Latest news with #foodallergies
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mail
Urgent warning over TikTok Shop food listings: Fears shoppers 'at risk' after items sold without vital information
Experts have issued an urgent warning over TikTok Shop food listings - amid fears that shoppers could be 'at risk' as items are sold without vital information. Vendors on the social media site are flogging sweets and snacks without warning that they may contain any of the 14 primary allergens UK businesses are required to declare by law. And experts say people with allergies could be putting themselves in 'grave danger' by buying the products. MailOnline found dozens of items where the products' allergens were incorrectly labelled or even denied by vendors on TikTok shop. Some products even described their allergen information as 'not applicable' - despite also being said to include ingredients such as flour, milk, eggs and nuts. Chief executive of Anaphylaxis UK Simon Williams warned: 'If the ingredient and allergen information isn't there, don't buy it. You're putting your life in grave danger.' He told the BBC: 'At the moment it's being used as a platform to sell things that may not be safe. They [TikTok] do need to do more. One company, Alma Trade Ltd, used the platform to advertise Tigreat French chocolate crepes. They claimed that allergen information was 'not applicable' in their listing - despite the continental pancakes including wheat flour, whole milk and eggs RM Wholesale is using TikTok shop to flog Fray Bentos pies, again saying that allergen information for the product is 'not applicable'. The pie makers, on their own website, warn that their products contain both wheat and barley 'There's a lot of people making a lot of money, great side hustle, but they're putting people at risk.' One company, Alma Trade Ltd, used the platform to advertise Tigreat French chocolate crepes. They claimed that allergen information was 'not applicable' in their listing - despite the continental pancakes including wheat flour, whole milk and eggs. In the UK, 14 allergens have to be listed on any product containing them. They are: celery, cereals containing gluten (such as wheat, rye, barley, and oats), crustaceans (such as prawns, crabs and lobsters), eggs, fish, lupin, milk, molluscs (such as mussels and oysters), mustard, peanuts, sesame, soybeans, sulphur dioxide and sulphites (if the sulphur dioxide and sulphites are at a concentration of more than ten parts per million) and tree nuts (such as almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, brazil nuts, cashews, pecans, pistachios and macadamia nuts). The Food Standards Agency advises that food sold online or over the phone must provide allergen information at two stages in the order process. This generally means giving them in the online description and on the packaging. RM Wholesale is using TikTok shop to flog Fray Bentos pies, again saying that allergen information for the product is 'not applicable'. The pie makers, on their own website, warn that their products contain both wheat and barley. A listing by DaCakeGasm, meanwhile, lists their Nutella stuffed red velvet Oreo cookie and hazelnut stuffed M&Ms Cadbury cookie as just having eggs as an allergen. Eggs, flour and milk are listed in the ingredients - while both Nutella and hazelnuts contain nuts. A huge three kilogram of Nutella, sold by Bibis Direct, says there are 'no allergens' and that it is a 'safe choice with no applicable allergens listed'. The product contains hazelnuts, milk and soya. A listing by DaCakeGasm, meanwhile, lists their Nutella stuffed red velvet Oreo cookie and hazelnut stuffed M&Ms Cadbury cookie as just having eggs as an allergen. Eggs, flour and milk are listed in the ingredients - while both Nutella and hazelnuts contain nuts A huge three kilogram of Nutella, sold by Bibis Direct, says there are 'no allergens' and that it is a 'safe choice with no applicable allergens listed'. The product contains hazelnuts, milk and soya A fourth, JasatsLtd, advertised Lancashire butter pies, saying they contained milk and nuts. The ingredians also include wheat flour and soya flour Bakedays Ahead said their 'creamy delicious cheese cake' only contained 'cream cheese' as an allergen. Cream cheese generally contains milk, while flour is also listed in the ingredients A fourth, JasatsLtd, advertised Lancashire butter pies, saying they contained milk and nuts. The ingredients also include wheat flour and soya flour. And Bakedays Ahead said their 'creamy delicious cheese cake' only contained 'cream cheese' as an allergen. Cream cheese generally contains milk, while flour is also listed in the ingredients. After the BBC investigated adverts on the site, TikTok deleted adverts that were highlighted by the corporation. But all the companies complained about continue to sell products on the site without providing full allergen information. A spokesperson told the broadcaster: 'We have policies and processes in place with our sellers to ensure the safety of food and beverages sold on our platform and we will remove products that breach these policies.'
