Do you really know how to Read... Ingredients Labels

Grocery shopping is hectic enough without adding food based allergies into the equation. How many of us just walk down the isles and grab whatever package is the most eye catching? Or the cheapest? How many of us actually read what we're buying before we start consuming it?

I've previously posted before about hidden allergens that we don't notice typically on labels & packaging, and explained the difference between nuts and nut products, but do shoppers really understand how to find such allergens while reading ingredients labels? Or is it that they forget or don't care?


FARE (Food Allergy Research & Education) graciously created a 2 page guide to food label safety. If you have a nut, tree nut, egg, shellfish, wheat, soy or dairy allergy these 'cards' can instruct you and your loved ones on the food products that you should stay clear of. It never hurts to double or triple check products.

How to properly Read/Follow Allergy/Ingredient Labels from Jessica Dunning

My mom once bought a 'Zen Garden' vegetable mix to put into soups and thought that it was pieces of bamboo blended with the vegetables. It turns out that after months eat buying and eating this vegetable mix the 'random white pieces' were actually water chestnuts. Although I'm still alive to tell the tale so I can probably cross water chestnuts off the list it's still very important to remind those closest to you about your allergies - even your closest friends or family can forget from time to time.