Jessica McDermott: Heartbroken Philly mom reveals she ‘unknowingly poisoned’ her 4-yr-old daughter for several weeks
PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES: Philadelphia mother Jessica McDermott, “unknowingly poisoned” her four-year-old daughter Mia McDermott, after letting her have the usual food she thought was sesame-free for several weeks throughout January. The child, who is allergic to sesame, fell ill following the consumption, prompting McDermott to realize that her daughter had food containing the allergen.
“I’d been unknowingly poisoning [Mia] for several weeks,” McDermott told The Washington Post. The incident reportedly took place due to ingredient changes made by companies to manage strict new legislation involving food items containing sesame. In January, a new regulation introduced stricter rules for dealing with the ingredient after it was revealed that children with sesame allergies are at risk of eating food containing the ingredient, facing life-threatening consequences, as per the Daily Mail.
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Jessica McDermott’s daughter fell ‘violently ill’
Jessica McDermott was feeding her four-year-old daughter her usual food throughout January without knowing that some of the items she consumed now contained sesame, an ingredient the child was allergic to. The child continued to get sick from the snacks she had previously consumed safely.
The mother told The Washington Post that her daughter became ‘violently ill’ after eating a Wendy's cheeseburger, which was previously one of her favorite food items. The young girl also suffered from headaches, had dehydration, and vomited frequently.
Similarly, Nashville mother Emily Tibbs realized her two-year-old son developed a rash on his face, had a cough, and suffered from stomach pain, after she fed him a Dave's Killer Bread. After both mothers checked the food labels of the snacks they fed their children, they were shocked to realize that the items were no longer safe as sesame had been added to the ingredient list.
‘Labeling is not to be used’
On January 1, a newly enacted law stated that food companies would be required to carry out strict cleaning practices to prevent cross-contamination between food items with and without sesame. The law was established keeping in mind the safety of 1.5 million Americans allergic to sesame. However, the Washington Post reported that several companies are now claiming they cannot guarantee the highest level of cleanliness in their equipment that can completely avoid the presence of allergen traces.
Therefore, the companies are now choosing to add allergens to food so that the presence of the ingredient in the food item can be mentioned on the label instead. Some companies are claiming that adding the ingredient label after its inclusion in food is the safest way to deal with the new regulations. “Labeling is not to be used instead of current good manufacturing practices with regard to allergens,” an FDA spokesperson told the outlet, stating that the Food and Drug Administration, which regulates most food labeling, “does not support” adding sesame in food items as a strategy to follow the new law.
“A child accustomed to safely eating a burger for lunch at school last year will not know about the change and will be poisoned as a result,” Jason Linde, from advocacy organization Food Allergy Research & Education added while speaking about the situation. Wendy’s previously released a statement saying that its buns contain sesame flour as an ingredient, “We take food safety and allergen matters very seriously… On our current national menu in the US, our premium and value buns contain sesame flour as an ingredient.”