By: Melissa DelRossi
Relation to food allergies: My son is allergic to PN/Tn/Milk/Egg/Sesame seeds
Bio: I am a 37 year old mom just trying to navigate this world with food allergies. There is no known history of allergies in our family. My sons diagnosis was a complete surprise to us. It changed our world.
I am the mother to an amazing 5 year old boy with multiple food allergies. I have spent the last 5 years fighting the battle against the stigma, fear, isolation and unknown that comes with the fact that eating a food could do the unthinkable to my child. My husband and I always say it is our burden to bare, but we do rely on others to help keep our child safe. We do our best. We read labels. We make our decisions based on our own comfort level. We try to empower our child so this doesn’t define him. I respect those who don’t worry as much as I do and I understand why others are more protective. All it takes is one story about a child dying from an anaphylactic reaction to send me into a spiral of self-doubt and panic. When I see peanut butter I now feel resentful, but can remember how much I loved it prior to my son’s diagnosis. Peanut butter is not illegal. Nobody has the obligation to cease eating nuts because it could kill my child. I do however, expect that people are understanding of the challenges we face.
That brings me to the news of Kellogg’s adding peanut flour to some of their cracker varieties. My first reaction was “why would they do this!?” Panic started in. I see these all the time on the playground. Will others know they are not safe for my son? This seems so hidden. I felt betrayed. This decision didn’t seem to have a logical motive, until I calmed down and thought about it. Kellogg’s didn’t make this decision on a whim. My husband worked as a marketer for a CPG company and I know how much work goes into these decisions. Kellogg’s obviously thought of the cost and benefit of this change. Their decision was based on what is best for their company. This is not a case of a best friend serving peanut butter at their birthday party and leaving my son out. Kellogg’s does not market itself as an allergen friendly company. They have no obligation to me. 20, 000 signatures on a petition is impressive, but compared to Kellogg’s patrons, the allergy community is probably 1/10% of their market. As an allergy mom I don’t have to like this. I don’t have to buy their products. In fact I probably won’t now. The loss of my business has been calculated and they made their decision. It is another obstacle our family will face as we navigate this world and I have no doubt we will do just fine without these crackers. We have never purchased them before and we will continue avoiding. I am the mom of an amazing 5 year old son. This is just another hiccup in our world.
Relation to food allergies: My son is allergic to PN/Tn/Milk/Egg/Sesame seeds
Bio: I am a 37 year old mom just trying to navigate this world with food allergies. There is no known history of allergies in our family. My sons diagnosis was a complete surprise to us. It changed our world.
I am the mother to an amazing 5 year old boy with multiple food allergies. I have spent the last 5 years fighting the battle against the stigma, fear, isolation and unknown that comes with the fact that eating a food could do the unthinkable to my child. My husband and I always say it is our burden to bare, but we do rely on others to help keep our child safe. We do our best. We read labels. We make our decisions based on our own comfort level. We try to empower our child so this doesn’t define him. I respect those who don’t worry as much as I do and I understand why others are more protective. All it takes is one story about a child dying from an anaphylactic reaction to send me into a spiral of self-doubt and panic. When I see peanut butter I now feel resentful, but can remember how much I loved it prior to my son’s diagnosis. Peanut butter is not illegal. Nobody has the obligation to cease eating nuts because it could kill my child. I do however, expect that people are understanding of the challenges we face.
That brings me to the news of Kellogg’s adding peanut flour to some of their cracker varieties. My first reaction was “why would they do this!?” Panic started in. I see these all the time on the playground. Will others know they are not safe for my son? This seems so hidden. I felt betrayed. This decision didn’t seem to have a logical motive, until I calmed down and thought about it. Kellogg’s didn’t make this decision on a whim. My husband worked as a marketer for a CPG company and I know how much work goes into these decisions. Kellogg’s obviously thought of the cost and benefit of this change. Their decision was based on what is best for their company. This is not a case of a best friend serving peanut butter at their birthday party and leaving my son out. Kellogg’s does not market itself as an allergen friendly company. They have no obligation to me. 20, 000 signatures on a petition is impressive, but compared to Kellogg’s patrons, the allergy community is probably 1/10% of their market. As an allergy mom I don’t have to like this. I don’t have to buy their products. In fact I probably won’t now. The loss of my business has been calculated and they made their decision. It is another obstacle our family will face as we navigate this world and I have no doubt we will do just fine without these crackers. We have never purchased them before and we will continue avoiding. I am the mom of an amazing 5 year old son. This is just another hiccup in our world.