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Food Allergy? How To Find Out If You Unknowingly Ate Your Allergen & What To Do If You Did

If you suffer from a peanut allergy, celiac disease, or other food allergy, then you likely check all labels to make sure you do not accidentally ingest the food you are allergic to. Unfortunately, you cannot always trust food labels today, and there are frequent food product recalls issued by the FDA (or sometimes the manufacturer's themselves) when it is discovered that a food product contains an allergen not disclosed on the label. Read on to find out how to keep yourself aware of these product recalls and what to do if you don't find out about the recall until it is too late and you have already ingested food contaminated with your allergen. 

How To Monitor Food Recalls

Due to the fact that some major food recalls, such as the case of the frozen food contaminated with listeria, make the national news headlines and circulate on social media, you may be under the false impression that if there is a food recall and you stay on top of the latest national news headlines, you will hear about it. Unfortunately, most food recalls are not even mentioned on the news or social media, and there can be as many as several recalls in one day. 

If you suffer from a food allergy, then you must take the time to find out about the newest food recalls on a regular basis (daily is ideal) to help ensure you don't end up accidentally consuming your allergen. The FDA, or Food and Drug Administration, keeps an up-to-date list of active recalls on their website. This list contains all food recalls issued within the past two months. They also keep an archive of past food recalls that dates back a decade.  

If you suffer from a peanut allergy (which you know can turn deadly) or celiac disease, then you may be shocked at how many food recalls are due to undeclared peanuts or wheat in food products. 

What To Do If You Discover a Food Recall After You Consume the Product

So, now that you know where to find out about food recalls, you likely wonder what to do if you consumed one of the products in the FDA archive of recalls that contained your allergen. That answer depends on what happened to you after you consumed it. If you did not experience any symptoms, then there was likely a very small amount of the contaminant in the food that did not trigger a reaction in you, and all you should do is make sure to keep an eye on new recalls. 

However, if you look at the year and date of the recall and it jogs your memory of a time you had to break out your EpiPen or even go to the hospital due to a mysterious allergy attack from an unknown source, then you may have a personal injury case and be able to receive compensation for the cost of your hospital bills, medications, and the pain and suffering you endured after you ate the product.

There is a statute of limitations for personal injury cases, which is the time period you have after an injury occurs to file an official law suit. While the statute of limitations for personal injury claims varies depending on the state you live in and can be as short as two years or as long as six years, if you were under the age of 18 when you ingested the contaminated food and then suffered physically, then the statute of limitations to file a personal injury claim began when you turned 18. So, depending on your age, you may still have time to file. 

Before you call a personal injury attorney to discuss whether you have a strong enough case against the manufacturer of the product you consumed to file a lawsuit, it is important to gather as much evidence of the incident as possible. This can be easy or difficult depending on how much time has passed since you ate the contaminated product and suffered from it. You should first attempt to locate a store receipt that proves you purchased the item (if you ate it recently, then a receipt and the packaging is even better!).  

Gathering the rest of the evidence you need can be easy if you had to go to the hospital emergency room or urgent care center. If you saved your paperwork from the visit, then that is great evidence. If you didn't, then don't worry, because you can order a copy of your medical records from the healthcare facility that treated you during your allergy attack. 

If you did not visit the hospital, then it will be more challenging to prove your case, but not impossible. Your attorney may ask you to gather witness statements from those present during your attack, any photos taken during or after your attack, and any other information they think will help prove your case to a judge. 

 If you suffer from a food allergy and don't currently keep an eye on recalled foods that ended up on store shelves contaminated with undisclosed allergens, be aware that it is one additional step you can take to help prevent a possibly deadly allergy attack. Also, realize that if you end up in the hospital and experience pain and suffering due to unknowingly consuming one of these recalled foods, there are steps you can take to receive compensation for your medical bills, missed days of work, and the pain and suffering you endured, and a personal injury attorney can help lead you through them. To find a personal injury attorney, contact a law firm like Blomberg Benson & Garrett.