Imperfectly Free

Here's an example of how the non-big-8 segment of the food anaphylaxis community is underserved: a product release announcement from a startup firm whose market focus is the allergy community:

“This summer, we’re putting the fun back in the freezers of millions of food allergy sufferers with a delicious frozen dessert that consumers can enjoy scoop after scoop,” said Kevin Murphy, CEO of Incredible Foods. 'Finally, food allergy sufferers can stop taking a back seat to ice cream lovers by enjoying a frozen dessert of their own, one developed specifically with their dietary requirements in mind.' ”

It's a fine idea and the press release looks like they're trying to cover everything: gluten free, vegan, non-GMO.

The people who suffer anaphylaxis from non-big-8 foods have to stay alert for something else, though. Let's look at the ingredient list on one of the Perfectly Free products.

What type of modified starch is this? Is it corn starch? Potato starch? Tapioca?

What are these natural flavors?

This business is cutting itself off from ten percent of its target market because it fails to disclose a complete list of ingredients. It seems to be very well intentioned but the leading food allergy charities simply aren't raising awareness that people who are anaphylactic to corn or potatoes need to know specifically which type of starch a product contains.

People who are anaphylactic to anything other than big 8 food allergens avoid products with vague additives statements such as "natural flavors" because there is no way of knowing whether the product will trigger an anaphylactic reaction. Even if we write to the company for a complete list of ingredients, the governing law on food additives allows the manufacturer to change formulas at any time without notifying the public. The only way to stay reasonably safe is to avoid the product.

I don't care whether something is non-GMO or vegan. I care whether it could send me to the emergency room. Wrote to the PR firm last week to share these concerns; haven't received a response yet. Here's hoping the message gets through. We aren't demanding that every allergen known to medicine gets removed from this type of product. We're willing to read the fine print--we just need fine print that's comprehensive enough that we can tell whether a product contains our allergens.