Glutino and Gluten Free Pantry bought by Smart Balance

Glutino and Gluten Free Pantry bought by Smart Balance

The Glutino brand joined Smart Balance®, Earth Balance® and Bestlife™ under the Smart Balance Inc. umbrella. Smart Balance Inc. acquired DE-RO-MA, which owned Glutino Food Group, Laval, Quebec, from Claridge, a Montreal-based investment firm. Stephen Hughes, chairman and chief executive officer, Smart Balance said the gluten-free segment is complementary with the company’s corporate vision of targeting consumer’s specific health needs.

Glutino manufactures and markets gluten-free foods sold under the Glutino and Gluten Free Pantry brands. Glutino offers a shelf-stable and frozen gluten-free products, including snack foods, frozen baked goods, frozen entrees and baking mixes throughout North America.

Editor's note: ...wondering if DE-RO-MA was a pure play in gluten free stuff?..

Gluten Free Orleans

Gluten Free Orleans, MA Cape Cod

searched on Google and found a few "gluten free restaurants" in the area. There is Messina in Eastham- 4100 State Highway, El Gaupo’s, 239 Underpass Road Brewster, Chillingsworth-2449 Main Street, Brewster, Corner Store-1403 Old Queen Anne Road, Chatham, Chatham Fish Lobster, 1291 Main Street, Chatham.

a supermarket in Orleans, Shaws, has a gluten free section.

Gluten Free Upstate

* Gluten Free Upstate New York - In and around Lake George

SJ Garcias offers gluten free mexican food choices

Moose Tooth breads the french fries, thus they are not gluten free

Camp Walden has 3 celiacs out of approximately 400 kids this summer

* From Dessert First on the Food Network the host Anne Thornton stated that her sister is a celiac

Gluten Free Note

...Sent a note to the Orleans Cape Cod vacation realtor asking about suggestions for Gluten Free dining and groceries there. Awaiting a response.

Gluten Free Tortilla and Teff

Make a Gluten Free Tortilla with the gluten-free wrap from La Tortilla Factory:

http://www.latortillafactory.com/products-6.aspx

Learn about a main ingredient Teff:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eragrostis_tef


********************
Just found and thought you would find informative an article about coeliacs and Ireland:

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/health/2011/0802/1224301713131.html

First step to a Gluten Free Diary Ebook

First step to a Gluten Free Diary Ebook seems to be to review it and delete poor posts.

Gluten Free Ads

Gluten Free Ads with Google search results

If you type in Gluten Free or Gluten-Free for Google search, ads from these organizations might appear

udisglutenfree.com

celiaccentral.org

ricekrispies.com

ceceliasmarketplace.com

glutenfree.com

livingwithout.com

food4celiacs.com

elsstore.com

italianglutenfreefoods.com

vitacost.com

If you type in Celiac or Coeliac for Google search, ads from these organizations might appear

celiaccentral.org

food4celiacs.com

Gluten Free Dunkin' Donuts ?

Gluten Free Dunkin' Donuts ?

With Dunkin' Donuts now (as of today) a publicly traded company, there is the opportunity of real leverage - buy some of their stock, then express the desire for Gluten-Free Dunkin' Donuts in a shareholder's meeting, and listen to what they say.

A lot of bread for bread

A lot of bread for bread

$23 (twenty three dollars) just purchased one loaf of (frozen) bread, 6 (frozen) bagels, 6 (frozen) waffles and 3 (frozen) veggie patties - all gluten free.

Gluten-Free Gay Wedding Cake Rush?

Gluten Free Gay Wedding Cake Rush in New York Started?

...And to followup, if you don't like "Patent to Table" maybe "Patent to Plate"

Gluten Free Patent

Gluten Free Patents filed from the start of 2010 to the present

Although "Farm to Table" is all the rage now, Gluten Free is more "Patent to Table". A search via patents.google.com for such recent (filed since Jan 2010) patents yields a results list of about 50 (the results list for hula hoop is about 5). Some interesting entries are:

-From...

