Anyone allergic to mustard? Elder son seems to be, and after a very scary morning with him

[GreenPartyVoter]

yesterday I am determined to find a safe foods list for him, but mustard isn’t required to be listed on labels. Anything that says “spices” or “natural flavors” could be mustard!

He has no health insurance and still owes $3K from spraining his ankle this spring, so no doctor trips are possible at this time. I would feel better if he had an epi-pen, but as a college student he’s already heavily into debt and health issues will just make it worse. To compound the problem, he always gets vasovagal during health situations, so he and dad are writing off some of the symptoms to that. This may not be wrong, but it makes him that much less likely to seek medical attention outside of an emergency.

I hope President Biden can offer him some actual, affordable health insurance!

[csziggy]

1. Mustard allergy seems to be a very severe one

So he will need to be very careful. And you are right, a lot of labels don't list exact spices and herbs so it's hard to be careful.

I have a sensitivity to hot peppers and run into that issue regularly. What I have to do is question wait people about ingredients and if in doubt, order food plain, like unseasoned fish rather than one with a sauce. Even then it can get me - baked fish apparently can mean Cajun spiced fish, which is extremely painful for me.

In order to enjoy well flavored food, I mostly have to make my own seasoning blends and even some condiments. It's not that hard, but it does mean keeping a well supplied herb and spice cabinet and taking time to develop my own recipes.

Here is a good article for you and your son to read:

Mustard - A priority food allergen
2017

<SNIP>

I have a mustard allergy. How can I avoid a mustard-related reaction?

Read food labels.

Avoid all food and products that contain mustard or mustard seed and any product whose label carries a precautionary statement warning that the product might have mustard in it such as “may contain” mustard or similar wording. When provided by a manufacturer, precautionary statements are usually found after the list of ingredients or "Contains" statement if there is one. By December 2021 any precautionary statements will have to appear in this location only.

If mustard or mustard seed is part of the product formulation, it must be declared in the list of ingredients or in a separate “contains” statement immediately following the list of ingredients.

Avoid any products that do not have an ingredient list.
Read labels every time you shop. Manufacturers may occasionally change their recipes or use different ingredients for varieties of the same product.

https://www.canada.ca/en/health-canada/services/food-nutrition/reports-publications/food-safety/mustard-priority-food-allergen.html

Apparently in Canada mustard must be listed on the label if it is in a product, so you might see if you can check the Canadian food labels online for the types of foods they list later in the article as often containing mustard.

Good luck!

[GreenPartyVoter]

3. Thank you! I wish the USA would adopt those labeling standards! I got key

info from younger bro when I called abt family med history. I knew that he is super allergic to aspirin, but what he learned recently was that it's specifically the salicylates, which are in a lot of plants and used in a lot of items, that are his allergen. So, one more note for kiddo's record and a plan to start making my own hot sauces for him.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I've never heard of a mustard allergy, but I guess

it's possible to be allergic to anything. The common things seem to be peanuts, chocolate and strawberries. My dad was a bit allergic to canteloupe and my mother couldn't eat soy beans, so I guess there's some allergen for everyone. I'm allergic to horses (to ride, not to eat). Mustard as an allergen is unusual enough that it's probably harder to avoid, so I hope that can be managed. Yikes.

[GreenPartyVoter]

4. Turns out salicylate allergies are pretty common. I knew

my brother is allergic to aspirin, did not know that it is linked to Mustard and other plants. Lots more research to do.