BBC News
3 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Warning over TikTok food sellers not listing allergens
TikTok users are selling food without listing allergen information, the BBC has on TikTok Shop show people selling snacks and sweets without highlighting they contain one of the 14 main allergens that UK businesses are legally required to the BBC brought these listings to TikTok's attention, it deleted them and said: "TikTok Shop is committed to providing a safe and trustworthy shopping experience."Simon Williams, chief executive of Anaphylaxis UK, warned allergy suffers: "If the ingredient and allergen information isn't there, don't buy it. You're putting your life in grave danger." "We have policies and processes in place with our sellers to ensure the safety of food and beverages sold on our platform and we will remove products that breach these policies," a TikTok spokesperson it is currently possible to sell food on TikTok Shop without providing any ingredient or allergy BBC found one seller, Mega Buy UK, selling a sweet treat related to the popular Netflix show Squid Game and listed the ingredients and allergens as "not applicable". Another UK-based seller called The Nashville Burger listed a burger-making kit that contained milk - one of the 14 allergens food businesses in the UK are required to declare on labels. It also contained wheat - which should be listed as an allergen under cereals containing on TikTok Shop, the allergen information was given as "spices" and the ingredient description simply said "flour".The BBC also found a seller called UK Snack Supply advertising lollipops and crisps with no ingredient or allergen has deleted the adverts the BBC highlighted, but all three companies are still on TikTok Shop selling other products without providing full allergen BBC has approached all of these sellers for comment but could not independently verify that the sellers were all listed in the allergy charities say regardless of where the firms are based more should be done to keep consumers safe. TikTok is a place where food trends go viral - from the pickle challenge which involved eating a hot pickle wrapped in a fruit roll-up - to Dubai chocolate which sparked a shopping while users consume the videos TikTok has also become a platform to buy and sell a bite of the Lancaster's two children both have milk allergies and she regularly posts advice on TikTok as The Dairy Free thinks TikTok has a responsibility to ensure all products sold on its shopping platform meet safety and labelling standards."It's completely unacceptable and really worrying. Failing to provide ingredient information is potentially very dangerous, and it feels like a complete disregard for the safety of those living with food allergies," she said. Tanya Ednan-Laperouse co-founded The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation in the name of her daughter who died after an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger said: "'TikTok is responsible for ensuring that all their UK food sellers meet legislative requirements to sell food products on their app. "Any that don't should be immediately removed from the app and investigated, but ideally this should not happen if their checks and balances are rigorous and in place."After her daughter's death, new safety rules, known as "Natasha's Law", were introduced which require full ingredient and allergen labelling on all food made on premises and pre-packed for direct sale. 'Putting people at risk' Kate believes TikTok is allowing sellers to "swerve" basic food labelling requirements as the app allows people not to list any ingredients at all and thinks the platform should penalise those who don't provide the correct information."Since Natasha's Law has come into effect I feel that, in general, allergy labelling has improved, but it's frightening that a huge platform like TikTok does not have adequate measures to ensure that labelling is in place," she said."The thought of someone with a food allergy, or an allergy parent, buying items that they assume are safe, when in fact they may not be, is really scary."Mr Williams from Anaphylaxis UK says the ultimate responsibility lies with the seller but does think TikTok could do more."At the moment it's being used as a platform to sell things that may not be safe. They [TikTok] do need to do more," he said, "There's a lot of people making a lot of money, great side hustle, but they're putting people at risk." Dr James Cooper, deputy director of food policy at the Food Standards Agency (FSA), which is responsible for food safety in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, said: "Wherever people buy their food, it needs to be safe and what it says it is."Food businesses in the UK must be registered with their local authority and follow food law. All food businesses have a legal responsibility to sell safe food and provide allergen information."The FSA website says that if food is sold online or over the phone through "distance selling" then allergen information must be provided at two different stages in the order usually means providing allergy information in the online description and then also on the packaging so a buyer has two opportunities to check if their allergy could be triggered.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
How to reduce the risk of food allergies: Here's what to know