University of Alberta (Canada)

Abbott Laboratories

Univesity of Udine (Italy)

University of Michigan (United States)

Nintendo of America

and others

-About...

Baked goods

Microalgae

Modeling compounds

Expense tracking

Methods of inducing satiety

Anti-gluten egg yolk antibodies

Method for reducing proofing time

Melting vegetable protein based substitute cheese

Diagnostic method for Celiac Sprue

National food level system

Treatment of Celiac disease with IgA

Delta-6 and Delta-5 Desaturase

Quinoa protein

Whole grains in consumable products

Hidden tag for providing information

Dough

Systems and methods for a consumer

In store shopping network using wireless devices

Meal planning system

and other stuff

Nuff Said.

Gluten Free Air Conditioning

At 98 degrees - thank goodness Air Conditioning is Gluten-Free

Gluten Free Starch and Flour

Gluten Free Starch or Flour

If you look at the label of a gluten-free packaged product, you might find any of these, possibly in starch or flour form:

Corn, Rice, Potato, Pea, Tapioca, Sorghum, Arrowroot, Xantham gum

Happy eating!

Gluten Free Icons: New or Reformulated?

Gluten Free Choice: New or Reformulated?

A lot can be learned from cereal. Chex and Pebbles products have been reformulated as gluten free. Rice Krispies has just created a new product which is gluten-free.

For iconic products, a careful boardroom decision may be required about whether to reformulate as gluten free, or create a new gluten free (version of a) product, or do nothing.

An Icon may be loved - just as it is - and any change may change people's feelings for the worse.

Gluten Free is a fast growth, new and potentially big market.

Assume that it is difficult to get added shelf space in a crowded supermarket for a new product.

So, will Oreo's ever be gluten free? Nuff Said.

Gluten Free Meal Plans at the university or college

Gluten Free Meal Plans at the university or college

A quick google search of the following:

college meal plan "gluten free"

university meal plan "gluten free"

college meal plan "celiac"

university meal plan "celiac"

...yielded references to these in the top ten:

Boston College

University of Chicago

Texas A & M University

Stanford University

Ohio State University

Syracuse University

Kennesaw State University

University of Minnesota

These results all seem to be for the United States - A future study about Coeliacs would be interesting - Happy Eating!

When in the future will there be the offer of a Gluten Free Fraternity and Sorority at the university or college?

Gluten Free tidbits

-Just as soon as the first bite of Gluten Free Fruity Pebbles was eaten, thoughts wandered to the burning question:

Since cereal makers General Mills now sells gluten-free chex and Post now sells gluten free pebbles ...what about Kellogg's entry into the market? Well, as the link to the website below seems to indicate, it is Gluten Free rice krispies

http://www.ricekrispies.com/#/Default

-Recently defined in simple english wikipedia is Celiac Disease Foundation

-Manahawkin, New Jersey seems to have at least two places to get gluten free pizza - Pietro's and Brazzi

-At glutenfreediary.com there is some effort underway at a new website - gfrecipe.com - which should be available to look at soon

Gluten Free Irony of having Wheat in your name

Gluten Free Irony of having Wheat in your name

Wil Wheaton, american actor, writer and celebrity has a sib and mom who are celiacs. Go figure.

A gluten free tweet from Wil is -

twitter.com/wilw/status/43043859193802752

which says

My mom wants to tell you a few things about Celiac Disease: http://is.gd/dYZh41

follow the link to a blog entry by Wil

Gluten Free Tweetup - Yesterday Europe. When North America?

Gluten Free Tweetup - Yesterday Europe. When North America?

There have been international tweetups which seem to be managed by twitter.com/gflifeireland which focused by using the hashtag #gftweetup

Yesterday was a tweetup, which was moderated in europe - When will someone do one moderated in North America?!!

The Customer Is Always Right

The Customer Is Always Right

You are Gluten Free. You want what you want. You want as many as you want. You are willing to pay a fair price.

