Allergy Free Eggs

It may seem a little science fictionish, but researchers at Deakin’s School of Life and Environmental Sciences in Australia believe they can modify the proteins within egg whites to produce chickens which will lay allergy-free eggs.

Maybe we can also answer that age-old question- "Which came first, the chicken or the egg? 

In this case, the egg wins.

Researchers at Deakin, in collaboration with CSIRO in Geelong and the Poultry Co-operative Research Centre, state that there are four proteins in egg white that cause allergic reactions. They have found a way to effectively switch off those allergens in the egg, which will make a chicken that will then lay eggs free of allergens.

This could lead to a flu vaccine free of egg allergen and may even lead to bakery items and other commercially available foods that can be labelled as containing "allergen-free eggs". 

While the research is expected to take another three years to complete, there is a possibility of allergy-free vaccines in five years. 

This leads me to wonder if allergens can also be switched off in peanuts, dairy and other foods that cause allergic reactions for many people.

Stay tuned!

Peanut Food Challenge

We recently went to the allergist for a peanut challenge. While my 11-year-old has tested positive (RAST test) for peanut protein, he has never actually had peanut. To prepare for the test, I made a peanut butter candy by melting safe chocolate chips, spreading it in a candy mold and putting a layer of peanut butter on top. I then added another layer of peanut butter and refrigerated it until it hardened.

We arrived at the challenge and all his vitals (heart, skin, breathing) were checked. The first level of the challenge was to break open one of the candies so the allergist could put a tiny amount of the peanut butter on a tongue depressor and place some on his tongue. Within minutes, he began complaining that his lip "felt funny". Sure enough, his upper lip was swelling and had developed a hive. We called for the doctor who gave him a healthy dose of Benadryl and watched him to see if further intervention (steroids, epinephrine) was needed. His lip began to return to normal size in a few minutes. We were asked to wait in the office for an additional 30 minutes.

No further medication was required.

While the challenge was labelled "unsuccessful", we learned several things:

• he is allergic to peanut
• he did not have any breathing issues related to the ingestion of a small amount of peanut
• the small amount of peanut he ingested did not require the use of epinephrine

So, avoidance of all things peanut continues. The allergist did share that their office will begin offering peanut immunotherapy in the coming months.I am excited about this area of new treatment and plan to explore it further.

I'll keep you posted.

Food Allergy Friendly Sales

Those of us who must buy special foods know how expensive that can be. Take advantage of holiday sales from these allergy friendly companies:

10% off all Miss Robens baking mixes, plus 10% off your total order at the Allergy Grocer. Just enter code "JOY2010" at checkout. They are my favorite source for Barry Calabaut chocolate chips and this offer makes it a great time to stock up!

My cookbook shelf contains all of Linda Coss's books. Yours can too with her offer of free shipping and additional savings for book sets now through Dec. 31. She'll even personally autograph your books- just ask in the "special instructions section during check-out. My copies are dog-eared with folds and creases showing years of use. From pancakes to spaghetti and meatball soup, you're sure to find recipes the whole family will love.

Peanutfree Planet is your source for allergy friendly Advent calendars, iced gingerbread men and other goodies for the season. They offer flat rate shipping  or free shipping for orders over $100.

For other seasonal sweets, Premium Chocolatiers is offering beautiful chocolate gifts for the holidays, but hurry as only orders placed by today, Dec. 13, are guaranteed in time for Christmas. Amanda's Own will ship their holiday treats until Dec. 16 and Divvies offers a variety of Chanukah and Christmas treats this season  too.

Happy shopping!