by Elana Lycos, junior, dietetics major
Whether it’s the result of human evolution or just bad luck, food allergies seem to be everywhere these days. To give you some perspective, Food Allergy Research Education (FARE) estimated 32 million people have food allergies in the U.S.
For the past three months, I worked in a kitchen at a summer camp where I oversaw reviewing special dietary needs or allergies. Diets ranging from small food sensitivities to deathly allergies had me on high-stress alert for the entire summer. It was my job to ensure they were all safe to eat the meals being served. Not only did this job give me higher blood pressure than is recommended for the average 20-year-old, but it also gave me deeper insight into the world of food allergens.
The Big 8 allergens, being the most common food allergies that people face in the U.S. today, are the following: egg, soy, milk, fish, shellfish, peanut, tree nut and wheat. It didn’t surprise me that the most common allergens I came across were wheat and milk. What did surprise me, however, was the amount of random foods that contained these two ingredients. Who would have guessed that so many powdered foods contain milk, or that many types of breakfast sausages contain wheat? That may seem obvious to you, but I was certainly shocked.
After my time at summer camp, I’ve noticed that the way I view food has shifted. I find myself checking nutrition labels every time I go to eat. Old habits die hard I guess; but even more than that, curiosity is a huge factor. I am truly curious about the kinds of things that are going into my body now. Being dairy-free myself, constantly reading ingredient labels has been a huge eye opener for me. For example, I found out (to my great disappointment) that some of my favorite chips contain milk, and I had absolutely no idea. Seriously, is this for real? As unfortunate as it seems, now that I know this little tidbit of information, it might save me some stomach aches down the road.
The scary thing is, some kids can’t afford to eat whatever they want without checking labels, because the repercussions that follow could be catastrophic. For somebody with a serious food allergy, anaphylactic shock or even death could pose a risk at every meal. Having to deal with allergies in college could be extremely stressful, but luckily MSU provides resources for students with these circumstances.
For one, the Eat at State website lists all of the menus for each dining hall on campus. There is also a link that takes you to a second website called MSUtrition. Here, you can select from any of the dietary allergies that MSU tracks: the Big 8 allergens, alcohol, beef, coconut, gelatin, pork and sesame. Once selected, the website will generate a new menu, excluding foods that contain your allergy or allergies. For detailed ingredient information, you can click on a menu item and an ingredient list will populate. You can also select a food preference from the following four options: vegan, vegetarian, MSU beef and/or MSU pork.
Another very exciting resource that MSU is providing this year for the first time ever is Thrive. Thrive is a new dining hall on campus located in Owen Hall that is sesame-conscious and certified free from the Big 8 allergens plus gluten. It is certified by a third-party auditor, Kitchens with Confidence, who reviews all ingredients and recipes produced in the hall. Weekly allergen testing done by the staff is sent to Kitchens with Confidence to ensure that the kitchen is indeed allergen free. The best part is, I hear the chicken tenders and coconut yogurt are amazing!