We have dealt with real grief in our family over food allergies.
I've had to EpiPen Vivian nine times to keep her alive.
I have held my daughter when she was younger while she sobbed for hours
because it was so unfair that she has food allergies and other kids don't.
And why am I not getting invited to birthday parties?
Why am I not invited to playdates?
Parents would tell me, you know, they were just too afraid to have her there.
And that really hurt.
This is Amanda Bee in Utah, the United States, the mother of Vivian, who's 13,
loves to play soccer and is severely allergic to beef, cow's milk and dragon fruit.
Um, I always keep my EpiPen with me, and I read the ingredient labels on everything,
and I just make sure that I don't eat anything that I'm allergic to.
And she has to avoid cross-contact as well, so lots of hand-washing.
Yeah.
I can't eat chicken that's, like,
cooked on the same thing that, like, a beef burger was cooked on.
This episode of The Food Chain from the BBC World Service with me,
Ruth Alexander, is about food allergies.
What it's like to shop for groceries, cook and eat out,
when even a trace of the wrong ingredient can be dangerous.