Read part one of our conversation with Cinthia Scott about how and when to start solid foods here. Related: Upstate Parent: Start early, start small – exposing babies to common allergens and a long list of foods in their first year has plenty of benefits, but reducing the risk of food allergies might top them all. Cinthia Scott, a pediatric registered dietitian and lactation consultant, is one of the authors of 'Baby Leads the Way: An Evidence-Based Guide to Introducing Solid Foods' and she is part of the team behind 101 Before One, an evidence-based, baby-led weaning program. One important reason to introduce a wide variety of foods in baby's first year is to expose them to foods that commonly cause food allergy – early exposure, starting between 4-6 months of age lowers their risk of developing food allergy, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and its Kids with Food Allergies program. May is Food Allergy Awareness Month. Here's what to know to help your baby get a good start with allergy-friendly eating. Scott said parents can make it an adventure and possibly even broaden their own range of foods. 'Maybe using peanut butter or tahini or something that we wouldn't necessarily consume on a daily basis, but is a good way of exposing them to top nine allergens – one meal a week, we're going to try a new dish that has a top nine allergen in it, not only for flavor and texture exposure, but also to help prevent food allergies for our kid. That is a really good way of looking at it,' Scott said. If the parent has a serious food allergy, that needs to be factored in as their child is offered new foods, so that exposure can still happen but the parent can stay safe. Scott said the best practice is to have the non-allergic parent or another person feed the allergens in a safe space away from the allergic parent, following guidance from the child's pediatrician. 'We do have adults with pretty severe food allergies, and that might be a case where we do need to talk to the pediatrician and say, 'Hey, I as the parent have a really bad food allergy. What are your recommendations from our specific case?' I know some where the grandparents will take the child to their house and they'll expose them over there,' Scott said. Timing matters: 'We always say is that we want you to introduce it in the morning time, so that if there is a reaction, that we have plenty of time to see it and get them the appropriate care, and that we're not giving a food allergen right before bed or a nap time.' Start small: 'We're just giving them a tiny amount, and then we're building up, as we see they tolerate it.' Talk to your pediatrician: 'If there are a lot of food allergies in the family, talk to your pediatrician about it, because they might even recommend you come in and you can introduce some with their observation. We don't want it to be stressful, and so whatever we can do to make it a less stressful situation, we highly recommend.' Milk Egg Peanut Tree nut (for example, almonds, walnut, pecans, cashews, pistachios) Fish (for example, bass, flounder, cod) Shellfish (for example, crab, shrimp, scallop, clams) Wheat Soy Sesame (Source: Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America and Kids with Food Allergies, 'Baby Leads the Way: An Evidence-Based Guide to Introducing Solid Foods' by Krupa Playforth, Cinthia Scott, Manisha Relan, Catherine Callahan and Julie Laux is published by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Learn more at Learn more about 101 Before One at Learn more about food allergies, get recipes and more at Register now for Upstate summer reading programs How and when to start solid foods: Here's what to know How to (subtly) kick your almost-grown kid out of the house New products for summer fun and more Weekly events: Oh summer, we've missed you Bonus Books: A head start on summer reading This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Reducing the risk of food allergies
Associated Press
28-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Intrommune Therapeutics Announces Independent Editorial Highlighting Breakthrough Safety Data for Novel Toothpaste Peanut Allergy Treatment
NEW YORK, May 28, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- As the burden of food allergies continues to increase each year, the need for safe, effective, and convenient treatments has never been greater. Over 33 million Americans suffer from food allergies, including nearly 6 million children. Approximately 2% of the population suffers from peanut allergy, which is known to be one of the most prevalent, persistent and severe food allergies. With its poor spontaneous resolution, peanut allergy persists in up to 80% of cases and significantly impacts the quality of life of sufferers and their families. With no known cure, the cornerstone of management relies on strict avoidance and rescue medications, often leaving patients and their families in near constant fear of accidental exposures and severe reactions. Intrommune Therapeutics welcomes an independent editorial that was recently published in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology which underscores the potential of its innovative Oral Mucosal Immunotherapy (OMIT) platform to transform peanut allergy treatment. The editorial, entitled ' Can daily teeth brushing help treat your peanut allergy, ' authored by leading allergists, Dr. Aikaterini Anagnostou and Dr. David Stukus, discusses the key findings of the OMEGA (Oral Mucosal Escalation Goal Assessment) trial, a randomized, double blind placebo-controlled Phase 1 study, evaluating the safety of its investigational treatment, OMIT with INT301 (peanut protein) in peanut allergic adults. The authors acknowledge