Photo by Sarah Finnegan.
For those with food allergies, it can be difficult to tell if most Halloween candies are safe.
Most kids only have to worry about what character they want to be for Halloween, but for others, the holiday is anything but simple.
For kids or anyone with a severe food allergy, the common practice of trick-or-treating can be a dangerous activity.
Vestavia Hills resident Angella Carlisle, whose 9-year-old son Jed Carlisle has severe peanut and tree nut allergies, knows this all too well.
“Halloween is probably the most challenging holiday that we have, because he can pretty much have nothing,” Angella Carlisle said.
Jed was diagnosed with multiple food allergies, including nuts, eggs and milk, when he was 18 months old.
Though he has since grown out of the milk and egg allergies, which Angella Carlisle said is a common occurrence, Jed is still extremely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts.
When he was 4, Angella Carlisle said Jed was accidentally given a Butterfinger candy bar, and after no more than a nibble, he started having an anaphylactic reaction.
Jed made a full recovery after being treated with epinephrine at Children’s of Alabama, but Angella Carlisle said he still remembers the episode, and it has influenced his eating habits.
“He questions everything,” she said, but added that he now understands and is able to steer clear of his allergens pretty well on his own.
Still, Angella Carlisle said when all of the other kids are going house to house collecting sweets, it can be hard being one of the few who can’t eat candy.
“Halloween is a tough holiday for him,” she said.
Dr. Maxcie Sikora, an allergist at Alabama Allergy and Asthma Center, said Halloween is a time that causes many parents of kids with food allergies to experience anxiety.
“Having some person give your child a potential trigger for [his or her allergy] is a stressful event,” she said.
Dr. Sikora said nearly one in 13 kids have a life-threatening food allergy, a statistic confirmed by FARE, the Food Allergy Research and Education group.
A big problem Sikora and Angella Carlisle both said is prominent at Halloween and during other holidays is the lack of labeling.
“We have to do a lot of label reading,” Angella Carlisle said, and many fun-sized candies aren’t labeled with a full list of ingredients.
More difficult still is the potential for those with extreme sensitivity to their allergen to have a reaction when foods come into contact with other foods or are even made in the same factory.
Angella Carlisle said Jed has to completely avoid chocolate, because many chocolate products are made on equipment shared with products that contain nuts.
Parents looking for guidance on nut-free products do have options, however.
Dr. Sikora and Angella Carlisle both recommended FARE’s website, which provides information about how food allergies work as well as other resources.
One of FARE’s most popular advocacy programs is the Teal Pumpkin Project.
The program, which began in Tennessee, aims to create an inclusive trick-or-treating environment that all kids, even those with life-threatening allergies, can enjoy.
Families offer non-food treats, such as small toys, glow-sticks or other alternatives, and paint their decorative pumpkin teal as a sign their trick-or-treat stop is allergen free.
Angella Carlisle also recommended snacksafely.com, which is a database of information about food manufacturing that includes ingredient lists, production practices and more information that can tell parents whether a snack is safe for their food-allergy child.
For parents with kids who have a food allergy, Dr. Sikora recommended open communication with neighbors and other parents about the seriousness of food allergies and the ways they can keep all kids safe on Halloween.
For Jed, Halloween is still a fun time, his mother said.
“He’s a real trooper about it,” Angella Carlisle said. “He’s more about just getting dressed up and having fun.”
► Families participate in the Teal Pumpkin Project in all 50 state and in 14 countries.
► For more information about FARE or the Teal Pumpkin Project, visit foodallergy.org.
► For ingredient information and other facts about different foods, visit snacksafely.com.
