Advocacy and research – December 2025

Discover our advocacy efforts across different sectors including foodservice, food labelling, healthcare, educators, and camps. Plus, with the holidays coming up and chocolate being more present, check out our mythbuster on dark chocolate and milk allergy.

Advocacy in action: Making food allergy a priority in foodservice

Last month, we made significant strides for the food allergy community at the Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors (CIPHI) Ontario virtual Conference.

We delivered a presentation that emphasized how inspectors, who visit restaurants, can promote our Think Food Allergy resources and tools to strengthen allergen management in the foodservice industry. By empowering Public Health Inspectors to share this vital information, we are helping foodservice establishments to be better equipped to meet the needs of the food allergy community.

While we continue our long-term advocacy for standardized allergen management practices, we are taking action now to make a difference. Our efforts this year are helping to shape a safer foodservice landscape, ensuring Canadians with food allergy can eat out with confidence.

Thank you to our industry partners for their collaborations this year on our foodservice agenda:

Check out our Think Food Allergy resources and share with foodservice establishments that you may be visiting over the holidays.

Downloadable resources

From recipe templates and information sheets to posters, and more.

Download now

Micro-training video series

Check out our short videos on ordering, preparation, and delivery.

Watch now

Recipe for Success report

To build awareness of the importance of food allergy and how to better support this community.

Read the report

Advocacy in action: Strengthening allergen management through industry collaboration

Last month, we hosted our 3^rd annual Food Industry Council meeting in Toronto—bringing together national and international leaders from the food industry, government, and academia to advance allergen management in Canada. This engagement is a key part of our work to drive stronger allergen labelling standards and industry practices that support safer, more informed choices for Canadians with food allergy.

Pictured left to right: Beatrice Povolo, Dr. Paul Turner (Imperial College London), Dr. Silvia Dominguez (Université Laval), Kate Reid, Michael Abbott (Health Canada), and Jennifer Gerdts

Council members represent companies across the Canadian food sector, united in their commitment to improving allergen management. This year’s agenda featured experts from Health Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and global specialists who shared updates on current issues, including evolving discussions on precautionary allergen labelling (“may contain” statements) and new emerging food allergens.

We were honoured to welcome international experts such as Dr. Paul Turner from Imperial College London (UK), Jasmine Lacis-Lee from the Allergen Bureau (Australia) and Ben Remington with Remington Consulting Group BV (Netherlands). They joined our Canadian speakers, Michael Abbott from Health Canada and Andrienne Kong with the CFIA. Their insights helped shape productive discussions on current challenges and future pathways for clearer, more consistent allergen labelling.

Thank you to all Council members for their ongoing collaboration and leadership. Their engagement is essential to driving meaningful progress for Canadians living with food allergy, empowering them to make safe and informed decisions. We also extend our appreciation to Maple Leaf Foods for hosting the meeting.

We look forward to building on this momentum as we continue advancing the conversation around labelling and strengthening allergen management across the Canadian food industry.

Thank you to all attendees from the following organizations:

Advocacy in action: Elevating food allergy and anaphylaxis amongst healthcare providers

With only about 300 allergists across Canada and more than 3 million Canadians affected by food allergy, access to specialized care is a significant challenge. That’s why we’re committed to reaching family doctors, paediatricians, nurse practitioners, and other frontline healthcare professionals with the information and tools they need to better support their patients. In 2025 alone, we provided over 23,000 resources to healthcare providers!

Throughout the year, we also engaged directly with healthcare providers at national conferences, including Pri-Med—one of Canada’s largest gatherings of family physicians. There, our Executive Director, Jennifer Gerdts, and Dr. Edmond Chan delivered an important session on food allergy immunotherapy, helping build greater understanding of emerging treatment approaches.

Jennifer Gerdts speaking at the Ga2LEN Symposium

We also ensured the patient perspective was represented at leading global and national forums, such as the Global Forum on Anaphylaxis and Food Allergy (Ga2LEN) and the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology (CSACI) annual meeting. By sharing insights on the patient journey and the need for treatment options, we continue to elevate the realities faced by Canadians with food allergy.

