Over the last few weeks, as I’ve made sandwiches for my kids for school almost every day, I realized I needed to consult my allergist.

I’ve found out more than I expected about cross contamination risks and the limits of our current FDA Food Allergy Labeling guidelines. See the manufacturer conversations I’ve had (see Part 1: Bimbo Bakeries: Arnold’s – Stroehmann’s – Weight Watchers etc, Part 2:  Pepperidge Farm and Foodhold USA).

I put in a call to the allergist’s nurse line to ask about the cross contamination risk based on what I’d heard, because of the increased risk of sesame in the bread products made by many of these companies.

While only one of my children has a sesame allergy, because it’s in the family, the other child is at risk of developing this as well.

They’re recommending I visit an organic bakery a few towns over to inquire about baking practices and sesame exposure there as well. There’s also a bakery that caters to allergy and gluten free consumers in that area, so I could potentially get our bread there.

From a convenience standpoint, I am not sure this is the right path for us, but it’s worth investigating.

A bread machine still may make more sense.