COVID-19? Coronavirus? Ever heard of it? Of course you have! It is all anybody is talking about anymore. Grocery shopping with food allergies can be challenging on its own but grocery shopping during the Coronavirus Pandemic is a whole different level of stress.

Tips for Grocery Shopping During the Coronavirus Pandemic: An allergy friendly guide

You might not feel comfortable going to the grocery store or spending extra time in the aisles to read labels. However, fret no more! Read this is a guide for tips on grocery shopping with food allergies during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Jump to:

Tips for shopping in-store
Shop online and have it delivered
Shop online, pick up
Allergy friendly substitutes
Allergy friendly brands
Always (always!) read labels carefully
FDA Labeling: Temporary flexibility during the Coronavirus Pandemic
Be safe and stay well

Tips for shopping in-store

Following are some tips from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) for grocery shopping during the Coronavirus Pandemic:

As always, avoid being in public if you are sick or have any symptoms of the virus.
Go to the stores during slower parts of the day like earlier in the morning or closer to closing.
Check the store’s website or call for information on special hours for immunocompromised and the elderly.
Wear a face covering when in public.
Disinfect the shopping cart with disinfectant wipes.
Social distance by staying 6 feet away from others.
Use hand sanitizer often.
Do not touch your face.
Use touchless payment options if available. If this is not available, apply hand sanitizer after paying.
When you arrive back at home, wash your hands with soap and water for 20+ seconds.

Shop online and have it delivered

When grocery shopping with food allergies during the Coronavirus pandemic, delivery may seem like the easiest and safest option. You order your groceries online, pick a day and time for delivery and they are left at your front door. No human contact whatsoever!

The limited human contact is the reason the CDC recommends this option when and if it is available.

When ordering online, look for allergy friendly substitutes (some examples are listed below) by using the online retailer's search function.

Carefully read the ingredients to be sure the items you are purchasing are safe for you. And watch for allergy friendly brands (see examples below).

Shop online, pick up

While delivery is the safest, it isn’t always the best option because delivery times can be far and few between. Also, stores sometimes have delivery fees (but not always - check with your store!)

Here are the names of national chains that offer “drive-up” or “curbside pick up” options.

Albertsons
Aldi
Costco
CVS
Dollar Tree
Fry’s
Kroger
Publix
Safeway
Sprouts
Target
Walmart
Wegmans
Whole Foods

Allergy friendly substitutes

The following are a few allergy friendly substitutes for each of the most common food allergens. You can also visit the substitutes page for more ideas.

Peanuts and tree nuts

Sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, tahini (sesame seed paste), sunflower seed butter

Soy

Whole soybeans: other beans and legumes
Milk: almond, oat, hemp, rice, coconut
Oil: canola, olive, grapeseed, avocado

Dairy

Milk: almond, oat, pea, hemp, rice, coconut
Cheese: vegan cheeses like soy, almond, cashew
Yogurt: coconut, almond, soy, oat
Ice cream: coconut, oat, cashew, soy, rice

Wheat

Rice, corn, quinoa, rye, barley, gluten free oats

Egg

Aqua faba, flax “eggs”, applesauce and bananas (for baking)

Corn

Oils: canola oil, olive oil, avocado oil
Corn starch: arrowroot, tapioca, potato starches

Allergy friendly brands

The following are just a few allergy friendly brands, what allergens they are generally free from, and some stores where you can find them.

CherryBrook Kitchen

Items available: Baking mixes, frosting, cookies
Free of: wheat, gluten, peanuts, nuts, eggs
Availability: Online

Earth Balance

Items available: spreads, butter, dressings, snacks
Free of: soy, dairy, eggs
Availability: Fry’s Price Chopper, Safeway, Stop and Shop, Target, Walmart

Enjoy Life Foods

Items available: bars, snack foods, cookies, baking mixes, chocolate bars, granola, cereal
Free of: Dairy, egg, wheat/gluten, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish
Availability: CVS, Fry’s, Safeway, Sprouts, WalMart, Whole Foods

Ian’s Natural Foods

Items available: Frozen meals and snacks
Free of: wheat/gluten, dairy, egg, nuts, soy
Availability: Hannaford, Kroger, Meijer, Shaw’s, Shop Rite, Sprouts, Target, Whole Foods

King Arthur Flour

Items available: flours, baking mixes
Free of: wheat/gluten (made in dedicated allergen free facility according to the website)
Availability: most grocery stores

Namaste Foods

Items available: baking mixes, pasta meals
Free of: wheat/gluten, corn, soy, potato, dairy, peanut, tree nut
Availability: widely available. See retailer list here.

Sun Butter

Items available: sunflower seed spread
Free of: gluten/wheat, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, eggs, soy, fish, shellfish
Availability: Albertsons, Fry’s, Price Chopper, Safeway, Sprouts, Stop and Shop, Target, Walmart, Whole Foods

Always (always!) read labels carefully

Foods regulated by US Food & Drug Administration must have allergens called out in one of three ways:

In the ingredient list, using the allergen’s common name.
Using the word “Contains” followed by the name of the major food allergen—for example, “Contains milk, wheat.”
In the ingredient list in parentheses, when the ingredient is a less common form of the allergen—for example, “albumin (egg).”

To learn more about labeling laws and tips for reading food labels check out these resources:

https://www.eatingwithfoodallergies.com/common-food-allergies/
https://www.foodallergy.org/resources/how-read-food-label
https://www.aaaai.org/conditions-and-treatments/library/allergy-library/food-label (pictures of food labels are included in this one and are labeled with insights on what to look out for)

FDA Labeling: Temporary flexibility during the Coronavirus Pandemic

Labeling laws are put into place to keep those with food allergies safe. However, the FDA recently announced temporary flexibility regarding certain labeling requirements for foods during the Coronavirus Pandemic.

The recent statement by the FDA regarding flexibility with these requirements is concerning to the food allergy community. You can read the full statement from the FDA here.

Here are a few bullet points about what the statement says:

The reason for this change is to allow for flexibility to minimize supply chain disruptions. In other words, companies may not have access to the same ingredients during the pandemic and may need to use other ingredients. Rather than having to create a new label, the FDA is allowing those swaps without changing the label.

Swaps cannot be with an ingredient containing a “top 8” allergens so the allergen statement on the product would not need to be changed. This is a concern for those avoiding allergens that aren't in the “top 8”.

Examples provided in the statement include:
- If a quiche contains green peppers but they are not available, the company can leave them out without changing the label.
- If a product contains “bleached flour” but this is not available, the company can substitute unbleached flour without changing the label.

FARE (Food Allergy Research and Education) is working with the FDA on this issue. You can stay up to date on their progress here.

Be safe and stay well

These are unprecedented and uncertain times (also overwhelming, weird, CRAZY!! Need I go on?) I hope these grocery shopping strategies and suggestions are helpful for you.

Need help? Let us know! Please write to us here or message us on Facebook or Instagram @EatingWithFoodAllergies to let us know how we can help you specifically.

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