If you have a food allergy, assume nothing is safe. I made oatmeal raisin cookies last night for my husband. He doesn’t have any food allergies that we know of –lucky dog! I used regular SunMaid brand raisins. The box says nothing about sulfides or sulfates, but most run-of-the-mill raisins are treated with these chemicals to extend their shelf life. Now you know why those raisins never seem to go bad!
I finished the box off with the cookie recipe and have resolved to never buy them again. They taste fine but my family doesn’t need any extra chemicals. All future raisins will be specially marked non-sulfite/sulfate and organic.
Beware of any dried fruits: prunes, craisins, cranberries, apples, pineapple…they sell everything as a dried fruit snack these days. Check the packaging-if it doesn’t specifically say that the fruit has not been treated, there’s a good bet that you’re getting preservatives with your “healthy” snack.
Wegman’s carries their own line and Whole Foods has some options. Check with your local health food store. Even if you’re not allergic to sulfites, tell the staff at the store that you are–they take you more seriously and will be more helpful in finding what you need.
Also, those small boxes of raisins may be a convenient snack for your little one, but I encourage you to buy in bulk and split the raisins up into reusable containers to give as snacks. Snack packaging is a waste in the production, shipping and finally that it ends up in the dump (even if you recycle the packaging, it takes energy to make that box into something else.)
1 Comment
November 23, 2008 at 2:53 am
I am going crazy with a preservative allergy. (I’m 57 yrs old). I discovered it 6 months ago after taking gelatine to strengthen my fingernails – probably took it for about 18 months. When I realised preservative was the problem (after having the symptoms for a year and thinking the problem was soap etc!), I thought I would have the problem sorted. However, 6 months later….. first of all I had a meat pie; another weekend a sausage (it always happens in the weekends!); another time margarine caused problems; then a bought biscuit – and on and on it goes until 6 months later I still get the annoying symptoms. The latest – which has really made me angry – is when I put nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts) and currants in my home made museli.