While doing my groceries yesterday (Saturday) as usual there were a number of "samplings".
As I was walking by a table of a new brand of junk food, a French's product which looked like mini french fries, I picked up a container and read the labeling out of curiousity. There was no indication of peanuts, nuts or by-products. There was, however, a note on the sampling table, something to the effect "Allergy Allert" this product may contain trace amounts of peanuts and/or nuts! Well, I questioned the person doing the sampling. Pointed out that their labeling was inadequate if in fact the product "may contain". I was not happy with her response. She said that she has to post the warning as the product may have come in to contact with peanuts/nuts at the fasctory!
I told her that when she is no longer sampling in the store, an unsuspecting person with a serious allergy to peanuts/nuts could easily assume their product was safe! Like she cared. Anyway, I think I'll go back to the store an write down the ingredients and address and phone number, if there is one! I'll contact them and see what they say and if I'm not happy with the answers I get, I'll report the BOZO's to the Canadian Food Labelling Agency.
Have any of you seen this product or had similar experiences with food samplings?
Regards,
Katiee (Wade's mom)
Katiee, we actually have food sampling in our local IGA with no person attending! As soon as you walk into the store there is the fruit and vegetable aisle. At the beginning of the aisle, there is a tray of sliced cucumbers, carrots, broccoli, whatever. Then, in the middle of the tray, there is the dip to try.
Well, my kids always end up with some cucumbers or mini carrots and I don't mind as it keeps them semi occupied. The dip is not at their eye level. It is very rare that I got to go grocery shopping, at that time, without both of my children, so I was never able to stop and read about the dip. At Thanksgiving when my MIL was here, I did stop and look. Sure enough, it was an Our Compliments dip (similar to Renee's) and it had the "may contain" warning on it. I then checked the Renee's and found that theirs is actually safe or perhaps not correctly labeled. I thought, thank heaven my children don't see the dip (kids and dip seem to go together!).
Then, at the deli counter, almost above my eye level, they have samples of cheese and deli meat. I have let them try that. But again, unless I am buying something from the deli person, I really have no one to ask about the goods we could sample.
There has been the very rare occasion (please remember where I live! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/rolleyes.gif[/img] ) where there has been a sample display with a person attending it. I just very quickly bypass the area with my children. Children, and perhaps adults even, love to try these "new" items out and then you have the attending person asking you if you want to try it. I always say no, thank-you, and swiftly get away. I do this for two reasons. First of all, I figure that it is probably an "unsafe" product. Secondly, I am fairly sure that the person attending the booth would not be adequately prepared to answer my questions about something my children and I don't NEED to consume). I am not saying that the people attending these sample things are stupid. I am saying that they may not be adequately prepared. Where I live, I give this even more weight because food allergies seem to be very uncommon (i.e., my son is the only PA child in his school of 560+). I don't expect someone working a display for a day to be knowledgable about food allergies.
I would like to see it as almost a requisite for being employed in any food service, including working in a grocery store, that you do have some education about food allergies. I do know that my IGA does have allergy alerts up above ALL of their baked goods displays. I am not clear if this is because someone has had a reaction, if it is because of the large number of tourists passing through that may have a food allergy, or if the owner of the chain recommended it.
I do know that I really appreciated it when these signs were put up. I wasn't buying baked goods anyway, but this does help Jesse's classmates' parents know, when they're purchasing items that it is not "safe" to do so when purchasing goods that may be brought into his "peanut free" classroom.
This happened about a year ago. The kids were at the check-out counter and asking for lollipops. I told them that I had to check the label. The cashier looked at me with this really strange look and also a look like I was being mean to my kids or something and trying to find a way to weasle out of purchasing the lollipops. I explained to her that my son was PA. This did not seem to register on her face (or in her mind) at all.
I did check the label, and sure enough, "may contain". So, I wasn't able to purchase the lollipops for the kids. She probably thought after I left, what a bit** that woman was, she wouldn't even buy her kids a lolly!
That's why I'm saying that I think food allergy education should be part of being an employee in a grocery store. I am not generalizing and saying that all people in grocery stores are ignorant. I am suggesting that they, like the majority of the population, are not aware of the severity of food allergies. Even I was not aware of the potential severity of Jesse's allergy until he had his first anaphylactic reaction and I'm the Mother of a child with PA.
I do think your follow-up is important, Katiee, because if we don't follow-up in some way, stores will never really understand where we're coming from. It's highly doubtful that the person you spoke with would have said anything to whoever she was working for in the store, or, even if she did, that it would have completely registered.
Please let us know if you follow-up what happens. I, for one, hate the food sampling being done. I understand why it is done, but, as I said above, it is always the area I scurry away from very quickly if my children are with me, and I believe for very good reason.
Best wishes! [img]http://uumor.pair.com/nutalle2/peanutallergy/smile.gif[/img]
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[This message has been edited by Cindy Spowart Cook (edited March 25, 2001).]