Peanut allergy, plant sterols and... orange juice?
Label reading is an important practice when you or your children have food allergies. Sometimes labels can be confusing and make patients feel unsure about their safety. Minute Maid's Heart Wise™ Orange Juice has been an unlikely source of uncertainty for those with peanut allergy. In addition to filtered water and concentrated orange juice, the ingredient label also lists plant sterols. Minute Maid claims the addition of plant sterols makes it "the only orange juice clinically proven to help lower cholesterol." However, many are concerned that the label states that the sterols are "derived from highly refined vegetable oils such as soybean and peanut." It may be jarring to see the word peanut on a label for orange juice and it has created quite a stir on food allergy websites. Many concerned parents have contact Minute Maid's owner, Coca-Cola, asking for additional information and posted the replies they have received, including this one from an Industry and Consumer Affairs Representative:
"Be assured that our plants have policies and procedures in place to identify known allergens and takes the steps necessary to eliminate all risks associated with the cross contamination of allergen and non-allergen containing products. You may be interested to know that plant sterols used in Minute Maid Premium Heart Wise are derived from highly refined vegetable oils including soybean, rapeseed/canola, sunflower, cottonseed, corn and peanut. However, these highly refined soybean and peanut oils, which are two sources of plant sterols, are not considered allergenic foods. Highly refined oils do not contain protein residues at levels that are hazardous to allergic consumers. "We have had experts in the area of food allergy review the process used to produce plant sterols. These experts have determined that there is no risk to allergic consumers. Plant sterols are naturally found in vegetables, nuts, fruits and grains. The vegetable oil is extracted or pressed from seeds by using mechanical devices. The oil is then refined through neutralizing, bleaching and deodorizing steps. The deodorization step is done under high temperatures and reduced pressure. This final step produces the plant sterols. We hope this information is helpful. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to contact us again."
Despite Coca-Cola's reassurance, many parents continue to feel uncomfortable with their child consuming this product or other products made by Minute Maid, fearing they may be produced on shared equipment. The physicians at Grand Rapids Allergy want parents to feel at ease about this product. Coca-Cola does provide a good explanation describing how the oil is highly refined to produce plant sterols which are free from allergenic proteins. While it is important to be vigilant with label reading, please know that the manner in which these plant sterols are produced allows for them to be safely consumed by the peanut allergic.
© Grand Rapids Allergy, PLC Special thanks to local food allergy blogger Stacey Korecki for bringing this question to our attention. |
Thanks to all who attended our May 12 FACE meeting