Slate reports that the numbers of people suffering from shellfish and other food allergies may be significantly overstated. The article traces the source of confusion to a 2004 paper in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology that misrepresents the percentage of the population with seafood allergies. For one thing, the authors of the paper were non-statisticians trying to perform statistical work. For another, the survey questions were biased.
allergies
New Jersey Man Sues Allerca For Non-Delivery Of Amazing Hypoallergenic Cat
By 8.16.09
Allerca’s elusive hypoallergenic kittens remain elusive. A few months ago, we posted about Allerca and their amazing genetically engineered allergy-safe felines. “Lifestyle Pets” charged thousands of dollars for the kittens, but failed to actually deliver any. We featured one scammed reader’s story, and now another kittenless customer is suing the company.
Guy Sues BK For $100,000 For Not Holding The Pickles, Onions & Tomatoes
By 5.11.09
A little over two years ago, a Virginia man ordered a a drink and two sandwiches from Burger King. He then proceeded to take a bite and swallow— before he realized that his “specific request for the omission of onions, pickles and tomatoes had not been complied with.” The result? A lawsuit for $100,000 filed in the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.
Got Allergies? Try Pouring Liquid Up Your Nose
By 4.16.09
A couple of years ago, I was complaining to my friend about my allergies and she suggested I try a neti pot—she said she had one and it really helped her. I nodded politely but assumed she was crazy, because we were in Brooklyn and because she works in theater. I also didn’t like the idea of irrigating my nose, because the only reference point I have for that sort of thing is diving incorrectly at the public pool, and it’s never pleasant. But the New York Times says neti pots really do work, and several recent studies indicate that they can be effective, and cheap, treatments for nasal allergies.
FDA Recalls Mrs. Grissom's Salads Cheese Spreads Due To "Undeclared Anchovies"
By 4.10.09
If you bought some cheese spread from Mrs. Grissom’s Salads, and are allergic to or just don’t like anchovies, the FDA has some bad news for you.
Tropicana: Our 100% Juice Could Contain "Anything From Nature," Even Dairy
By 9.5.08
It’s apparently a whole lot of fun to try to get a straight answer out of Tropicana as to what “natural flavors” are in their 100% juice.
What To Look For In A Pillow Protector
By 12.29.07
Do you spend the nights fighting allergies and biting your pillow in agony? Wait, that sentence didn’t come out right. Anyway, the vice president of a custom-printing pillow company tells Newsday what he looks for in a good pillow cover.
By 12.28.07
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Whole Foods has expanded last week’s recall of 365 Organic Everyday Value Chocolate Bars to include all 8 varieties, and expanded the Best If Used By date window to any date prior to 11/08/09, because of possible undeclared milk and tree nuts. [FDA]
By 12.17.07
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Whole Foods is recalling its 365 Organic Everyday Value™ Swiss Milk Chocolate Bars with Rice Crisps, 3-ounce size, with a Best If Used By date of 11/21/07, because the batch may contain undeclared hazelnuts, walnuts, and pecans. [FDA]
Zyrtec Goes Behind-The-Counter
By 11.12.07
Zyrtec users can now buy it without a prescription—but they’ll have to show ID because it going to be sold from behind the counter with the other meth supplies. [Associated Press]
Greater Need For Allergy Warnings?
By 7.30.07
The Wall Street Journal has a poll that says 1 in 5 US households have a member with a food allergy and that 1 in 3 of those households say the allergy is serious. A third of those with serious food allergies say they’ve experienced allergic reaction because they weren’t informed about an ingredient in a restaurant. One third also said they’d experienced reactions because of incorrectly labeled foods.
Steak 'N Shake Needs To Be Aware Of Milk Allergies
By 3.27.07
On a recent visit to your North Canton Belden store, I noticed you had new yogurt shakes, made with ” fruit and yogurt” Being lactose intolerant ( and as all lactose intolerant people know) frozen yogurt and yogurt is a good alternative to ice cream as it does not contain the harmful lactose present in milk. I made the comment to the waitress that I was allergic to milk and was glad to see the new product. When she brought my shake, I again asked if she was sure it had no milk in it, and she thought a minute, and said it had “this much” milk used to thin the yogurt mix. She indicated almost half the size of the container. If I wouldn’t have asked, I would have been in the hospital by evening. It happened to me before when I had ordered a yogurt shake at a Dairy Queen, and they ran out of yogurt and made it with milk without telling me. I ended up in the emergency room.
Jessica Simpson, Pizza Hut Spokesperson, Is Allergic To Pizza
By 2.22.07
There was that internal bleeding discovered last year around the time she was filming Employee of the Month; doctors found the presence of the little bugger thought to cause ulcers. Recently, Simpson tells me, after she was still feeling not quite right, an allergist delivered news that would chill the heart of anyone reared on Texan cuisine: She’s allergic to cheese. And wheat. Oh, and tomatoes…
Cheese and tomatoes and wheat? Yes, Jessica Simpson has ulcers, and pizza gives her internal bleeding. —MEGHANN MARCO
US Airways Kills Peanuts
By 6.5.06
They still had peanuts? Well, no longer as you can now add US Airways to the list of airlines not serving bagged tributes to George Washington Carver. The airline claims it’s to stop peanut particles drifting from passenger’s gnashing maws and into the orifices of peanut allergy sufferers, a deadly disaster that also serves as the premise for last summer’s blockbuster, “Peanuts on a Plane.”
Experts Say Cough Syrups Don’t Work
By 4.26.06
My skull a steadily expanding hydrocephalic sack of mucus, I’ve been swigging a lot of cough syrup lately. I’ve spent a hundred euros on the stuff over the last couple of days, which — roughly translated into America’s currency, the U.S. Cowboyo — is a hell of a lot of money. You empty your wallet on the counter of the local pharmacist, but even in your feverish daze, you know cough medicines don’t really work: it just makes you feel more proactive about your chances of fighting off your body’s alarmingly rapid decomposition into a jell-o monster made of phlegm.