*You want what you want, which should drive manufacturers to creating plenty of variety, ease of use, great taste and great quality - that you expect.

*You want as many as you want, which should drive stores to have on shelves as many as are currently demanded. If you saw it on the shelf the last time you visited, but not this time, tell the store manager to (please) order more and put more on the shelves.

*You are willing to pay a fair price, which should drive the manufacturers which charge an unfair price to either start to charge a fair price, or stop marketing their product. Older manufacturers may need to adapt to more effecient methods of production to be competitive.

The Gluten Free customer is unique right now. The Gluten Free customer is creating a very quickly increasing demand for gluten free products. The Gluten Free customer base is going to make up a rumored 10% of the entire population in the USA. Even further, some Gluten Free customers are not Gluten Free by personal choice, they are chronically Gluten Free.

Finally, some advice: Try newly available gluten free products and Use your power as a consumer with wisdom and strength.

Nuff Said

Gluten Free Pebbles

Fruity, Cocoa and Marshmellow Pebbles are now Gluten Free. These are from Post Foods and available in all supermarkets. Enjoy them as part of a balanced diet.

Also note that the Fruity and Cocoa Pebbles Treats (cereal squares) are gluten free and contain soy and milk, and, are made on equipment that processes peanuts and tree nuts.

Gluten Free Celiac Disease Foundation Mission

Gluten Free Celiac Disease Foundation Mission

Celiac Disease Foundation is a non-profit, public benefit corporation dedicated to providing services and support regarding Celiac Disease and Dermatitis Herpetiformis, through programs of awareness, education, advocacy and research.

www.Celiac.Org
http://twitter.com/#!/celiacexperts
http://www.facebook.com/CeliacDiseaseFoundation

Celiac Disease Foundation seems mostly for those in the USA

**Canadian Celiac Assocation

Aims

People with celiac disease, dermatitis herpetiformis and gluten intolerance in Canada are served by local chapters across the country, which united, form a national body called the Canadian Celiac Association. This Association is incorporated under the Canada Corporations Act and is a registered charity with the Canada Revenue Agency.

The purpose of the Canadian Celiac Association is to assist its affiliated chapters, and to represent their members' needs on a National level which include:

Increase awareness of the disease among government institutions, health care professionals and the public.

Provide reliable and up-to-date information about the disease and the gluten-free diet to patients, health care providers, food and drug manufacturers, food service companies, and other interested parties.

Encourage research into celiac disease and through the establishment of the J.A. Campbell Research Fund.

www.Celiac.Ca

Canadian Celiac Association seems mostly for folks in Canada

Gluten Free Ontario plus compare Provinces and Territories with States

Gluten Free Ontario with comparison of Provinces and Territories with States

Gluten Free United States of North America? Yes and No, as there are similarities and differences between Canada and the US of A.

...gluten-free products and companies and places - made and imported and distributed and existant one country to the other. There are also similar and different experiences by the Gluten Free.

-Different In Canada:
Polenta crackers, Hand and Magic baking powder, N2 Ingredients, Eco Chefs, Dundas, Frankie's, Olive at Bonacini cafe grill, Portions (canada), Pilates Emporium, WholeLifeExpo, Junction at the Beet, TAG vodka, La Messagere Red Ale, Ontario HBOT, Michel de France, Ontario co Rizopia

From approximately 1,192,815 tweets over the past year (since April 2010) relating to Ontario here is our quick summary of, or quotes from, some that relate to gluten:

-Experiences Similar of Different, you be the judge...

*"Frozen #glutenfree meals?! No way! In Ontario and Quebec http://wp.me/p11iMS-h0"

*"Acquired 5.6% of the La Messagere Red Ale in Ontario. Good gluten-free beer is hard to find. Still some at LCBO on King & William. #Waterloo"

*"Where are you in Cda? I am in London, Ont & to me, Ontario is the best place in the world to be food allergic."

