Hain Celestial just sent me this link to the FDA's wording about labeling for 'spices'. Yes, their labeling sucks and I don't use their products. I'm sending companies letters on a regular basis asking them to voluntarily label for sesame. I also ask Hain Celestial to disclose things so that I can resume purchasing any of their products that could be safe for us.

http://www.fda.gov/ora/compliance_ref/cpg/cpgfod/cpg525-750.html

According to this toward the bottom of the page:
NOTES:

1. Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, dried or dehydrated onions and garlic are not considered to be spices. When used as an ingredient in foods they should be declared on the label by common or usual names.

That has not been my understanding in the past 2 1/2 months of dealing with the sesame allergy. I was told that they often include sesame under the general term 'spices'. Does anyone else have any knowledge about this? Thanks.

Thanks for your thoughts KP.

I may start harrassing them about the sesame again sometime soon.

the purpose of the meeting today is for F.D.A. to gather information that will help us develop a long term strategy that can assist manufacturers in using allergen advisory labeling that is truthful and not misleading and conveys a clear and uniform message and adequately informs food allergic consumers and their caregivers to the potential presence of a major food allergen.

II. Purpose and Scope of the Hearings FDA is developing a long-term strategy to assist manufacturers in using allergen advisory labeling that is truthful and not misleading, conveys a clear and uniform message, and adequately informs allergic consumers
and their caregivers. To that end, FDA is soliciting comments and information to assist the agency in determining how manufacturers currently use advisory labeling, how consumers interpret different advisory labeling statements, and what wording is most effective in
communicating to consumers the likelihood that an allergen may be present in a food. The agency is also interested in learning whether consumers find advisory labeling helpful for making food purchasing decisions.

The scope of this hearing is determined by this document.

My new plan is to contact companies and request that they voluntarily start labeling for sesame.

I'm sure I won't get anywhere, but this plan is currently underway and at least I feel like I'm doing something.

The FDA is now defined by others. You must speak up and take the FDA back. It is yours, not theirs. You do more good, day in and day out, than most others, inside or outside government.

“Sesame allergies have probably increased more than any other type of food allergy over the past 10 to 20 years,” says Robert Wood, MD

“They’re now clearly one of the six or seven most common food allergens in the U.S.,” he tells WebMD.

Yet, the FDA does not recognize them as such, as there are no well designed studies looking at how many cases occur each year, Wood says.

oh you spotted this already. Oops I put the same link in Main Discussions

Ah, KP, I have countless Google Alerts--I am sure this must have come up in one of those! I am a news junkie.

The call for transparency comes at a time when the FDA already has a backlog of requests under the Freedom of Information Act. Asked how she planned to handle personnel needs at a time when the agency is behind in its work, Dr. Hamburg said, "When the recommendations come in, I will work with the task force and others on implementation. Some activity may result in more work, and some may result in decreased work. If we make more information available, there may be fewer Freedom of Information Act requests and citizen petitions."

has a life-threatening allergy to sesame. Whether packaged food or restaurant food (they buy ingredients not labeled), everything that I give her is "Russian Roulette".

As the parent of a child with life-threatening food allergies (milk, sesame and previously egg), I am writing to voice both my concerns and praise for current food labeling practices. While I am grateful for the enormous positive changes brought about by FALCPA (Food Allergen Labeling Consumer Protection Act), there is much more that can and should be done.

Sesame is a serious allergen. Current statistics rank it among the top 9 allergens. Sesame has been added to the list of major food allergens for use in food labeling in European Commission (EC) and Canada, but it is not yet included in the Food and Drug Administration’s listing of allergenic foods for labeling purposes in the United States. This is a serious deficiency in our labeling requirements.

I recommend that a standardized "Allergen Facts" box be required for all packaged foods. It should include the top 8 allergens, PLUS sesame which is an increasingly diagnosed allergen.

we ask that you give guidance to schools on allergy free menus regarding especially peanut, tree nut, and sesame.

Add Sesame and Mustard to list of Big 8 Allergens

I am writing to let you know that we regard all of the different types of advisory statements as meaning that there is the possibility of an allergic reaction and therefore we do not purchase/consume the product. We do not ignore them as my daughter's food allergies (nut, peanut, sesame, soy, egg, shellfish, and coconut) are too severe to risk any sort of a reaction. We would strongly encourage you to ensure that sesame is included in the US list of major food allergens as it is in the EU.

I would like to see sesame included in the list of common allergens. Sesame allergy is a significant and serious problem found to be growing globally according to a report published in 2005 in Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, the scientific journal of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI). Sesame has been added to the list of major food allergens for use in food labeling in European Commission (EC) and Canada, but it is not yet included
in the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) listing of allergenic foods for labeling purposes in the United States.

A second issue for us is that both children are allergic to sesame, yet this is not one of the foods that is required to be called out on labels. It makes it so much harder to check for that ingredient when it is not called out separately anywhere.

My daughter, who is 26 months old has an anaphylactic allergy to peanuts. At the advice of her allergist, we do not feed her peanuts, sesame, tree nuts, mangos or kiwi.

Our 5 year old daughter is severely allergic to eggs, peanuts, and sesame seeds. Reading labels and knowing what types of facilities that foods are processed in are a life and death decision for us.