"May contain traces of...", what do you do?

[Canadian_Mom]

Wondering what other people do for foods that "may contain traces of" their child's allergen/intolerances?  So far we have steered clear of any of those foods, but for months I have been wondering whether or not it is worth the risk. DS2 only gets severe stomach pains and a rash from the foods we steer clear of, so not life threatening. Wondering what other people have been doing 

[Mashi]

My DS actualky reacted to Ready Brek cereal which is a "may contain traces of milk" food. After that what I did was to call companies and ask WHY they have that. Some products are baked on the same line as foods with allergens, others are not but because the company sells other products with the allergens they do it to protect themselves from liabilities. I did not worry about those but did steer clear of the ones made on the same lines.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

I read a study once that said that something like 50% of "may contains" really did have trace allergens in it. Cant remember where I read it though. One thing though, past reactions do not predict future ones so I would be careful of trace allergens as you never know when an allergy can progress to anaphylaxis. Stomach pains and hives is already involving two body systems so I would personally avoid them or call each company and verify why it has a "may contain". 

[Buntybear]

For me it depends on the scale of the allergy. I would prob risk 'may contain wheat' as it may cause some eczema patches. Egg is different though so I would steer clear.

[ZacsMumme]

Yeah. I avoided these but now I'm not so stringent. If it says may contain I tend to avoid, but here we get a lot of ' in a factory that processes milk, soy etc' and I dot worry about these so much.

[*Kara*]

here we get a lot of ' in a factory that processes milk, soy etc' and I dot worry about these so much.

^ I don't worry about these either but the ones that say "may contain traces of" I do keep track of a little more.

[Canadian_Mom]

Thanks so much for all your thoughts ladies!! Glad that I haven't been the crazy mom avoiding these foods so far   I might start trying some of the foods that are processed in the same factory as the foods we avoid in the next few months, but definitely still avoiding the may contain foods.

MSE - I had to laugh as I swear I had read an article regarding the "may contain" foods, but I can't find it now that I am looking again...

[zeri]

DD has a moderate peanut allergy, and we give her 'may contain' foods all the time at home. He kindergarten guidelines say that no 'may contain' snacks are allowed in the class though, so for me it really would depend on the severity of the allergy - some kids could die from 'may contain' foods.