Wish Craft: Keeping Halloween Gluten and Allergen-Free
by Kathleen Reale
When you have a child with celiac disease or food allergies, Halloween can be one of the spookiest times of year.
Unknowingly your child can become sick or, even worse, experience anaphylactic symptoms, due to exposure to gluten or other food allergens.
But thankfully it can become more than just a wish to keep a child’s Halloween gluten and allergen free by following these simple “No Trick” Halloween guidelines and tips:
- Wait to eat the treats! Don’t let your child eat any of the candy they gather in their trick or treat bags until they get home so you can safely check all candy. Which brings us to the next tip…
- Check the Candy Wrappers… TWICE! Just like you check the candy and the wrappers in your child’s treat or treat bags for tears, holes, and punctures – make sure your check the ingredients label of every piece of candy for gluten or allergens. What to do if there is no wrapper or ingredient label? Toss it!
- Candy can wear disguises too! Make sure you check the label of candy that has been “safe” in the past… ingredients CAN change! Also, different sizes of the same type of candy have been known to contain different ingredients.
- More than food! Consider non-food items for Halloween treats: Pencils, super balls, temporary tattoos and stickers – are all fun treats that don’t focus on food!
- Safety First! Just like you pack flashlights, reflective strips and glow sticks to make trick or treating safe and fun, make sure that you also bring along Epi-pens if need be.