those with peanut allergies, please help!

[Joshuasmom16]

I know I"m obsessing, but what kind of oil do people use for cooking?

DS is allergic to peanuts, eggs, dairy & soy. I need to be careful b/c previous one was made in a factory that also makes peanut oil. I've heard that TJ's kalamata olive oil is ok, but what can I use for vegetable oil?

also does anyone know if there is a thread on brands of products (cereals, etc) for peanut allergic people? I feel so helpless in the grocery store, even WF b/c most of their products are made in places with nuts, etc and would love a quick reference that listed brands that are reliable!!!

[4Blessings]

You never really want to rely on someone else's "safe" list because comfort zones vary and ingredients change. I may use other people's suggestions as a starting point and then do my own research by calling/emailing manufacturers.

[Joshuasmom16]

I hear what you're saying. I guess I was just hoping that other people who have done the legwork could share what they learned from other manufacturers. although now that I think about it, it's prob. not a bad thing that companies get multiple emails - that way they get the idea just how many of us are out there that have allergy issues! let the emailing begin! (I have a long list of cereal companies already).

[jocelyndale]

You may like this board. Lots of PA (and MFA) info there.

[Joshuasmom16]

thanks! I will def. be checking that out!

[nick&jonmom]

I don't think you are obsessing, you just want to be safe and as you should be, allergies are serious. My 6 year old ds has allergies to eggs, dairy, soy, peanuts, all tree nuts, all seeds, avocado, coconut, and that is just to name a few, seriously. As he gets older I can use a wider variety of vegetable oils than before. When he was little I used safflower oil exclusively as that was the only one he didn't react to. I actually buy it at Walmart, of all places, because all the brands at natural food stores have a peanut warning. It is so frustrating that it is like that. There are so many foods that he could eat from our co-op if it weren't for the allergen warnings! Anyways, now I can use these following oils without him having a reaction, you'll just have to experiment and find what works best for your child, but I think safflower is proabbly a good starting point as it is in so many "allergy free" foods (that's why I tried it in the first place):
olive oil
corn oil
canola oil
soy oil
safflower oil
He is still alergic to soy and I don't go out of my way to give him soy oil, but he can now tolerate foods that have soy oil in them, I guess because it is only the fat, not the protein. I use olive oil the most because it is the healthiest, or so they say. Again, I buy most of my oils at the regular grocery store because of the darn allergen warning labels on all the oils at the natural stores. Good luck!

:;;:; considering :; : Mama to Nick (5-23-01) and Jon (12-21-05)

[Joshuasmom16]

thank you! I usu. like to get my oils from trader joes & Whole foods, but will check out the regular grocery store. I'm still nursing & the allergist said it shouldn't matter unless it's actually peanut oil, but I still want to be careful...

[NYCVeg]

We use Whole Foods brand canola and olive oil for dd (allergies to peanuts, tree nuts, and soy--along with a whole bunch of other things that don't affect oil). So far, no problems.

As for cereal: we get McCann's Irish oats (no wheat contamination for us, no nuts, as they only process oats), and Erewhon Crispy Rice. That's pretty much it for cereal. There are a bunch of brands specifically for food allergic kids, though. You can go to the glutenfreemall.com or someplace like that and special order (they'll give complete allergen info for every product).

[karin95]

We use Zoe Organic Olive Oil. They only make olive oil. That's the only oil we use, as we haven't tested any other. I've heard Crisco is actually fine, but I haven't checked it out.

Definitely do your own research. For instance, pp said she eats McCann's, but I read a study that tested McCann's for gluten and found that various samples had high levels of gluten. So it wouldn't be safe for gluten-free diets. We don't use it for ourselves because we're very strict about x-contam and don't want any possible wheat. And most oats are x0contam with wheat because of growing practices.
Now we get our oats from http://glutenfreeoats.com/ and buy it in 50lb bags! Bob's Red Mill sells GF oats, too, but they're pricey.

And we use the Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice, but only the gluten-free variety. (the regular one has barley malt).

And Hershey's always labels properly, so if it doesn't say that it's produced with peanuts, or whatever, then it's safe. We use their cocoa powder.

kidswithfoodallergies.com is a great resource, as well, for support and food suggestions.

Kidswithfoodallergies.com is a great resource, too.

[NYCVeg]

Originally Posted by karin95

Definitely do your own research. For instance, pp said she eats McCann's, but I read a study that tested McCann's for gluten and found that various samples had high levels of gluten. So it wouldn't be safe for gluten-free diets. We don't use it for ourselves because we're very strict about x-contam and don't want any possible wheat. And most oats are x0contam with wheat because of growing practices.

This is weird to me. Dd has a very severe wheat allergy (including contact allergic). We've been using McCann's for a year with her (at least 3x/week, often more) and she's never gotten so much as a hive. We chose them specifically b/c the oats are grown in Ireland, not the US, so they're not supposed to have the x-contam issue. Do you happen to know where you read about this? I'd like to follow up...