*"Health Canada looking for input on gluten-free labeling: OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – May 13, 2010) – Health Cana... http://bit.ly/aACSfs"

*"How there can be a SNOW STORM in ONTARIO in MAY!!!! To alleviate pain I am making a recipe for healthy gluten free daIry free buttertarts: )"

To see the raw tweets for yourself use the following link:

http://twapperkeeper.com/keyword/Ontario?sm=&sd=&sy=&shh=00&smm=00&em=&ed=&ey=&ehh=00&emm=00&o=&l=50000&from_user=&text=gluten&lang=

Please be patient waiting for this query to finish executing. When it is done you will be able to scroll down a list of the chosen tweets from the full 1,192,815.

Gluten Free LA Tweets

Gluten Free LA Tweets

From approximately 85,000 tweets over the past year (since April 2010) relating to Los Angeles, California, here is our quick summary of, or quotes from, some that relate to gluten:

*"I simply MUST find a #gluten #free #bakery in #los #angeles its so tiring nt being able to indulge w the rest wen out&about"

*"Los Angeles has ruined me I'm at an Italian Restaurant and I brought my own gluten free pasta #thingsthatmakemehatemyself"

*"Subway Testing Gluten-Free Sandwich, Brownie - And everyone in Los Angeles rejoiced. http://ow.ly/1aOOjA"

*A tweet pointing to an article written by someone who operates a gluten free bakery with a link here http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/guide/a-guide-to-gluten-free-bakeries-and-restaurants ...which lists suggestions for places with gluten free stuff - and remember to read the comments to the article, too, which may also be highly useful and interesting to you.


To see the raw tweets for yourself use the following link:

http://twapperkeeper.com/hashtag/Angeles?sm=&sd=&sy=&shh=00&smm=00&em=&ed=&ey=&ehh=00&emm=00&o=&l=50000&from_user=&text=gluten&lang=

Please be patient waiting for this query to finish executing. When it is done you will be able to scroll down a list of the chosen tweets from the full 85,000.

Gluten Free Expo

Gluten Free Expo

Next, in Dallas on October 1 and 2, 2011

The Westin Park Central
12720 Merit Drive
Dallas, Texas 75251
(972) 385-3000

What they say:
"The Expo is the premier gluten and allergen free event in the US. Whether you are looking for specialty products that taste great or trying to learn how to cook and bake to meet your dietary needs, the Expo is the place to be! We have attendees fly in from around the country and Canada to attend this amazing event. Come see what it is all about…"

This appears to be sponsored by Food magazines, Food makers and Food stores. This is a good sign, for it shows that Gluten Free can be About The Benjamins. If business makes some money, then some more money will go into research (or at least that is the humble opine of this publication).

Read more at http://twitter.com/#!/gfafexpo
and http://gfafexpo.com

Summer Camp letters, Birthday Cards, and Bills Envelope Glue may not be Gluten Free

Summer Camp letters, Birthday Cards, and Bills Envelope Glue may not be Gluten Free

Use a wet sponge. Never lick envelope glue. It may not be gluten-free

Gluten Free Multi Vitamin

Gluten Free Multi Vitamin

Find a Gluten Free Multi Vitamin to include daily in a Gluten Free Diet - many packaged products with gluten are enriched with vitamins, unlike packaged products which are gluten free. Besides, consult your physician to ensure proper amounts of all vitamins needed for optimum health, for your gender and your stage in life.

Gluten Free July 4 in USA - Gluten Independence Day

Gluten Free July 4 2011 in USA - Gluten Independence Day

...If staying as or hosting guests:

Most supermarkets nationwide have the following gluten free foods, besides those which are naturally so:

*Van's Gluten Free Waffles (Frozen)

*General Mills' Chex - 5:Rice, Corn, Cinammon, Strawberry, and Chocolate

*General Mills' Bisquick Gluten Free Pancake and Baking Mix

*General Mills' Betty Crocker Gluten Free Mixes - 4: Chocolate Brownie, Chocolate Chip Cookie, Devil's Food Cake and Yellow Cake

In Addition, go to a health food store to find gluten free hot dogs (or Boar's Head at the supermarket?) and gluten free frozen pie shells for celebratory grilled food and home made baked dessert...

