sesame allergy

[pastmiprim]

Does anyone have a sesame allergy?   I am new to this and don't know which foods to avoid.

[GoingNuts]

Welcome pastmiprim!

My 19 year old DS has had a sesame allergy since he was 4 or 5.   IMHO, this is the most irritating of his allergens, as sesame is quite widespread and isn't considered one of the "big 8" here in the U.S., so labeling is often lacking.  If you are in Canada, you may have an easier time avoiding it.

Basically you have to be extremely careful with baked goods, including basic bread, Asian foods and Middle Eastern foods.  Breaded products like breaded chicken or fish products are a risk as well.   Hummus, baba ganoush, and similar spreads are out; they contain tahini which is made from sesame.  I'm sure more will occur to me as the day goes on, but I haven't finished my tea yet so my brain isn't fully functional yet. 

My DS seems to have a much higher threshold for sesame than some others here, so I hope they will chime in.  I'm quite sure my DS eats foods that are X contaminated from time to time, but others are much more sensitive so they will probably have better information.

How did you find out about your sesame allergy?  If you don't mind my asking, how old are you?  What country are you in?  We have members here from several countries, so if you need country-specific information just let us know and maybe someone can be of assistance.

Good luck to you - glad you found us!

[CMdeux]

Crackers and corn chips are seemingly mostly contaminated-- unless you've called the manufacturer and determined that this is not the case, it's best to assume so.

Dips, seasonings, and salad dressings.... spices. 

I'll think of more-- but I'm pretty sure that we have a common sources thread down in the seed allergen forum at the bottom of the boards.  Be sure to look over that list!!

[Ra3chel]

I'll second everything GN said--I'm in roughly the same boat as her son (sesame-allergic but not exquisitely sensitive; I don't generally worry about sesame xcontamination). You'll also want to keep a close eye on ingredients in cosmetics, lotions, soaps, and especially lip balms and lotions--sesame is showing up more and more in those, especially "natural" brands.

[Macabre]

Very few companies label well for sesame. No US company actually has to label for sesame ingredients--forget shared lines. Companies I trust in terms of labeling:

--Pepperidge Farm (it's the only store bought bread I will it, with the exception of Martin's Potato bread and King's Hawaiian Beead)

--Keebler

--General Mills

--Amy's (they label in bold for sesame)


I have had several cross contamination reactions--minor--and twos bad blatant ingestion reactions. One of those was anaphylactic and it was last month (and I ate a sesame containing Amy's dish that was plainly labeled and I didn't even glance at it).

I've had a reaction  from a salad at a church potluck that looked harmless.

I don't go to delis. I don't go to bagel shops.

I can eat sandwiches at Wendy's. I don't eat sandwiches at any place that uses sesame buns (McD's, Arby's, Hardee's). But I have gotten the wraps at McD's for years without any problems.

[Macabre]

Btw we make our own hummus at home all the time--without tahini.

[GoingNuts]

Btw we make our own hummus at home all the time--without tahini.

I was going to ask you to share the recipe, but then I realized it's pointless - DS is allergic to chick peas too. 

[Macabre]

GN we also have made similar bean spreads. I had a thread on the old boards that had several of these recipes. I may start another one.

[CMdeux]

Yeah, we used to make a white-bean and garlic spread with olive oil and lemon (for those that can do lemon around here, anyway).

It was a very good hummus substitute.

[SilverLining]

Hopefully this link works.  It's to a page of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency about sesame allergy (up here it's considered a top-ten priority allergen).

http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/pubs/securit/2012-allergen_sesame/index-eng.php

Although this information is from Canada, the risks are the same in other countries....the labelling is sometimes different though.

Other names for sesame seeds

In the past, some products have used other names for sesame on their labels. These names are not permitted based on the enhanced labelling requirements for food allergens, gluten sources and added sulphites, however, if you have a sesame allergy and see one of the following in the list of ingredients on a product you should not eat it.

Benne, benne seed and benniseed
Gingelly and gingelly oil
Seeds
Sesamol and sesamolina
Sesamum indicum
Sim sim
Til


Food and products that contain or often contain sesame seeds

Bread (for example, hamburger buns, multi-grains), bread crumbs and sticks, cereals, crackers, melba toast and muesli
Dips and spreads, for example, hummus, chutney
Ethnic foods, for example, flavoured rice, noodles, shish kebabs, stews and stir fries
Sesame oil, sesame salt (gomasio)
Tahina
Tahini (sesame paste)
Tempeh
Vegetarian burgers


Other possible sources of sesame

Some baked goods
Dressings, gravies, marinades, salads, sauces and soups
Herbs, seasonings, flavourings and spices
Vegetable Pâtés
Snack foods, for example, crackers, sesame snap bars
Vegetable oil (may contain sesame oil)


Non-food sources of sesame seeds

Adhesive bandages
Cosmetics, hair care products, perfumes, soaps and sunscreens
Drugs
Fungicides and insecticides
Lubricants, ointments and topical oils
Pet food
Sesame meal, for example, poultry and livestock feed


Note: These lists are not complete and may change. Food and food products purchased from other countries, through mail-order or the Internet, are not always produced using the same manufacturing and labelling standards as in Canada.

[GoingNuts]

Yeah, we used to make a white-bean and garlic spread with olive oil and lemon (for those that can do lemon around here, anyway).

It was a very good hummus substitute.

Mmmmm, please post - though I think I can figure out what it might be!

SL, that 's a great list.  Adhesive bandages?  Adhesive bandages?  SMH.  Where does it end?

[SilverLining]

SL, that 's a great list.  Adhesive bandages?  Adhesive bandages?  SMH.  Where does it end?

Adhesive bandages have been on the CFIA page as long as I can remember.  I've tried to find out specifically which bandages, but nobody knew.

I've had a maybe type reaction to bandages....but I don't think it was sesame.  more like skin that wasn't getting air. kwim?  Definitely never had a sesame-for-me-reaction from a bandage.

[lakeswimr]

Sesame doesn't have to be listed on food labels so if a label says any word you don't know the meaning of or that can mean multiple things like 'spice', 'natural flavoring', 'flavoring', etc you would need to contact the company and ask whether it has sesame or not.  Some companies will tell you and some won't.

Bread is the biggest thing to avoid IME.  Most in the USA are produced on the same equipment with sesame and can have sesame cross contamination.  Crackers, salad dressing, soups, almost all Asian food (and I'd say all Asian restaurants), even something like canned tomatoes can sometimes have sesame!  Cereals, of course hummus and other Middle Eastern foods and restaurants, many types of pretzels and more frequently have sesame.  Also, corn chips, some salsa, bread crumbs and more.

It is difficult to avoid but more and more companies are at least aware it is an allergen.

When I called Amy's they told me that all their flavoring is made in the same room where they make things with sesame and there could be xcontam so we avoid their stuff.  I love their company, though.  Maybe they have changed but I recommend calling them to check how they handle sesame and the chance of xcontam.

Nabisco/Kraft and Cascadian Farms and a few other companies (Pepperidge Farms?) treat sesame as they do top 8 allergens and label for it including if there is a chance of cross contamination.  Maybe Keebler has changed but when I contacted them in the past they would not give me any information about sesame so we avoid their products.

Chipolte, Red Robin (YMMV), Papa Ginos, Burger King (only their fries), places that cater to gluten-free people, some other pizza places have all been good choices for us.