Arrowhead Mills, Inc. is recalling “Arrowhead Mills Organic Stone Ground
Whole Wheat Flour“ due to undeclared milk.

The product was distributed to natural food stores nationwide.

The product is in a 2-lb. bag with UPC 74333-47242 and lot code 06OCT09.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full
refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 749-0730.

Osem USA, Inc., is recalling “Osem Creamy Pasta Chicken Flavor, Meals-on-
the-Go” due to undeclared milk.

The product was distributed to all-kosher stores and kosher sections of
supermarkets nationwide.

The product is in a 1.94-oz. package.  All production codes are affected.

Consumers with questions may call (800) 200-6736.

This product was distributed in Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, New
York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia.

The crackers are individually wrapped in a foil package, and placed with a
2.9-oz. can of chicken in barbecue sauce in a plastic tray that contains a
printed cardboard top panel with UPC code 8660070310.

Consumers may return this product to the place of purchase for a refund.
Consumers with questions may call (800) 800-8572 or (800) 633-3294 between
9 a.m. and 4 p.m. PST.

The product was distributed nationwide in retail, pharmacy, and health
food stores.

The product is packaged in a 14.8-oz. canister with a bar code of 18627
71000 and a “better if used by” date between Jan 01 2009 and Dec 11 2009.

Consumers with questions may call (877) 747-2467.

The product was distributed in retail stores nationwide and through mail
order.

The 6-oz. bag is marked with a “best by” date of January 1, 2008 through
September 25, 2011.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full
refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 356-2905.

The recalled product was distributed in Wegmans stores in Maryland, New
Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The product would have been
available between Saturday, November 15 and Thursday, November 20, 2008.

The 24-oz. product comes in a clear pouch with a “use by date” of 11/26/08
and UPC 77890 79010.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full
refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 934-6267, ext. 4760.

The products were distributed nationwide in coffee shops, espresso stands,
and retail outlets.

The products are individually wrapped in clear plastic with a black
printed label.

Consumers can return these products to the place of purchase
for a refund. Consumers with questions may call (866) 203-5588.

The product was distributed through grocery and natural stores nationally.

The product comes in 8-oz. packages with UPC 037983 000154
and a “sell by” date of 12/09/2008.

Consumers may return the product to the place of purchase for a full
refund. Consumers with questions may call (800) 494-8839, ext. 425.

I will be posting a printable PDF card that you can take with you to the grocery store or hand out at school that lists dairy ingredients to be avoided. You can read the ingredient list in the related topics at the bottom of this article.

Background: To avoid allergic reactions, food-allergic consumers depend on the ingredient labels of commercial products. Complex ingredient terminology (eg, casein and whey for milk) and label ambiguities (eg, natural flavor and may contain peanut ) might compromise the ability of patients/parents to determine the safety of particular products.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to determine the accuracy of label reading among parents of food-allergic children. Methods: Parents of children on restricted diets attending our referral center were asked to review a group of 23 food labels taken from widely available commercial products. For each label, each parent/parent pair was asked to indicate whether the product was safe for the allergic child and, if it was not, which foods restricted from the child’s diet were in the product.

Results: There were 91 participants. Peanut was the most commonly restricted food (82 children), followed by milk, egg, soy, and wheat (60, 45, 27 and 16 children, respectively). Identification of milk and soy was the most problematic: only 4 (7%) of 60 parents correctly identified all 14 labels that indicated milk, and only 6 (22%) of 27 parents correctly identified soy protein in 7 products. Peanut was correctly identified in 5 products by 44 (54%) of the 82 parents restricting peanut. Wheat (10 labels) and egg (7 labels) were correctly identified by most parents (14/16 and 42/45, respectively). Correct label identification was associated with prior instruction by a dietitian.

Conclusions: With current labeling practices, most parents are unable to identify common allergenic food ingredients. These results strongly support the need for improved labeling with plain-English terminology and allergen warnings as well as the need for diligent education of patients about reading labels. (J Allergy Clin Immunol 2002;109:1019-21.)

Read the full article at the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology

WEDNESDAY, Nov. 5 (HealthDay News) — Consuming increasingly higher doses of powdered milk may help children with milk allergies overcome their condition, a new study suggests.

In the double-blinded, placebo-controlled study of milk immunotherapy, all 12 children receiving milk powder daily significantly increased their tolerance of milk after four months, from no more than 40 milligrams to at least 2,540 milligrams (2.5 ounces). Meanwhile, the seven children receiving a placebo powder showed no improvement.

The findings were published in the Oct. 28 print edition of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study was conducted by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Children’s Center and Duke University.

“Our findings suggest that oral immunotherapy gradually retrains the immune system to completely disregard or to better tolerate the allergens in milk that previously caused allergic reactions,” study senior investigator Dr. Robert Wood, director of Allergy and Immunology at Hopkins Children’s, said in a hospital news release. “Albeit preliminary and requiring further study, these results suggest that oral immunotherapy may be the closest thing yet to a true treatment for food allergy.”

Link to full article on HealthCentral

Link to abstract/full text of study