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I will never forget the day I came home from the weekly grocery shop, looked at my husband with a straight face, and asked him if he ever felt like punching every loaf of bread in the aisle. Because I sure did. After reading what felt like every label in the aisle for dairy, egg, peanut, tree nuts, and sesame, I was defeated. I felt anger with a side of envy watching other parents pluck whatever they wanted from the shelves into their cart without a second thought, while I was spending hours each week reading and rereading every label to keep our kids safe.

"Every label every time" has been one of our families mottos from day 1 and it continues to be practiced today. It is hard work to feed a growing familiy. It is a lot harder when you must don your detective hat for potential allergens when doing the weekly grocery haul. But we do it anyway, because we do hard things. That was close to 10 years ago. Don't get me wrong, I still get crusty in the bread aisle (see what I did there) but it does get easier and we do get stronger.

The US labeling laws are to be desired, especially when contrasted with European labeling policies and practices. With the passing of the FASTER Act in 2021 that added sesame to the top 9 allergens I saw first hand how much more difficult things became as companies included sesame on lables that historically did not, and intentionally added a sprinkle of sesame flour as the last ingredient to their products in an effort to avoid any potential legal exposure. Companies are not always truthful and forthcoming about their manufacturing practices because they are not required to declare if a product was made in the same facility or made on shared equipment. Many companies include allergens on their labeling that are not actually in the products to protect themeselves from a legal standpoint. It's a jungle out there.

But labels aside, YOU get to decide what is best for you and your family.

Food allergies are very serious and can be downright terrifying. But food alleriges are also very managable. And with practice and perserverence you too can avoid punching the sourdough.