to wonder why citric acid is in bloody EVERYTHING!

[PyongyangKipperbang]

Particularly drinks!

DD3 has been diagnosed with an allergy to citrus, and it is proving almost impossible to find things that dont have citric acid (that actual allergen) in! Finally tracked down acid free passatta in Holland and Barratt but drinks are proving really hard.

Even things that you wouldnt think like ginger ale have it in as an acidity regulator. It can be done without so I must assume that it must be that CA is the cheapest option?

She is getting really fed up and frankly so am I, not least because what we can find is eyewateringly expensive, she is a student and I am a carer on a low PT income.

Do you make a living trying to make yourself feel smug or something?

She doesnt, she was reaching out to her mother, as I (a 51 year old) sometimes do, for advice. She was fed up, she was down and called me. I didnt realise that I should have said "Oh sorry darling but you, a student no less, should read your own labels now!!"

I started looking and realised just how many products contain either citrus products or citric acid as an acid regulator. Because I love her and have tried to help her if I can, as any decent mother would understand.

And for the other who asked sarcastically, the "specialist" was an NHS doctor that she was referred to by her GP. No, I dont know the doctors name if you want that too.

she was told that she is allergic to citrus AND citric acid, and that citric acid was a bigger problem for her as it is used in so many things and harder to avoid. Lemonade? Clue is in the name. Ginger Ale? not so much.....

Anyone else want to try and make themselves feel clever but actually just make themselves look stupid? Bring it on.

Oh thank you!!!

The info she has is that naturally occuring CA is ok because its in very very small amounts and doesnt trigger her, but the stuff added to food is what causes her problems as it is a higher concentration. She is also allergic to citrus fruit although it seems that that may simply be coincidence. I am certain, having seen the information from her consultant that she is indeed allergic to both (and something else but that is an easy fix and not a major issue).

So she can eat tomatoes, but not tinned tomatoes for example. She can have blackcurrant juice but not blackcurrant squash....that kind of thing. Any advice gratefully received!

She cooks from scratch most of the time anyway (student!) but a lot of ingredients people take for granted contain it.

citric acid triggers my acid reflux so I have to avoid it. It’s everywhere- pretty much anything in a tin, bottle, box has it. I use whole foods (fruit, veg, seeds etc), meats from butcher with nothing added, etc. in your passata example I get tomatoes, poach, peel and then blend with some salt.

Oh thats interesting.

So it may be that the reason she can eat natural CA is because its....natural? and the acidity regulator citric acid is a problem as it is grown from a black mold?
So the citrus allergy could be just a coincidence (she also has another food related allergy that again is just coincidental, no connection to either of the above). All of these developed in her teens.

This isnt in the information she was given my her doctor but knowing this I think it would be useful to take with her to her review. She is due one just before she goes back in early January so thank you.

My family has some horrible intolerances but she is the first with actual allergies so we are new to all of this and any information is really helpful, thank you.

I drink grated ginger with hot water - I wonder if this would this work with soda water?

Wow that is fascinating. Same guy as invented scheeles green (I love colour and paint history!) and he also invented a load of other stuff too! Like lactic acid, glycerol, cyanide and fluoride!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Wilhelm_Scheele#New_elements_and_compounds

Interesting, you say she can eat tomatoes/blackcurrents but not the tinned/squash versions? Sounds like she is more allergic to citric acid? What citrus fruits is she allergic to and what’s her reaction?

You lost me at passata. I’m usually time poor but make my own. My secret weapon is my Magic Bullet. 10 seconds then add to a pot you’ve fried some garlic, onion in and cook it down. Add sugar as required. Batch freeze it if you want or you can do some for just 2 meals and keep the remainder in fridge for a few days.

Some families are supportive of each other.

Weird to think someone would ask this question on a parenting site. Parents are parents - this often means they love their kids and are part of their lives.

Asda has citric acid free passata from mutti.

Drinks are iirc mostly with it. She could just brew various fruit teas and just drink it cold? But she needs to really look at labels as many contain citrus peel (not sure if that is alleegen as well as the inside). Alternatively, DIY wiith dry herbs and fruits

OP i feel you pain dealing with some of the posts and for you daughter - sounds a nightmare!

