Talking Allergies

My son has multiple food allergies for which he has tested positive (sesame seed, sunflower seed, peanut, tree nuts, green peas, egg, fish, pineapple). We have been avoiding mustard in recent months because he is having mild skin reactions to foods containing mustard, but we have not yet had him tested. Does anyone else have a mustard allergy? If so, are you allergic to other seeds or nuts?

Hi Julie,
One of my sisters has a mustard seed allergy. I don't think this is a good idea, but she usually puts a microscopic dot of mustard on each end of her hotdog--that's as much as she can tolerate. She uses so little mustard I don't even know how she can taste it! She's anaphylactic to nuts, fish, shellfish, and egg and has a host of other allergies as well as eczema and asthma. One of her rather severe allergies is to dill weed, which I believe (but don't quote me on this because I'm not sure if this is true) is related to mustard seed (?) As well, she has a serious sesame allergy. She had eaten sesame seeds in small quantities on buns before, but reacted to sesame snaps.

My daughter's mustard allergy has been confirmed via a skin test.

My son's annual visit with the allergist is next month, and we are going to ask that he be tested for mustard. Having said that, we are quite certain it will be positive - all the obvious signs are there, and we have been avoiding mustard for the past 6 months.

I'm finding mustard to be more of a pain than peanuts or nuts. Mainly because it's not declared as an allergen. So anything that says "spices" is out.

In my daughter's case, she says that Heinz Ketchup itches, but not Heinz Organic Ketchup. I don't really know if it's because of mustard or not.

We visited my son's allergist today. It's been confirmed... he is allergic to mustard. Interestingly, in the most recent newsletter released by FAAN (Food Allergy and Asthma Network - U.S.), I was reading that the Europeon Union now includes 12 priority allergens in the labelling of products - it is the same as Canada's list, with the addition of mustard and celery!! I was really surprised to see that mustard is a priority allergen in Europe.

As a side note, my son was also retested and is still allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, sunflower, egg, fish, green peas and pineapple. He is now also found to be allergic to cat & horse (when does this end?)

I'm sorry to hear that your son hasn't outgrown any of his allergies....and has even more. I wonder what it is about horses that makes them so allergenic. It's not as if we get a lot of exposure to horses....at least not in the Greater Toronto Area! (I'm majorly allergic to horses too--more allergic to them than to any other animal.)

Has anyone outgrown a mustard allergy?

Taylor

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Mladyfred

I don't know of anyone who has, but I'd *guess* (and this is just a guess) that mustard seed being a seed and all would be classed with seeds and nuts as being something that one is less likely to outgrow than to, say milk. (The allergy to milk can be just as severe, but it seems that a lot of kids outgrow their milk allergy.)

This is interesting - I've always avoided mustard for no reason... when I was little there were a few things I avoided just instinctively, one being bananas, which I eventually was tested as anaphylatic to, and blueberries which I'm mildly allergic to! So now I just avoid things if they don't feel right (odd, I know) and mustard is one of them... I'm also allergic to peanuts, nuts, green peas - I wonder if I really AM allergic. That being said, I can have sauces with dry mustard in them (as in listed on the label) but never mustard alone.

I've had an 'odd' feeling before having an allergic reaction---this past summer, after having a preseasonal grass pollen and ragweed shot, I just felt I was reacting to it. (I did sneeze + had more sinus trouble . . . which is a warning sign, but I felt that it was more than that.) As I was walking away from the allergist's office, I almost turned back, but thought it would seem really stupid if I called him back from his lunch for no good reason. I couldn't explain *why* I thought I was reacting.

Anyhow, after walking a good distance, I started having some mild chesttightness. It didn't go away, so I walked to my respirologist's office. It was a good thing that I went---while there the inside corners of my eyes started swelling. The reaction didn't progress any further, but if I had been on my own at that point I would have been *panicking*.

I do think that sometimes we pick up on physical warning signals we might not be distinctly conscious of . . . I probably would have thought that even the *mild* chesttightness was psychosomatic if it hadn't been for the visible swelling.

That having been said, I had a feeling that I was reacting or was going to react after a methacholine challenge test, but I didn't have any objective symptoms so who knows.

It was a pleasure talking to you in the beginning of this week. As promised we have investigated the contents of Mustard in all Products sold bearing the Piller’s name on the package.



