CeliacAndCfsCrusader

My two cents. In the beginning (especially), don't eat ANY foods that are clearly marked "made in a facility that shares....".

If you don't, you're only guessing that these foods aren't the problem. Then, you can add them in one at a time if you like.

I was diagnosed about 8 years ago and I still won't eat these foods. There are other choices and I don't want to play Russian Roulette.

Until it's mandated that equipment is sanitized to under 20 ppm or lower, I don't trust manufacturers to police themselves for our benefit.

Good luck.

My discovering this was about 15 years after I first had symptoms of a food allergy. It started with banana and fresh orange, both made my mouth sensitive and my tongue swollen a bit. It wasn't critical, but noticiable.

Then it went to colored bell peppers, except for green. Even cooked. Ultimately, the final straw was watermelon closing my airway enough to make me sound hoarse (which is what I thought it was, I was at an all day bbq and I was yelling a lot). I found out later that hoarse = bad news.

Interestingly, I never noticed GI symptoms with this. I just stopped eating uncooked fruits, which sucks, but it's better than needing an EPI Pen.

If you Wiki OAS, you'll get more info. Everyone's symptoms are different, but I'm also allergic to certain trees/pollen/ragweed etc and there are tables out there that will help match up the fruit/veg and the plants, they share proteins (so in my non-physician explanation, eating a raw strawberry that you're allergic to is like breathing in an entire tree you're allergic too).

Find a good allergist and do the skin testing, you'll then be on your way. Best. J

I might be able to help with this.

I ate fresh fruits and veggies all of my life until I had a reaction to watermelon and bell pepper. My mouth got itchy and my voice got hoarse (airway closing). This didn't happen until my 20's.

Ultimately, I was diagnosed with OAS or Oral Allergy Syndrome, which essentially is an allergy to a PROTEIN in many foods (usually related to uncooked foods and other allergies, such as pollen/trees etc).  Sound familiar?

As a Celiac, I understood that my chemistry is different than others, this was just one more thing.

Interestingly, when you cook these foods, the protein is usually deactivated or lessened enough to consume the foods without issues (I can eat apple pie, but not a raw apple). I have yet to find a fresh fruit that I don't react to and quite frankly it's not worth finding out, as my body changed even into my 20's.

Go see an allergist, they'll test you and get you squared away. Good luck.

Bravo, Dr. Fasano!

Although I disagree that "dedicated facilities don't make a difference", I do agree that Kraft is one of the few companies I trust through and through.

Also, if you haven't tried it, their pre-made cheesecake filling is to die for. Make a cheesecake in 3 minutes! (I use crushed cookies, sometimes mixed and baked with fruit jam, as the base).