Allergens & Protecting Consumers

May is Food Allergy Month and this week is Allergen Awareness Week. For the approximate 15 million Americans that have some sort of food allergy, it can be an exhausting task to grocery shop. Each aisle might feel a bit like a minefield. Carefully negotiating the vast array of products to ensure they can find the right foods for themselves and their families may bring stress and trepidation.

On the production side, it can also be daunting for food producers to think about successfully handling allergens in their production process, including the possibility of cross-contamination. Daunting as it may be, lives depend on food processors getting a handle on food allergen concerns and ensuring their products are labeled correctly. Consumers depend on producers to help them negotiate the minefield of allergens and deliver them to the checkout with a sense of security and peace that they have purchased the right food for themselves and their loved ones.

A good deal of emphasis is placed on the so-called “Big 8” allergens: milk, egg, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat and soy. Nelson-Jameson stocks a variety of allergen testing supplies that are important parts to an operation’s needs. Recently, Neogen just released the new, long awaited, Reveal Multi-Tree Nut Allergen Test Kit that tests for cashews, pecans, almonds, pistachio, hazelnuts and walnuts.

At Nelson-Jameson we are always here to help give you peace of mind when dealing with the allergen issues that face us, so that your customers can feel some peace of mind, too.