Gluten Free Apple

Gluten Free Apple

**
For the Apple ipod, ipad and iphone there are available apps (and podcasts, not listed here) whose names have gluten, celiac and coeliac in them and here are some...

Coeliac traveler
The coeliac society of australia ingredient list
Answersin coeliac disease
The coeliac society of australia inc

Celiacfeed - gluten free locator
Gluten free restaurant cards from celiactravel.com
Associazione italiana celiachia - onlus
Gluten freed - gluten free dining for health and celiac

Is that gluten free?
Gluten free daily
Ieatout gluten and allergen free
Gluten free fast food
Gluten free registry
Gluten free registry llc
Gluten free ingredients

Gluten-free recipes
Gluten-free groceries by triumph dining
Glutenfree passport
Glutenfreeme
Glutenfreenyc
Glutenfree finder
Find a gluten free restaurants & grocer

Gluten free kitchen with jacqueline mall
Gluten free eating directory 1.0.3
Icaneat onthego gluten and allergen free
Gluten free news
MobiCeliac

LA Times article about gluten and celiac

**
Informative news article from the Los Angeles Times (see link below) about gluten and celiac. One take away is the estimate that 10% of the population is gluten-sensitive.

Finally, mentioned is Gwyneth Paltrow, who seems an occasional Gluten Free Celebrity, whose child is named Apple.

http://articles.latimes.com/2011/jun/08/business/la-fi-gluten-free-20110531

Girl Scout cookies and McDonald's French Fries Gluten Free Someday? - Not now

Girl Scout cookies and McDonald's French Fries Someday Gluten Free? - Not now

Girl Scout cookies Gluten Free Someday?

See article with the link below for full story, which states that the girl scouts' website states, regarding the making and selling of gluten free cookies, that "demand has not been great enough to make it economically feasible".

http://www.newsday.com/news/health/mom-urges-gluten-free-girl-scout-cookies-1.2914127

McDonald's French Fries Gluten Free Someday?

Not Now. See the following french fries ingredients list, from the McDonald's website - which includes wheat and meat

http://nutrition.mcdonalds.com/nutritionexchange/ingredientslist.pdf

French Fries:

Potatoes, vegetable oil (canola oil, hydrogenated soybean oil, natural beef flavor [wheat and milk derivatives]*, citric acid [preservative]), dextrose, sodium acid
pyrophosphate (maintain color), salt. Prepared in vegetable oil (Canola oil, corn oil, soybean oil, hydrogenated soybean oil with TBHQ and citric acid added to
preserve freshness). Dimethylpolysiloxane added as an antifoaming agent.

CONTAINS: WHEAT AND MILK.

*(Natural beef flavor contains hydrolyzed wheat and hydrolyzed milk as starting ingredients).

Another kid's birthday party

Another kid's birthday party

A kid is invited to another kid's birthday party, which is supposed to start at 5pm. A few days before, an email is sent to the family creating the birthday party. The email said that the kid who was invited is a celiac, and will probably bring a gluten free entree and some freshly baked gluten free brownies. Pizza (entree) and birthday cake were expected to be offered, neither of which the celiac would be able to eat. The response came back that the birthday kid's grandmother was a celiac, so gluten free pizza would be offered. This was a very nice offering.

...There was, however, no mention or eventually at the party no offering, of a celiac alternative to birthday cake.

Namaste Foods Opens Allergen-Free Facility - Dairy, Egg, Wheat/Gluten, Soy, Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Fish, Shellfish, Corn, Potato

Namaste Foods Opens Allergen-Free Facilty!

June 2011 - Namaste Foods, LLC, is excited to announce the opening of its new allergen-free manufacturing facility in its hometown of Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. For the past eight years Namaste has enlisted co-packers to manufacture its exceptional line of gluten and allergen free baking mixes and pasta meals. While there are some benefits to this model, there are also many pitfalls.

‘We pride ourselves on offering not only the best tasting gluten free products at the best price, but also and perhaps more importantly, the safest products on the market’ states Daphne Taylor, Owner and Founder of Namaste Foods. ‘When you’re working with a co-packer there are just too many variables that are outside your control. After 11 years in business, we decided it was time to take the next step and bring the manufacturing under our roof and we couldn’t be more thrilled with the result!’

Operating under the name of Taylor Gleason Enterprises, LLC, the new facility is virtually a one-of-a-kind allergen free facility. In addition to being free of the top eight allergens (dairy, egg, wheat/gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish and shellfish) the facility is also free of corn and potato. It is estimated that 30 percent or more of the people with food allergies have multiple allergies. Being free of so many allergens demonstrates Namaste’s commitment to people with food allergies above and beyond other manufacturers.

Taylor Gleason Enterprises will entertain producing gluten and allergen free products for other manufacturers who are equally as serious about offering quality products in the safest environment possible. For more information, contact Michele Smith at 866-258-9493, ext. 310.

For more information on Namaste Foods and their products, visit www.namastefoods.com.

Google Searches related to Gluten

*Google Gluten searches related

Gluten symptoms
Foods containing Gluten
Gluten free foods
Gluten intolerance
Gluten allergy
Gluten free recipes
Gluten foods
Gluten free diet

*Google searches related to gluten free

Gluten Free list
Gluten Free foods
Gluten Free recipes
avoid Gluten
Celiac disease
Gluten Free alcohol
Gluten Free diet
Gluten Free bread

Can a Gluten Free Restaurant Succeed? Eggs.

Can a Gluten Free Restaurant Succeed? Eggs.

*On 24 Hour Restaurant Battle on the Food Network in the recent episode "City vs Country" one team chose to create a gluten free restaurant for the challenge. After the meal was served, the host Scott Conant said "they may not appeal to as big an audience as they would need to make that a successful business".

*...And on a continuation of the thought from a recent post, do gluten free eggs come from grain fed chickens?

Are grain fed beef and grain fed chickens gluten free?

Are grain fed beef and grain fed chickens gluten free?

Maybe.

One opinion about grain fed beef: “Grain-fed beef is fine. Before protein is absorbed it’s broken down into single amino acids or very short peptide fragments-no longer gluten.” — Tricia Thompson MSRD

Grain fed chicken?

New Show. Gluten Free.

New Show. Gluten Free.

Keith Olbermann, Countdown with Keith Olbermann, new to Current TV. Celiac.

Zooey Deschanel, New Girl, new show on Fox in fall. Wheat Gluten Intolerant.

Emmy Rossum, Shameless, on Showtime, new show in 2011. Celiac.

Emme, Love, Loss and What I Wore by Nora Ephron at Westside Theatre NYC, new to cast. Gluten Free cancer Survivor.

Deborah Ann Woll, True Blood, new season on HBO. Celiac.

Good Gluten Free Beer Available in the USA

Good Gluten Free Beer Available in the USA

New Grist from Lake Front Brewery Milwaukee, WI USA
www.lakefrontbrewery.com

Bard's from Bard's Tale Beer somewhere in MN USA
www.bardsbeer.com

Red Bridge from Anheuser-Busch somewhere in USA
www.redbridgebeer.com

Green's from Green's Gluten Free Beers West Yorkshire England
www.glutenfreebeers.co.uk

Raise Awareness. Sell.

Raise Awareness. Sell.

General Mills has run tv commercials in the USA to fantastically help Raise Awareness of Gluten Free diets (and to sell General Mills cereal). Thank you very much General Mills!

As awareness is raised of Gluten free diets, and sales of products increase, more large corporations may be interested to sell gluten Free foods. Tinkyada, a gluten-free pasta manufacturer, may be a pure play (as is said in stock market parlance, for corporations which only do or make "one thing") and someday sell itself to some large corporation.

