Oser Communications Group

At a birthday party held recently for the son of a close friend, my heart ached when one of the young party-goers ap- proached us to ask in his small voice if the birthday cake was gluten-free. It instantly occurred to us as hosts that we hadn't considered the very likely possi- bility of a child with dietary restrictions attending. Almost before we had a chance to answer the boy, however, his mother swooped in with a bag of gluten- free treats she had brought with her, en- suring that everyone at the party was able to cap off the event with a birthday confection. As thankful as I was to the boy's mother for saving our bacon that day, I had to also be thankful to food compa- nies that are doing so much to ensure that everyone with restrictive diets, chil- dren included, do not have to miss out on the many fun foods that are so popu- lar among those of us who can eat just about everything. Whereas being gluten- free or lactose-free or allergic to nuts or eggs or soy once made treating oneself to birthday cake and ice cream a particu- larly difficult task, today there are dozens of companies carefully crafting gourmet foods to meet any dietary need. According to Food Allergy Research & Education, food allergies affect 1 in 13 children, and that number is on the rise. The organization estimates that the inci- dence of food allergies among children has risen 50 percent since 1997. For those of us lucky enough to have few di- etary restrictions, it can be difficult to understand what it is like to live with the possibility that accidentally ingesting the wrong bakery treat could result in life- threatening anaphylaxis. However, it can be equally difficult to understand how, although this threat is real, it does not need to negatively impact a person's quality of life. In her cover story on food allergies, Lorrie Baumann discusses several ways in which food allergies have been histor- ically deleterious to the social lives of those who suffer from them and their loved ones. Children with allergies and intolerances, for example, are often subject to bullying—even some- times to the point that necessitates home schooling. Parents of affected children may even experience some prejudice from the parents of their children's class- mates. And family activities can be restricted by the need to adhere to strict dietary requirements. The good news is that many food com- panies within the specialty food land- scape are doing their absolute best to mitigate these impacts and to give aller- gic individuals and their families the same quality of life experienced by their peers. For example, Enjoy Life, maker of gluten- dairy- soy- and nut-free prod- ucts, is working to raise public aware- ness of food allergies and to offer consumers an extensive product line that is free of the eight most common aller- gens. In the words of Joel Warady, Enjoy Life's Chief Sales and Marketing Officer, the company is striving to "bring the cel- ebration back into everyone's life." Enjoy Life is of course not the only company working to make it easier for everyone to celebrate with food. Many food companies are hard at work crafting products that meet the unique needs of all consumers. You can read about many of these companies in the pages of this issue and in every issue of Gourmet News. GN — Lucas Witman, Editor 520.721.1300 lucas_w@oser.com GOURMET NEWS APRIL 2014 www.gourmetnews.com EDITORIAL 1 0 WWW.GOURMETNEWS.COM PUBLISHER Lee M. Oser ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Paul Harris paul_h@oser.com Jeff Rosano jeff_r@oser.com EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Lorrie Baumann lorrie_b@oser.com EDITOR Lucas Witman editor@oser.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Zach Calvello CONTRIBUTING WRITER Alicynn Fink GRAPHIC DESIGNER Yasmine Brown ACCOUNT MANAGERS Jules Denton Ryan Harter Lynn Hilton CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Product Wrap-up & Classified Sales Tara Neal tara_n@oser.com CIRCULATION MANAGER Jamie Green jamie_g@oser.com PUBLISHING OFFICE 1877 N. Kolb Road P.O. Box 1056 Tucson, AZ 85715 520.721.1300 Fax 520.721.6300 SUBSCRIBER SERVICES Gourmet News P.O. Box 30520 Tucson, AZ 85751 520.721.1300 G OURMET N EWS ® PRESIDENT Lee M. Oser MEMBER OF: Periodicals postage paid at Tucson, AZ, and ad- ditional mailing office. Gourmet News (ISSN 1052-4630) is published monthly by Oser Com- munications Group, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715; 520.721.1300. Publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited mate- rial or prices quoted in newspaper. 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POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Gourmet News, 1877 North Kolb Road, Tucson, AZ 85715. FROM THE EDITOR

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