Welcome

After reading Sue Dengate's book "Fed-up With ADHD" I was in tears, everything the Dengate family went through either related to my daughter's life, or mine in some way. I felt as if I was looking into a crystal ball at what our future could be, and was being thrown a lifeline, a tool-kit to make things right.

With a six year old who had little to no bladder control and who was struggling to fit in at school, a three year old who continually pooed her pants, and a two year old who was showing no signs of talking, I was going crazy trying to cope with their out of control behaviour, dermatitis, and asthma, while managing my own low blood pressure, dizzy spells, migraines and eczema. I launched into the failsafe diet with gusto, and the full support of my mother and husband. After a few minor hiccups we found that all of our symptoms were reduced or eliminated. I clung to the hope that we would react to just one or two additives, as a friend's child had, but was dismally disappointed when we reacted to amines, salycilates, lactose, antioxidants 319-321, and then ceased challenges and contacted RPAH allergy unit to get some help managing our intollerances.

The purpose of this blog is to share our experiences and local contacts who are supportive in making our life easier. For up to date information on what foods are Failsafe please refer to http://www.fedupwithfoodadditives.info/information/updates.htm

31st October 2006

Yesterday I had the pleasure of eating lunch with Joanne Edwards of A Cut Above Fine Foods at Beecroft and Westleigh. Along with their other award winning sausages, they make a range of Failsafe sausages following the recipe in the Failsafe Cookbook. I love their chicken sausages, which I am assured contain no chicken skin or offal, hence being low in amines. They also make beef and lamb.

Joanne has been finding out all about what makes food Failsafe, as she plans to introduce Failsafe pre-prepared meals to their range. So watch out for stri-fries, meatballs, and maybe even meat loaf in the near future.

Another exciting discovery I made in Beecroft was the Daily Delicious Bakery, next to A Cut Above Fine Foods, their white bread is delicious, and Failsafe, no preservatives in the bread or the shortening used to make it. Next time I am heading to a BBQ, I'll be calling into The Centre, Wongala Cresent, Beecroft , for bread rolls and sausages all in one stop.

http://www.acutabovefinefoods.com.au/

20th August 2006

I have heard that the dietitian at Hornsby hospital will supervise the failsafe diet and is free! Something to check out.

9th August 2006

I found this potentially good website where concerned parents discuss their children's health.

http://www.parentsjury.org.au/forums/forum.asp?ContainerID=1786

We need to get more failsafe people over there raising awareness of the really nasty things in foods. They all seem to be hung up on sugar and fat. I don't know about you, but I think in moderation these are the least of our problems.

6th August 2006

As is being discussed on the Failsafe2 forum Fruccio vanilla dairy free icecream has been discontinued due to major retailers no longer stocking it.This is the response one of the ladies on the forum received from the manufacturer.

"Thanks for contacting us with your enquiry regarding Fruccio.

We can sympathise with you and your family in regards to allergies. We have
numerous enquiries and requests for the availability of this product.
Unfortunately, it is a product line that has been deleted from our range due to
a lack of market support.

Although Fruccio is no longer available on the market, aside from So Good, there
has recently been one or two more dairy-free ice creams been made available
through other smaller independent companies.

I suggest that you could approach the Dairy Manager of your supermarket and
request that they look into stocking these products. Alternatively, maybe ring
the head offices of Coles, Woolworths etc requesting the same thing. Generating
market demand in turn generates requests for manufacturers like ourselves to
produce them. Without that market demand, manufacturers would not deem it to be
a profitable venture.

Thank you for your enquiry. I wish you the best of luck in finding a
replacement."

If you are failsfe and dairy-free like us please follow these links, cut and paste my message or write your own to register your dismay with the retailers who have caused this to happen.

https://www.coles.com.au/frame/build.asp?url=/contact/service_email.asp

http://www.woolworths.com.au/contactus/index.asp

My message: I am very dismayed that I can no longer purchase Fruccio vanilla ice cream at your store. It is the one dairy free and additve free ice cream my children and I can eat. Since you no longer stock it, it is no longer being made, hence there is now no ice cream in ours, and many other childrens' lives.

Make sure you also email the manufacturer, again, feel free to copy my message or write your own, but make sure you let them know of your concern.

'P&B.productenquiries@fonterra.com'

My message: I am very dismayed that I can no longer purchase Fruccio vanilla ice cream. It is the one dairy free and additve free ice cream my children and I can eat. Since you no longer produce it, there is now no ice cream in ours, and many other childrens' lives.

You may also like to let A Current Affair know how the major retailers are forcing the chemical free foods off the shelves, forcing us to eat nasty chemicals like 160b anatto, or to just not eat ice-cream! Feel free to copy my message or write your own.

http://aca.ninemsn.com.au/feedback/default.aspx?formid=228

My message: Major retailers like Coles and Woolworths have stopped stocking the one additive free dairy free icecream available, this has caused the manufacturers to discontinue the line. A Current Affair shows Sue Dengate telling us to eat chemical free foods, but how is this possible with the major supermarkets forcing chemical free foods out of production? The message from the supermarkets seems clear: Eat nasty chemicals like 160b (anatto) or just do not eat.

14th July 2006

Having just returned from a four day, spontaneous trip to the snow, I wanted to share some of our wonderful experiences.

Being a spontaneous trip, we were booking accomodation at the last minute and missed out on the preferable option of a self-contained cabin, where we could have made our own food. I packed the bread maker and took along some home-made bread mix in zip-loc bags so I would not have to be measuring flour etc there. I also packed a jar of home made pear jam, along with wheet bix and Soy Life soy milk. I figured we had breakfasts and lunches covered.

The Greenleigh Motel (192 Sharp Street
Cooma 2630 NSW), whilst under renovations, provided us with a cosy room, but I was happily suprised when we were able to get perfectly poached eggs for breakfast in a gorgeous, sunny dining room! This meant the kids and I could get some protein without the risk of eating antioxidants 319-321.

Having heard that Mount Selwyn was the place to go with families, we were pleased to find the toboggan run open, both indoor and outdoor tables where we were permitted to eat our picnic lunch, and a warm and cozy mother's room where the 2 year old and I curled up on a lounge for an afternoon nap. The Snow World children's centre staff were supportive and caring in their attitude towards the girls's intollerances. They took the drink bottles of water and snacks I had packed and made sure that they received them at afternoon tea, when everyone else was given hot chocolate and biscuits, but most impressively they were thoughtful enough to remove food products from the sample bags the girls were given on their departure!

On our first night we walked the length of Sharp St Cooma, checking the menus of every restaurant, looking for something safe to eat. We finally settled on the Food Factory (123 Sharp St Cooma 2630 NSW, 6452 2829). We bought a t-bone steak with potato and salad for the kids to share. We were able to get microwaved potato (no antioxidants 319-321), and salad consisting of iceberg lettuce, cellery and carrot (we are allowed one to two servings of moderate salycilates each day). The friendly staff were considerate enough to leave off the gravy and salad dressing, and provide us with extra plates etc so the kids could share. You can also get a jug of water, or BYO drinks (we brought magic cordial), and all of this for a really good price. We went back the next night and had take away on the third night, all three experiences involved great service and the kids and I did not have any adverse reactions to the food.

As an aside, we hired our equipment from the Ski Co next to McDonalds in Sharp St, Cooma. I shopped around first, and found them to have competitive prices, quality equipment and friendly service.