Here is a list of our products which contain Mustard either as a seed (visible) or as flour (part of the spice mix)>



The following items would be sold bulk at the deli counter:

President’s Choice Old Forest Salami

President’s Choice Hot Hungarian Salami

Old Forest Salami

Cervelat Salami

Caliente Salami

Gypsy Salami

Square Salami

Wieners

Spiced Ham Sausage

Golden Jagdwurst Sausage

Tiroler Sausage

Beerwurst Sausage

Lioner Sausage

Bavarian Meat Loaf

Parsley & Onion Meat Loaf

Turkey Kolbassa Coil



The following items would be sold pre-packed in the self serve peg boards (hanging), bunkers and counters:

Cervelat Salami 125g

Thuringer Summer Sausage 125g

Spiced Ham Sausage 125g

Tiroler Sausage 125g

Beerwurst Sausage 125g

Parsley & Onion Meatloaf 125g

Turkey Kolbassa 375g piece

Poultry Sub Pack 250g

President’s Choice European Wieners 600g



The following items are Random Weight = individual scaled and priced items sold pre-packed in the self serve bunkers:

President’s Choice Old Forest Salami sliced

President’s Choice Hot Hungarian Salami sliced

President’s Choice Pepper Salami Sliced

Salami Deli Tray

Spicy Salami Deli Tray

Shaved Gypsy Salami

Sliced Tiroler Sausage

Sliced Lioner Sausage

Sliced Caliente Salami

Sliced Gypsy Salami

Sliced Old Forest Salami

Turkey Kolbassa piece



The following items are shelf stable and displayed on special units on the floor throughout the stores:

Tidbitz Salami

Tidbitz Spicy Salami





Should you have further questions or concerns, please contact us any time.



Kind regards

Raik Meissner

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Manager, Technical Service

Piller Sausages & Delicatessens Ltd.

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Mladyfred

WOW, that's quite a list! I'm very impressed with the time this must have taken for the individual at Pillers to assemble and forward this information to you. Kudos to Pillers! Our family has not been eating these types of prepared meats (kolbassa, salami, pepperoni, sausage, etc.) since we realised our son was allergic to mustard. I have found a sausage we can safely eat (we don't eat sausage much, but if you want one, we've been able to eat the M & M Oktoberfest sausages) as well as some hot dogs (Schneiders Red Hots) - there could be others, but once we found these, that was good enough for us. If you plan on trying any of these, please check the ingredients for yourself and call the manufacturer.

Whenever I see the word "spices", and I think the spices could include mustard, I don't buy it unless I really want it. Then we have to wait for about 2-3 weeks to get a call back from the manufacturer as to whether the "spices" include mustard. This is why I just don't bother most of the time.

We are also very careful about pickles; however, I've recently found some Bick's dill pickles that do not contain mustard! Yeah! I am quite certain the Bicks Baby Dills with garlic used to have mustard, but they don't anymore - I called Bicks, and finally got an answer after about 3 weeks. I was so happy because I really love dill pickles. Vlasic dill pickles also do not have mustard. I found the No-Name bread and butter pickles (the thick sweet ones) do not have mustard, and neither do gherkins.

There are hardly any salad dressings we eat (other than homemade), but my son likes Kraft creamy cucumber (no egg, no mustard) as well as Helluva Good Dip. I also found some Renees dressings IN THE TUB, not the jar, that do not have egg or mustard.

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17 yr old daughter: no health issues
15 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, egg, fish, sesame,sunflower,mustard,poppy seeds, peas, carrots, some fruits, instructed to avoid legumes(except soy & green beans),pollen, cats, horses, cold urticaria

Thats great news on the Red Hots (I thought they did have mustard in them?) but I think we can't use them regardless due to egg/dairy allergy. But I will double ck. Strubs Pickles is great - the owners son spent 15min with me going though all the proucts - we can use one, I will post it as soon as I remember the name!

Also BICKS Dill Relish (I will post true name) is also safe for mustard allergy. YIPPIE! I have yet to find a mayo (which we can't use because of Egg), but I am still looking.

Taylor

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Mladyfred

That's great news about the Bicks dill relish! Thanks. When you find the name, I'd appreciate it.

I just checked the ingredients for Schneiders Red Hot wieners - sorry, they have "modified milk ingredients", so not good for your family.

I've not been able to find a mayo either - they all have egg. There is a "Veganaise" that might be suitable for your family (we can't use it because it contains sunflower oil), but might be good for you. I found it down the Health Food section at our local Superstore, so it's not that hard to find.

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17 yr old daughter: no health issues
15 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, egg, fish, sesame,sunflower,mustard,poppy seeds, peas, carrots, some fruits, instructed to avoid legumes(except soy & green beans),pollen, cats, horses, cold urticaria