There have been about 2 supportive posts. About half have been telling the OP how easy it is to make your own soda water and/or passata. Not what the OP asked.

The other half have been saying that the OP does know what she is talking about. (Whereas they do after reading one post!)

There is such a lack of empathy and the need to show superiority.

Anyway good luck OP and to your daughter.

I don’t understand why people are giving OP recipes for passata. Everybody knows you can make it in a blender or similar.

But fresh tomatoes are expensive and as a student it’s helpful to have tinned cupboard essentials at hand. And dd may not have a freezer, my uni halls didn’t.

Sparkling water is your friend. She could add some ginger and lime to it and let it infuse. . Delicious and a lot healhier.

Not to mention orange and grapefruit, they are all citrus fruits!

I am concerned an NHS consultant has said that a patient is allergic to citric acid. There is no specific antibody to the molecule, therefore no possibility of an immune response (immune response is a requirement for an allergy). Citric acid enhances nutrient bioavailability in the human body and is involved in energy metabolism. You can be sensitive to it, but not allergic to it.

You can, however, have Immune responses to lipid transfer proteins, profilin and pectin in citrus fruits.

There is a split on this thread between the advice on allergies and the people with training in biochemistry saying "you cannot possibly be allergic to the critic acid molecule that is found in every cell of your body and does not necessarily come from citrus fruit". And the biochemists are right at the molecular level. We now need a food scientist to tell us if there is something that could contaminate the citric acid food additive and cause problems.

This person needs to go back to the doctor and get a precise list of what she should / shouldn't eat. Because what she has been told is inconsistent with basic biochemistry.

I think someone else mentioned it but you can make your own ginger bug soda starter that can be used to make home made fizzy drinks, it's really easy and quite fun and leads you down the brewing rabbithole you can also make pine needle "lemonade" that contains no lemons at all its just unwashed long pine needles, a source of sugar for their natural yeasts, and distilled water left in a bottle or jar on the side for a few days until until cloudy and bubbly.

It sounds like your daughter might also like to look up canning, and bulk make her own tomato based sauces so she's never caught in the lurch. Expensive to purchase the equipment upfront but extremely cost effective going forward.

Holland and Barrett say their tomato puree and passata are made from just tomatoes.
H&B passata

Not as cheap as supermarket home brands but not too bad.

@PyongyangKipperbang I am unsure why you are getting so many unhelpful responses! I have exactly the allergy your daughter does and have done for a very long time. It is real and my mum identified it though elimination when I was a baby. I saw a leading allergy specialist in the UK who confirmed this. It is a type 4 allergy so is t-cells not antibodies... I have been caught out by unadvertised recipe changes and hidden lemon over the years, not dire consequences but not pleasant!

So as before tinned tomatoes - biona are great and can buy in bulk from Amazon (no need to can your own produce...)
Soft drinks - Original coca cola and coke zero. Rubicon cans (not bottles or cartons). Appletiser. Sainsbury's Apple and Mango squash.
Apple, pineapple and Apple and Mango juice are the ones that work for me.
Crisps- Tyrells are the only salt and vinegar I have found. Read: not ready salted.
Jam - Duchy of Cornwall from Waitrose can have some options

Eating out - normally Italian and Indian have the best options.

If your daughter needs anything else, do let me know. When I left home, my parents found they can taste the citric acid (all products which have it in are generally cheaper than those which don't ) so be prepared for high shopping bills!

https://www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/pixley-berries-blackcurrant-cordial/007932-3771-3772

Ribeana substitute.
Again expensive but available for the occasional treat. The reality of having an allergy is that many of the substitutes to the mainstream brands are costly. So you just have to have less and learn to enjoy the cheap things like water. Sulking sometimes is acceptable.

I never bought my children "drinks", other than water. They don't need squash or soda or juice, and in fact it's bad for them.

She's a student, she needs a mixer for her drinks.
But soda water should be just fine, thanks for the clue.

You can also get raspberry and black current flavour
Get her a soda syphon or soda stream and she is sorted.

I missed the bit where you had already discover the H&B stuff, sorry.