Do you have a shellfish allergy? NutriSon does.
For those of you who do not fully understand food allergies, one in thirteen people are diagnosed with a food allergy. That means that specific foods can cause life-threatening situations and cross-contamination must be handled and avoiding your allergens is a must.
Now, what if I told you that in the future, your foods and other everyday items may be covered in packaging made from lobster shells? If you have a shellfish allergy, are you going into a cold sweat? Because I am. Just thinking about how this may effect my son as well as millions of others with this allergy. The thought behind it is harmless- it's meant to be a biodegradable product to help reduce waste in the environment (I fully support being eco-friendly). But stop and think- it may be covering a lot of items that you purchase safely right now.
- Would the packaging be required to be labeled for allergens?
- Would it be a cause of cross contamination by being placed with other packages that are not made from this material but touched it, was handled prior to other packaging?
- Would every single food store/processing plant/restaurant/etc. be mandated to be retrained on food safety and handling to reduce the number of allergic reactions from a simple package of food?
This invention is in process and is not even a thing yet but I am already so very uneasy.
I first came across the article here and was intrigued but (as I shared) worried. According to Business Insider "A team of students at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London has developed a method that turns lobster shells into biodegradable "plastic".
Operating under the name The Shellworks, the group creates planters, wallets, plastic bags, and more, from a substance called "chitin", which is biodegradable and reusable."
Read that. Let it sink in for a moment. Again- the idea is amazing! Save the earth, help our environment but.....make all those with food allergies panic. It's NOT just plastic wrap. It's so many other things - everyday things that are incorporated into your life. Wallets... picking out a wallet that is made from lobster shells... I am shuddering. This being said, I still seek knowledge, opinions and information as not everyone's allergic reactions are the same. My first step was to ask others within our food allergy community about how they feel about it. Here are some of their comments and concerns:
For those of you who do not fully understand food allergies, one in thirteen people are diagnosed with a food allergy. That means that specific foods can cause life-threatening situations and cross-contamination must be handled and avoiding your allergens is a must.
Now, what if I told you that in the future, your foods and other everyday items may be covered in packaging made from lobster shells? If you have a shellfish allergy, are you going into a cold sweat? Because I am. Just thinking about how this may effect my son as well as millions of others with this allergy. The thought behind it is harmless- it's meant to be a biodegradable product to help reduce waste in the environment (I fully support being eco-friendly). But stop and think- it may be covering a lot of items that you purchase safely right now.- Would the packaging be required to be labeled for allergens?
- Would it be a cause of cross contamination by being placed with other packages that are not made from this material but touched it, was handled prior to other packaging?
- Would every single food store/processing plant/restaurant/etc. be mandated to be retrained on food safety and handling to reduce the number of allergic reactions from a simple package of food?
This invention is in process and is not even a thing yet but I am already so very uneasy.
I first came across the article here and was intrigued but (as I shared) worried. According to Business Insider "A team of students at the Royal College of Art and Imperial College London has developed a method that turns lobster shells into biodegradable "plastic".
Operating under the name The Shellworks, the group creates planters, wallets, plastic bags, and more, from a substance called "chitin", which is biodegradable and reusable."
Read that. Let it sink in for a moment. Again- the idea is amazing! Save the earth, help our environment but.....make all those with food allergies panic. It's NOT just plastic wrap. It's so many other things - everyday things that are incorporated into your life. Wallets... picking out a wallet that is made from lobster shells... I am shuddering. This being said, I still seek knowledge, opinions and information as not everyone's allergic reactions are the same. My first step was to ask others within our food allergy community about how they feel about it. Here are some of their comments and concerns:
- "I'm really concerned about this. Thank you for sharing it. I'm going to keep all the information. I already sent it to all of my family because both my son and I are so allergic"
- "Kind of freaked me out. I'm breaking out just looking at it."
- "Is it an actual risk? I think back to the walnut shell astro turf that I've seen and wonder if there is enough protein in the shells to make an issue? Definitely something to be aware of!"
- "I am curious though as some have reactions to touching it and some react to cicadas because of the exoskeleton."
- "OMG that really could kill me I think? My son and I are both Ana[phylactic] allergic."
- "It would definitely be a concern for me, but it looks like this is just the shell, what part of the shellfish causes the allergy?"
- "For someone with a severe allergy any protein at all is a risk. I really think we need to look away from food sources for packaging- as much as I want something safer for the environment."
- "Seriously frightening to me as one with a shellfish allergy because I am sure they don't label it as shellfish."
- "With my seafood allergy, I don't trust it! No way!"
- Definitely worrisome for us!!"
My next step was to reach out to The Shellworks in London and voice my concerns for our community. I was pleased that they replied very quickly. Their response:
"Hi Tracy,
The RCA comms department forwarded us your email. Thank you for reaching out.
The material is actually hypoallergenic once we process it. We break down the polymer into chitosan, which is actually used in medical and pharmaceutical products and has proven to be biocompatible and hypoallergenic.
It is one of the benefits of using this polymer so that it can become a viable sustainable alternative to plastic. Hope this addresses your concerns."
Are you comfortable with this response?
Do you have any situations that you would like to share that may support using or not using items such as this?
Honestly, I'd probably want to see studies to back up that claim. And simply to set minds at ease, I'd probably want to do a controlled challenge before I'd stop worrying (if we managed shellfish, which we do not.)
ReplyDeleteThis is already in some drinking straws. I shared an article within the last month. It also mentioned the proteins are too broken down, but praised businesses for warning allergic customers anyway.
I am definitely looking for studies to back up as well but in the meantime, a heads up to allow others to be aware is just a precaution :)
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