Through these efforts, we are helping to strengthen food allergy awareness, improve clinical understanding, and ultimately ensure that Canadians at risk of anaphylaxis receive better, more informed care.

Advocacy in action: Building knowledge and inclusion in classrooms

This year, we advanced our mission to make every classroom safer and more inclusive for students with food allergy. Our fall awareness campaign was shown more than 1.6 million times, spotlighting how our All About Food Allergy student program empowers educators to build confident, inclusive learning environments.

We strengthened our presence in the education sector by engaging key education influencers, partnering with leading education publications, and reinforcing our expertise through national media interviews. These efforts are helping ensure that food allergy education becomes a standard part of classroom learning.

Watch: Learn how the All About Food Allergy student program makes an impact!

We also launched a powerful new video featuring educators and students sharing why this program matters—and why it belongs in every classroom across the country. Watch it now!

Hear directly from educators about the impact of this program:

Influencer post: Sarah Habibi

Sarah is a science educator, focusing on STEM. Watch her video where she talks about the benefits of our program and how it creates impact.

Watch the video

Influencer post: Margaret Fong

Margaret is an elementary school teacher who provides educators with practical resources. Watch her video where she speaks to the importance of this program and how teachers can drive inclusivity.

Watch the video

Advocacy in action: Making camps safer and more inclusive

In 2025, we launched an initiative to create lasting change in the camp landscape across Canada—helping to ensure camps and recreational programs are safer and more inclusive for children and staff with food allergy.

This year, we began collaborating with the Ontario Camps Association to engage camp directors and leaders in meaningful discussions about food allergy safety and inclusion. Together, we are developing a comprehensive resource guide, as well as practical tools and training materials to support camps in embedding allergy management into daily practices and policies.

In addition to working directly with camps, we are engaging with Members of the Provincial Parliament to shape policy that supports safer camp environments.

By combining direct collaboration with camp leaders and advocacy with government, we are helping to create environments where children can participate fully and confidently.

Looking ahead to 2026, we will launch a pilot program in Ontario to put these resources into practice, evaluate their impact, and refine strategies for expanding safer, more inclusive camp experiences across the country.

Research: New Canadian EoE consensus statement to guide clinical practice

Eosinophilic Esophagitis (EoE) is a condition that affects the esophagus, the tube that carries food from the mouth to the stomach. It can be triggered by different factors and sometimes, it can be a delayed allergic response to certain foods.

A new consensus statement has come out that provides evidence and expert opinion-based recommendations for providing care for adults and children with EoE. It is positive news to now have Canadian focused best practice recommendations to support the care of EoE patients.

Learn more about EoE

EoE section

Go to our EoE section for a comprehensive overview.

EoE articles

Read two articles, one by Canadian paediatric allergists and another from an adult and a youth who are navigating this condition.

Information sheet

Download our 1-page sheet for a quick overview for yourself or to share with others.

Download

Mother on laptop while dad and daughter having fun.

Webinars

Watch our webinars: one for EoE in adults and the other in kids.

EoE in adults
Understanding EoE in children

Mythbuster: Is dark chocolate safe for someone with milk allergy?

With holiday treats in mind, we’re resharing a mythbuster about dark chocolate and milk allergy.

FACT: No, not necessarily. While pure dark chocolate is supposed to be made without milk or milk products, not all dark chocolate is considered pure or produced in the same way. Plus, dark chocolate may be produced in the same facility or on the same equipment that makes milk chocolate, and cross-contamination can occur. Always read the list of ingredients and any “may contain” statements for milk on all dark chocolate products you’re thinking about buying. Additionally, contact the manufacturer with any questions you may have about how products have been made.

Note for those allergic to milk and considering vegan options: Pure dark chocolate may be appropriate for vegans, as by definition it’s supposed to be made without milk/milk products. However, not all dark chocolate products may be safe options for those with a milk allergy, and may be labelled with a ‘may contain milk’ statement. Remember to read the list of ingredients and “may contain” statements and contact the manufacturer with any questions.