The e-mail address you have entered is invalid!

You will receive an email shortly with instructions to reset your password.

Enter your email address below and we'll e-mail you instructions to reset your password.

Seafood Allergies

Severe allergic reactions to seafood are commonly reported in both adults and children. As you may know seafood allergies occur when a person’s immune system has an abnormal reaction to:

• Fish (trout, cod, salmon)
• Crustaceans (crabs, lobsters and shrimps)
• Shellfish (clams, mussels, and oysters and various types of octopus and squid)

It is generally recommended that all seafood products be avoided due to the high chance of cross-contamination, since they are all often processed at the same facility.. This can occur in the manufacturing of food items when more than one product is made on the same processing/packaging line or when equipment used to manufacture one product containing fish, crustaceans or shellfish is used to produce other food products.

There have also been reported reactions to seafood vapours from cooking (e.g., sizzling skillets). Therefore, it is best to avoid these types of situations as much as possible.

This doesn’t mean that you cannot go out and enjoy a nice meal; you just have to be extra cautious with your food choices. In Canada, more than 1,800 restaurants, including 9 chains, participate in Allergy Aware, a new program to help prevent severe allergic attacks. These restaurants provide information about common food allergens in menu items, and can be identified by a posted Allergy Aware symbol.