What is this green stuff? I must ask

Published 5:48 pm Friday, May 4, 2007

By Staff
I can attest to the fact food allergies aren't a laughing matter.
When I was pregnant, each time I seemed to have more and more trouble eating fish, not shellfish, but tuna, perch and the like.
Once my throat even started to close. I was lucky I had eaten very little that day.
Alas, I used to really enjoy the McDonald's fish sandwiches, but my throat reacts even if I smell fish.
I went to the Pokagon Fire Department's annual fish fry to bring home carry-outs and I could hardly stand in the room to wait for my order.
Driving home I kept the windows down, even in the cold.
The one time I went to Japan, someone made up a card for me that read, in Japanese of course, not to give me any fish.
I would place it next to my plate and my Rotary hosts were quite good about watching as I ate.
One man grabbed my arm just as I was about to eat a piece of something which had been carved into a pretty flower.
"Fish!" he yelled.
I was glad I didn't have to use one of my epinephrine pins which I brought along, which is supposed to help when you go into anaphylactic shock.
I don't miss the fish too much, as I still get to eat the better tasting lobster, shrimp and crab.
I do have a problem, though, with all the restaurants which advertise "crab" which is really a white fish.
Waitresses and waiters should be aware of what is in their dishes.
Many times I have questioned whether the crab is "real," only to be told yes, then learn it was really fish.
Food allergies are serious and can be deadly.
My only other known food allergy is to peppers, the green, yellow and red kind.
I found that out when I was just a small girl spending the night at a girlfriend's house.
My mom never had cooked with peppers, though later in life she grew them and put them in everything.
The girl's mother had made stuffed green peppers. I was polite and tried the new dish. I thought I was going to die.
Being young and rarely sleeping away from home, that was thought to be the reason for my distress.
A few years later, I ate some soup, which was filled with peppers. I didn't eat any of the pieces, but still the soup itself made me sick to my stomach.
Through the years, my friends know to eliminate these items from dishes they make for me.
I have gone to summer events when the only thing on my plate are potato chips, as peppers were added to the potato salad, sloppy joes and beans.
The ladies from the Union House Bed and Breakfast, who cater the Edwardsburg Chamber monthly luncheons, even make a separate dish for me when they use peppers.
The week May 13 to 19 is Food Allergy Awareness Week.
I know there is a week for everything!
But seriously, when someone is allergic, just eating dinner can be life-threatening.
In the United States, 12 million people have food allergies.
It is good that labeling continues to improve with additional requirements.
The most common allergies are milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts (walnuts, almonds, cashews, pistachios, pecans, etc.), wheat, soy, fish and shellfish.
If you, or your children have food allergies, you may wish to visit: www.foodallergy.org.