← Back to course
Kitchen 3-5 / Week 04 / Monday
1/6
Week 04 · Allergy Aware

Monday

What is a food allergy?
// Read the label, ask before you share
⏱ about 15 min

Monday: What Is a Food Allergy?

Lucy the Ladybug brings a basket of snacks to the cabin. "Let's share!" she says.

Lizzy the Lizard stops her kindly. "Wait. Some friends have food allergies."

Ferris the Fox nods. "What do you notice about how Lizzy asked first?"

Riley the Raccoon points at a snack bag. "Here is a hint," he says. "The bag has answers."

What a food allergy is

A food allergy is when the body reacts to something in a food.

Reactions can be mild or very serious.

People with food allergies read labels. They stay away from the foods they are allergic to.

More than 160 foods can cause food allergies.

The nine major food allergens

US law names nine major food allergens.

These are words to look for on a label. Learn to spot them!

Allergy label words
Nine major allergens: milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soybeans, sesame.
Sesame became number nine in 2023.
ALLERGY WORDS
  • Read the question.
  • Tap your answer.
What is a food allergy?
How many major food allergens does US law name?
Which of these is a major food allergen?
StatementTrue or false?
Peanuts and tree nuts are major food allergens.?
Allergy reactions are always mild.?
Only nine foods can cause food allergies.?
Sesame is one of the nine.?
WHY THIS EXERCISEKnowing the nine helps you read labels like a pro.
Eggs, milk and ____ are three of the nine.
More than ____ foods can cause food allergies.
SORT THE FOODS
  • Tap a card.
  • Then tap its spot.
1One of the nine
2One of the nine
3Not one of the nine
4Not one of the nine
Try it
Say the nine label words out loud with your grown-up.
Count them on your fingers. Did you reach nine?
How many major food allergens are there? Type a number.
WHY THIS EXERCISEUS law names nine major food allergens.
For a grown-up
This week names all nine major food allergens as words to find on labels.
No recipe in this course uses peanuts, tree nuts or shellfish.
If your child has a food allergy, talk about it together this week.
On paper, make a pretend snack label. Give it a name, an ingredients list and a Contains line.

Great start, allergy detective! Tomorrow you learn to read a Contains line.