A national newspaper covered the tragic death of Southborough native Timmy Howard. It included details meant to serve as a warning about the dangers posed by food allergies and the need for clearer labeling.
The USA Today story began:
After graduating from the University of Rhode Island, Timothy Howard had his whole life ahead of him.
But that bright future was tragically cut short when he died just days later from a severe allergic reaction to a late-night snack — a chocolate bar — that was contaminated with peanuts, his mother, Patty Howard, told USA TODAY.
Timmy’s whole body went into shock. He went into his parents’ bedroom, and they administered three EpiPens, a life-saving drug used by people at risk of anaphylaxis and other allergic reactions, but the reaction was “very fast,” and the EpiPen “didn’t work.”
Now, his family is sharing their story to prevent other families from losing a loved one to food allergies. His sister, Julia, says manufacturers need to make food labels clearer instead of relying on “may contain” warnings. His dad, Tim, says that individuals also need to carefully read those labels.
You can read more here.
I don’t know the full details of how the deadly mistake occurred. But I will note that I have personally been shocked to discover that food items I previously vetted as safe for my child no longer were. Fortunately for my family, my child’s food allergies aren’t life threatening.
I know now that even two bars of the same candy on the same supermarket shelf (but in different sizes or shapes) can have different allergen information. (It appears to be based on which facility they are manufactured in.) And even identical bar sizes and shapes can have different details when sold in different stores or shipped at different times. Manufacturers can change facilities, processes, or ingredients without any clear warning sign of the change.
I strongly support Howard’s family’s efforts to push for better labeling. And in the meantime, I urge anyone who is providing food to someone with a food allergy (especially a severe one) to carefully double check ingredients and “may contain” information each time, rather than relying on past knowledge.
As the paper notes, a fundraiser in Howard’s memory was launched after his death to support food allergy awareness efforts. You can find more about that here.