that the candidate therapy met all its primary and secondary endpoints, achieving exceptional safety and tolerability, with no moderate or severe systemic reactions or anaphylaxis reported in treated participants. Mild systemic reactions that did occur were reported less frequently in treated (4.2%) compared to control (25%) participants. Additionally, treated participants demonstrated robust adherence to the investigational treatment protocol, adhering to OMIT with INT301 97% of study days. The authors also alluded to an interesting finding on the potential immunomodulatory effects of OMIT with INT301, specifically, the statistically significant increase in peanut-specific IgG4 levels, which they referenced as providing preliminary evidence of its ' desensitization effects' in treated participants. Stukus and Anagnostou went on to address the potential benefits of OMIT with INT301 over existing immunotherapies, oral immunotherapy (OIT) and epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT), including ' lower risk of anaphylaxis and fewer limitations in daily life in terms of activity restrictions,' and remarked that ' OMIT represents an exciting future option.'' Recognizing the potential of OMIT with INT301, the authors stress that expanded studies in pediatric populations and longer-term efficacy evaluation data are highly warranted. This aligns with the company's intent to advance to a Phase 2/3 trial in pediatric patients to evaluate both the safety and efficacy of OMIT with INT301. According to Berger et al., in the April 2025 edition of the Annal of Allergy Asthma and Immunology, 'evaluating OMIT in children is critically important, given that childhood may represent the most opportune time to induce a durable immunologic response and, potentially, clinical remission of peanut allergy.' In their concluding commentary, Drs. Anagnostou and Stukus stress the need for personalized, patient-centered care, including diverse options in food allergy management, for which OMIT may provide a unique alternative. In response to the editorial, Michael Nelson, Chief Executive Officer of Intrommune commented, 'We are encouraged by the interest in our innovative oral mucosal immunotherapy platform and this independent review underscores the scientific validity of the OMEGA results. If proven efficacious, OMIT's safety and simplicity could revolutionize how families manage food allergies.' About Intrommune Therapeutics Intrommune Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biotechnology company dedicated to developing safe, effective and easy-to-use food exposure products for the prevention and treatment of food allergies. Its OMIT platform leverages the oral mucosa's immunologic properties to deliver targeted immunomodulation via a fully-functional toothpaste. Intrommune Contact: Nicole Faris (MSc.) Strategic Director, Medical Affairs & Clinical Development Intrommune Therapeutics [email protected] (555) 123-4567 Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
CBS News
13-05-2025
- Health
- CBS News
A Minnesota mom's goal of making allergy-free lunches for schools
Thousands of acres burn in Minnesota wildfires, and more headlines Thousands of acres burn in Minnesota wildfires, and more headlines Thousands of acres burn in Minnesota wildfires, and more headlines When one Twin Cities mom discovered that her infant son had severe food allergies, it changed her life and inspired her to start her own business. Like every parent, Angie Nelson wanted to do the best for her kids. When she and her husband learned at six months at their first child Liam had four of the top nine food allergies, it lit a fire. "I want him to grow up eating the things that I got to eat," Nelson said. Walking the grocery aisles, she'd read every label and the fine print for safe foods, but noticed something was missing. "Why aren't there more options for meal solutions?" she recalled. In 2020, Nelson teamed up with former Mayo Clinic Chef Gilbert Junge to develop Liam's by Safer Plate. The meals are single-serve frozen entrees completely free of the top nine food allergens. A commercial kitchen in Eden Prairie produces 3,500 allergy-safe meals a week. They are then shipped to over 500 grocery stores and to an emerging market: schols. The number of children with at least one food allergy is steadily growing, with 5.6 million children — or 8% — allergic to some type of food. Boston Public Schools started serving Liam's meals this spring, and other school districts will come online in the fall. "The K-12 piece is a big opportunity for us. And it's a challenging opportunity but I think the more item that we can offer and fit in with what they would have as a cycle menu in schools is going to be the place that we're heading," said Junge. The schools are asking for allergy-safe versions of lunchroom favorites, like the cafeteria rectangle pizza made famous in the 1980s. "Right now, kids just go without it," said Junge. "So we are working on that line." But Junge and Nelson know all too well that it needs to look at taste like the "regular stuff." "So it's making the food exciting and something that Liam's buddy will say, 'hey what are you eating, I want to try that,'" said Nelson. It's all in an attempt to bring acceptance and lower anxiety for food allergic kids and adults. "A big dream of mine is to change the stigma of food allergies." said Nelson. Locally, Liam's Meals can be found in all Lunds & Byerlys, Valley Natural Foods, Kowalski's and select Target locations, along with Fresh Thyme and Hy-Vee stores.
