Adding sesame to food products is a quick-and-dirty means to address cross-contact risks and prevent potential recalls for undeclared sesame, because these protective steps aren’t required when an allergen is already declared as an ingredient. So, companies may imagine, it’s better to add a new allergen and declare it than to actually clean up production lines to reduce it.
Industry AccountabilitySarah Sorscher, JD, MPH, Peter Lurie, MD, MPH
Peanut allergy kills more people in the United States than allergies to any other food. And doctors didn’t know how to prevent peanut allergies…until the landmark LEAP study came out in 2015.
Last June, Alexi Stafford, a 15-year-old with a peanut allergy, accidentally ate a cookie filled with mini peanut butter cups. Ninety minutes later, she died. Food is a minefield for people with severe allergies. Here’s what you may not know about how some foods can make the immune system go haywire.
