{"id":15897,"date":"2015-06-02T16:40:51","date_gmt":"2015-06-02T21:40:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=15897"},"modified":"2015-06-11T09:07:31","modified_gmt":"2015-06-11T14:07:31","slug":"wilmette-teen-hopes-documentary-spurs-food-allergy-awareness-more-training-for-food-handlers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/wilmette-teen-hopes-documentary-spurs-food-allergy-awareness-more-training-for-food-handlers\/","title":{"rendered":"Wilmette teen documentary spurs food allergy awareness, more training"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Traci Badalucco<\/p>\n

Restaurant workers need to know if a salad dressing has peanut oil or whether the pasta is made from eggs.<\/p>\n

With food allergies on the rise in the U.S., experts and consumers want food handlers in restaurants to improve their knowledge and awareness about ingredients.<\/p>\n

Allergy prevalence in the U.S. increased 50 percent among children 17 and younger between 1997 and 2011, according to a 2013 study released<\/a> by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).<\/p>\n

Even young kids know a peanut allergy can be life-threatening, but they can\u2019t always rely on food servers to protect them.<\/p>\n

\u201cI meet servers that just don\u2019t take it seriously, and that puts me in danger,\u201d said Jack Yonover, 13, of Wilmette, who is allergic to tree nuts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Jack<\/a>
Jack Yonover, 13, of Wilmette, spent a year and a half on his debut documentary, “That Bites.” The film will be featured in cities across the country this summer. (Jack Mueller Productions<\/a>\u00a0Photo)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Yonover has become somewhat of a spokesperson among the allergy community, after filming his documentary \u201cThat Bites.\u201d The film, which debuted earlier this year, highlights people with food allergies and the challenges they present.<\/p>\n

While there are no laws in Illinois requiring food allergy education in restaurants, the state is in the process of adopting the 2013 Food and Drug Administration Code<\/a> to make it one. In the meantime, it\u2019s working with experts to train food inspectors about food allergies.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is certainly more awareness about food allergies and the realization that there can be steps taken to prevent some of this,\u201d said Melaney Arnold, public information officer for the Illinois Department of Public Health.<\/p>\n

Food inspector trainees undergo eight hours of basic instruction, 30 minutes of which covers food allergies.<\/p>\n

Julie Campbell, president of the Illinois Food Allergy Education Association<\/a>, said she only spends 30 minutes covering food allergy education. That short time has to include symptoms and treatments, how to read labels, avoid cross-contamination, and accommodate certain allergies. She says that\u2019s not enough time.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re not saying every restaurant has to accommodate everybody, but to know what you can accommodate,\u201d Campbell said. \u201cA Thai restaurant might be able to handle some, but maybe not a peanut allergy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two of the most important lessons are reading labels correctly and avoiding cross-contamination \u201cso the peanuts you\u2019re using on your sundae don\u2019t get on your pasta,\u201d Campbell said.<\/p>\n

Yonover said going to restaurants is risky, because servers aren\u2019t aware of 100 percent of a dish\u2019s ingredients.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople think I\u2019m crazy or they just don\u2019t understand that something can\u2019t be made with nuts or even made near nuts,\u201d Yonover said. \u201cI think they sometimes get annoyed with me, and it\u2019s not easy trying to explain to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

What are food allergies?<\/h1>\n

A food allergy occurs when the immune system, which normally protects the body from germs, mistakes food for a harmful germ, according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese cells in other countries are used to fight parasites and things, but in our country, these cells end up causing these adverse reactions to food,\u201d Fishbein said.<\/p>\n

When a reaction occurs, food protein binds to mast cells, also known as allergens, and \u201crelease different products in the cells that trigger low blood pressure, hives, and swelling,\u201d said Dr. Anna Fishbein, an allergist at Lurie Children\u2019s Hospital of Chicago. Swelling in the throat can inhibit or even cut off breathing.<\/p>\n

Reactions can range from mild to life-threatening, something known as anaphylaxis — when the reaction is so strong that the airways start to close up.<\/p>\n

When anaphylaxis occurs, a shot of epinephrine must be injected in the upper leg. Most people use an EpiPen<\/a>, which is a common self-injector that people carry with them at all times in case of severe reaction.<\/p>\n

Milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, peanuts and tree nuts cause 90 percent of serious allergic reactions in the U.S., according to the CDC.<\/p>\n

The most common food allergies among children are milk, egg and peanut, and in adults they are shellfish, peanut and tree nuts, Fishbein said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbout 80 to 90 percent of kids outgrow milk and egg allergies, about 20 percent outgrow peanuts, and only about 10 percent outgrow tree nuts,\u201d Fishbein said.<\/p>\n

Yonover discovered his food allergy after eating from a bowl of cashews his mom set out in the kitchen.<\/p>\n

After a few minutes, strange bumps started popping up on his tongue and his mouth and throat swelled.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was freaking out, and my parents gave me Benadryl, so fortunately I was OK,\u201d Yonover said. (Benadryl is an antihistamine that helps counteract allergic reactions).<\/p>\n

Yonover\u2019s parents took him to the allergist, who diagnosed his tree nut allergy.<\/p>\n

\u201cLooking back, I think he had a gut instinct that that wasn\u2019t going to agree with him,\u201d said Jill Yonover, Jack\u2019s mother.<\/p>\n

What causes food allergies?<\/h1>\n

Food allergies affect up to 15 million people in the U.S., including one in 13 children, according to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE)<\/a>, a non-profit organization.<\/p>\n

\u201cFood allergies were not as prevalent two decades ago as they are today,\u201d said Dana Morris, FARE\u2019s Midwest regional development director. \u201cIn recent years, we have seen the number of children with food allergies in the U.S dramatically increase.\u201d<\/p>\n

Experts aren\u2019t certain what causes food allergies, but there are some common hypotheses.<\/p>\n

One idea is that as societies have moved from farming environments to urban settings, the immune system\u2019s method to fight off an infection from harmless allergens has shifted, said Dr. David Stukus, a national spokesperson for the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe also know that there is a strong genetic component, and there appears to be a link between early life and in utero exposures that may enter in at a predetermined exposure to lead to an allergy,\u201d Stukus said.<\/p>\n

The way Americans digest food might also play a role.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some societies, peanuts are used extensively, but are more boiled, whereas in America they are dry-roasted,\u201d Stukus said. \u201cEarly introduction may promote tolerance.\u201d<\/p>\n