 

TIP 3: Take a second set of eyes for the first shop and clear your schedule. 

The first shop will be a length shop and there will be lots of labels to read.  A second set of eyes to cross check is definitely a big help.  

TIP 4: Check every label, every time. 

• Don’t assume that the brand is safe because you have purchased it before. 
• Don’t assume that different pack sizes of a product will have the same ingredient list. 
• Don’t assume different brands will have the same ingredient list.

CHECK EVERY LABEL, EVERY TIME.

So those are my four simple tips.  Next I want to share with you some information about green grocers and butchers vs supermarkets, and processed foods to help you with your shopping.

Green Grocers and Butchers vs Supermarkets:

Getting to know local green grocer and butcher is a great option as they can offer a more personal service than a supermarket can.  Plus I would rather support my local community than big supermarket chains.  By getting to know your local green grocer and butcher and discussing your allergies with them, you will very quickly be able to establish products that you can eat – for example my local butcher only uses rice flour in his sausages so I know that I can eat these.  Many butchers will be happy to prepare your products immediately after a clean so there is no risk of cross contamination and many will do a batch specifically for you. 

Supermarkets can’t offer the kind of personal service a local green grocer or butcher can. However, supermarkets are convenient with all products in one place, and for working people, often the only option as butchers and green grocers are closed after work hours and weekends are often busy with activities.  For supermarket shopping, shop around the edges, this is where you will find a lot of the single ingredient foods – fruits, vegetables and unprocessed cuts of meat. 

 Processed Foods:

Processed foods are packaged foods and make up the majority of the products in the aisles.  These will have labels that require your careful attention to read and identify if they meet your dietary needs.   Check out my website or cookbook for my tips for reading labels and information on identifying allergens in products to help you be more efficient in reading labels.

I put processed foods into three main categories:

1. Processed meats – Items such as sausages, meatballs, marinade meats and other processed meat goods will require you to read the label.
2. Foods processed predominantly for preservation or increase shelf-life – These typically have very short ingredient lists and contain only a few ingredients such as flours, sugars, pulses, pasta, rice, tinned and frozen fruits and vegetables.
3. Highly processed foods – these tend to have very long ingredient list as they are made from multiple ingredients and often have numbers in the ingredient lists representing various food additives. These will require careful attention to read the labels   to identify if these are suitable for your dietary requirements (refer to My tips for reading labels and identifying allergens).  Check, double check and triple check. 

MY FIVE EASY STEPS TO A CLEAN, ALLERGY-FRIENDLY PANTRY.

Does your pantry look like this – full of potentially allergenic products?  

Don’t know where to begin to remove the allergenic products?

 Follow my five easy steps to an allergy-friendly pantry and refrigerator.  I won’t lie, they will definitely be a lot emptier at the end of the clean than when you started.  You will need to go shopping to restock…..I can hear you thinking already, “how do I know what products are ok?”  Well, my next blog is all about the first shop and will provide you with handy tips to help guide you.

But, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.  The first job at hand is to clean out your pantry and fridge of all products containing the allergens or that may contain those allergens.  My tips are for complete removal of products containing allergens.  If you have a member of your household with anaphylactic allergies, this is the safest option.  This should be done by someone without allergies/intolerances and when any allergy/intolerance sufferers aren’t around.  Arm yourself with new sponges, new scrubbing brushes, cleaning spray, garbage bags, elbow grease and if you can get a second person to help they will make it that much easier.

Step 1:  Take everything off the shelves/out of your pantry and put on your bench.  I mean everything! 

Step 2:  Now it is time to give the shelves a good clean whilst that pantry is empty!  If your pantry was anything like mine when I did this, the honey jar was stuck to the shelf, there was stray nuts and seeds, flour dust and even a few unidentifiable items!  This step is important, as you want to remove any traces of allergens from your shelves.  So give your hands a good wash with soap, dry them on paper towel, pull out your favourite commercial cleaning product, new sponges and new scrubbing brushes and start cleaning.   When you finish cleaning, throw out the sponges and scrubbing brushes, as they may contain traces of allergens, and throughly wash your hands.  

Did you know that…..

Studies have shown that commercial cleaning products effectively remove the protein of a food allergen such as peanuts, however dishwashing liquid does not.  For hands, washing with liquid soap or bar soap is an effective method of cleaning, however plain water or alcohol-based hand sanitisers alone do not clean effectively (link to: Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology Study).  

Step 3: Ok so the pantry is clean, now on to the products.  Only put back food items that you know are safe and free from allergens.  Start with the products with the original seal intact (ie unopened products) – read the labels carefully (refer to My tips for reading labels  and Identifying Allergens section of my website).    It really helps to have a second set of eyes for this step.  Read the label, if it contains or may contain the allergen – THROW IT OUT.  If you think its ok, read the label again, then have your second set of eyes read it too.   If it’s OK, put it back in your pantry.  Continue for all unopened items.

Step 4: Once you have completed all the unopened packs, it is time to assess what’s left.  Anything that is not in its original packaging, and therefore you do not have the ingredient list for, needs to be THROWN OUT.  If you do not have the ingredient list you cannot check if it contains allergens.

Step 5:  Now, its time to deal with the opened products in original labelled packaging.  The safest option is to discard all open items as you cannot be sure of cross contact even in products that do not contain the allergen as an ingredient. For example if you are allergic to wheat, open jars of jams, spreads etc would most likely have had a knife that had bread residue on it so it MUST BE THROWN OUT.  Don’t take chances, if in doubt THROW IT OUT.

Complete steps 1-5 with your refrigerator and any other places you store food items.  You must check every food product in the house to ensure that the only foods left are safe.   Clean all your plates/crockery/cutlery/utensils.  Running all items through the dishwasher on a normal cycle is recommended by allergy organisations to effectively clean these items.

So, now you are probably standing in a house which is near empty of food.  Time to hit the shops!  A scary prospect, but with my tips on shopping in my next blog, you will be better equipped to handle this first shopping trip.  

Loni xx