Father's Day Meal - Gluten Free

Father's Day Meal - Gluten Free

Although a trip to Risotteria is nice, 2011 Father's Day Meal was Gluten Free at Bistango at 415 3rd Avenue NY NY 10016 (212) 725-8484.

Green's (from Belgium) Gluten Free Dubbel Dark, Mozarella and Tomato salad, Penne Carbonara (chosen to be without bacon) and a Cappuccino. Yummy!

Due Process and Twitter

Due Process and Twitter

Take free gifts from strangers? Yes or... Maybe I would rather give you a dollar for that admittedly fantastic stuff.

In the humble opinion of glutenfreediary, when one pays some consideration (a dollar) for some good or service, then one has some legal rights.

Twitter is lovable enuf, but, like so many free services, you don't always get (or can't always use) what you don't pay for.

Once upon a time, glutenfreediary sent creative, thoughtful, and fun tweets to the world. Over the course of time, twitter decided that glutenfreediary was bending some hazy legal-type rules about twitter usage. As a result, the account for glutenfreediary was disabled from open public tweeting. Every tweet that comes from glutenfreediary, from then, is broadcast only to followers (now the 500 or so) - not out to the whole world.

If twitter had given the choice, in their operating model, of users paying one dollar to register, then glutenfreediary might still be able to easily tweet to the whole world (or at least have some due process to dispute about the service given and then taken away - without additional concern about total services being taken away), and might still have the full legal rights to every tweet (which, friends, is and will be a very big deal).

Tweet On - Nuf Said!

Convenience store gluten free cereal

Convenience store gluten free cereal

CVS sells both Rice Chex and Corn chex - conveniently available gluten free breakfast cereal

How to send severe food allergics to day camp?

How to send severe food allergics to day camp?

-First, two definitions:

Day camp is an implied right of average american kids during their summer school break (and could also be substituted with sleep away camp).

Severe food allergics are those who, upon certain allergen consumption (or merely exposure), might have a life threatening allergic reaction (which could be anaphylaxis a.k.a. anaphylactic shock). These folks have been to an allergist and the families have filled a prescription to get at least one EpiPen (epinephrine auto-injector).

So, how to send severe food allergics to day camp?..

Managed programs of (a) allergen avoidance and, (b) in case of emergency, EpiPen availability, knowledge of use plus additional procedures, need to be in place at the camp.

Allergen Avoidance:

-Brown bag lunch and brown bag snacks should be sent each day from home. At least lunches need to be put into a camp fridge with a plastic bag surrounding them, if they are to be placed next to other lunches. Name and date need to be tagged on each bag.

-Any snacks sold or given to everyone at camp need to have labels reviewed prior to consumption.

-Camp cooking classes must be managed. Substitute foods to go into a recipe need to be provided, and possibly substitute dishes suggested, as appropriate.

-Daily camp round trip bus rides need to be managed for allergen avoidance. Bus counselors need to understand about the severe food allergics on their bus.

-Labels need to be reviewed. These may explicitly state allergens included or may state that during the manufacturing process there may be allergen exposure. For packaged food, no label means no camp consumption.

-Lunchtime table seating with other severe food allergics (in a “clean place”) should be an option.

-Camp offsite trips require diligence similar to being onsite.

Emergency planning and management:

-EpiPen managed by nurse staff. EpiPen to be delivered before the first day of camp. EpiPen stays thru entire camp session. EpiPen is name tagged, home addressed, home phone numbered and has current photo and age data attached. EpiPen tagged stating dangerous allergen(s).

-Camp nurse staff/admin staff understand reaction/exposure emergency procedures – might be EpiPen use/Call 911/Go to hospital.

-Camp offsite trips require similar planning and management.

This may not be fully comprehensive, but should help to get the kids out the door to camp.

And Finally…

The Kids Must Have Fun!