Talking Allergies

My DS who is 3 loves salmon and has eaten it quite often with no problems at all (fresh, not canned). He has also eaten other types of fish, including sablefish and probably halibut. Tonight, I gave him a piece of imitation crab meat, which is likely made of pollack, and he had a reaction with hives and vomiting. I know that the imitation crab meat is processed and contains red food colouring, and could be cross contaminated with real crab meat, or other substances. I'm trying to pinpoint the allergy - whether it's the actual pollack, some sort of processing agent, or cross contamination. I'm 99% sure he's had red food colouring with no reaction, but I guess there could be different types? I honestly can't remember if we have given him shellfish or mollusks, as it's not something we eat often, but I don't think we have. Anyone have experience or info on this?

For what it's worth, I have personally had 3 reactions to fish/shellfish in my life, too, but with many many other times where I've eaten it with no incident. I seem to react when I've had shellfish, then a few days later, regular fish, and it's the combination or just too much of it in my system?

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema

I know the imitation crab we buy has egg in it, could that be the problem?

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Thanks so much for that. I'm really really hoping it was egg, as that's something he was already allergic to, and hopefully we don't have to avoid fish, shellfish, or red food colouring!

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema

I found this on the processing of imitation crabmeat. I'm sure each company has slightly different practices but hopefully this helps.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Thanks so much. I googled it and also found two websites with ingredient information that both mentioned egg or egg white. I am certain that is what the reaction was all about. I also mentioned it to our allergist (whom we went to see for my DD's sesame reaction) who was surprised that imitation crab meat has egg!

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema

Please look carefully at the possibility of sulfite allergy. Fish and fish products are often packed in metabisulfites on the boat, at the dock and in the cannery as a preservative. Lack of marking is pervasive. Seafood from overseas and seafood caught in hot weather is particularly suspect. Your child's symptoms are highly typical of sulfite reaction. It took me many years in the 1980s to figure out that my "seafood" allergy was from the unmarked sulfites.

Thanks. From what little I know about sulphite allergies, I don't think he is because he regularly eats other foods containing sulphites with no incidence. I'll watch out for it, though. I'm 99.9% sure it was the egg.

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema