Does Some Wine (or Beer) Trigger Your Food Allergies?

Have an allergic/sensitive reaction after drinking certain wines but not others? Beer, of course is made with wheat and barley, so if you have celiac disease or an allergy to these grains, find a gluten-free beer that you like.  However, if you have multiple food allergies, or are vegan, wine and beer both have "fining agents" that can be

• bone marrow
• casien (milk)
• egg albumum derived from egg whites
• shellfish shell fiber (called "chitin")
• fish oil
• gelatin (dervied from animal parts)
• gelatin (derived from fish membranes)

... Some wines have even used grains, although in my own research it seems this practice is not as prevalent anymore. I've started researching this more deeply, and glad to find this article on Lifehacker​ confirming my suspicions.  Does this answer any burning questions?

There is the great debate about how distillation and refining of alcoholic beverages breaks down the proteins so that the immune system doesn't see the allergen anymore. Being a canary in a coal mine, myself, I can tell, with one sip, if a beverage contains my allergens - distilled out or not. Even if a so-labeled potato vodka has a mix of refined grain alcohols in the bottle, my body reacts nearly instantly. If it does not, I have no problem. The fining agents, however, are not distilled out of the beverage, so even if you are not a creature of great sensitivity like myself, but still have allergies, this is something of which to be aware.

What can you do?

Look for unfined wines or unfinished wines as a start. There are no laws requiring labeling of fining agents in alcoholic beverages, so you will not find them on the label. Unfined wines might be a little more cloudy, but this will clear up with time. Besides, its better to be safe and drink cloudy wine.

Barnivore has a great list of vegan wines. So if you are allergic to dairy, fish, or animal products, this is another great place to do your own research.

Here are a couple of articles on the subject:

Why Wine Can Trigger Your Food Allergies

Not All Wine is Vegan, and Here's Why

Avoid Bulk Bins, Common Sources of Allergens

Bulk bins are reasonable and inviting, but they are also havens for common food allergens. Avoid the bulk bin if you want to steer clear of allergens, especially gluten, peanuts, soy, dairy, and nuts (so sorry!) Besides the interchangeability of the scoops in the store, bulk items are often cross contaminated during processing, b/c bulk items are commonly processed w/ allergenic foods.

Wash your re-usable grocery bags

We are green, we use less plastic, and we save trees by using cloth grocery bags.  We carry eggs, raw meat, unwashed veggies in them.  Do we wash them?  Experts are saying that 85% of us do not. 

But we should.  Food borne bacteria, parasites and viruses can be carried in unwashed bags and potentially hurt us, too.  So wash them once a week in hot soapy water to keep them clean and spanky.

Flour Can Stay in the Air for 36-48 Hours

•Flour connects to everything

•It takes 36 – 48 hours for flour to settle from the air (in other words, flour can stay in the air for nearly 2 days).     

•It can land anywhere on prep surfaces & on any food in any station.

So be careful when you use regular flour when making things for those with gluten/wheat allergies or celiac disease.

Don't Mix Your Hand Lotion into Your Food.

You may have read the title of this tip and said, "Duh!". But think about this another way. You have a habit of putting lotion on your hands after you wash them. Then you proceed to the kitchen and prepare a chicken, or cut vegetables or mix some kind of dough. Many lotions contain gluten or nut oils or soy oils. The lotions gets mixed into food, even in trace amounts, this could cause a problem for someone with those allergies. So if you are cooking for someone with celiac disease, or any allergies (esp. nut, gluten, coconut, or soy...), don't take chances, wear gloves or wash your hands thoroughly and skip the lotion until you are finished cooking.