Manufacturing methods

[melonribena]

I bought something recently and wondered if I could give it to my milk allergic ds.

It didn't contain milk or anything milk related on the ingredients list or listed allergens.

It did however state that it was not suitable for people with milk, gluten or wheat allergies due to manufacturing methods.

Has anyone else come across this? Would you give it to your allergic child?

I guess it depends on individual child & their allergies. No milk allergy here but nut and egg allergy and avoid both, including not suitable for, may contain etc.

How has your wee one reacted to milk in the past? Has he had any allergy testing etc?

It depends what it is/company what this means.

Sometimes I 'risk' it some things I don't, like plain chocolate is a no.

Most companies are very good at replying to allergy queries by the way.

Thank you. We've not had any allergy testing, apparently they don't do it on babies less than a year old and ds is only 10 mths.

He gets hives when he gets milk on his skin or injects it.

'Not suitable' usually means exactly what it says. It is NOT suitable.

Confusingly, this is slightly different to "may contain" and "made in factory handling", which are so often printed on packaging just for insurance purposes. The Anaphylaxis Campaign are pushing for clearer guidance on this.

I once rang Asda after my DS reacted to a product which said "not suitable for milk allergy sufferers". (He had eaten that product many times before and I had got slack about checking the small print ) Asda were very helpful, and explained that they had changed their manufacturing methods so that the product was now made on the same machine as something which contained milk. The machine was cleaned in between runs, but they felt there was still a big risk of traces of milk remaining.

DS1 is highly allergic to traces of milk and other foods, and with "may contain" and "made in a factory handling" I do a sort of risk assessment, trying to decide whether or not a product is actually likely to contain traces of allergens. For example, plain hula hoops are fine, but sticky chocolate is not. However, I always avoid "not suitable" and "made on a line handling".

Thanks green, that's very helpful. This is all new to me and I'm trying to figure it all out without unnecessarily limiting my ds's diet.

As a matter of interest, what do you do if it says - may contain traces of....?

Oh sorry, I reread and realised you had mentioned that!