Teal pumpkins for allergies

MANKATO, Minn. (KEYC) - Allergies are fairly common. Mayo Clinic Health System says that one in 13 kids has a food allergy.

Most of these allergies are for tree nuts, soy, wheat, milk, etc. Which are often seen in candies that get handed out on Halloween.

“Until two years ago, I wasn’t trick or treating at all because of my food allergy,” Payton Wendt said.

And Halloween candy especially can be more dangerous that what is normally out and about.

“So we know that some candies, sometimes the smaller versions that are handed out at Halloween, may have different ingredients from the regular sized versions,” Mayo Clinic Health System physician Dr. Jennifer Johnson said.

To keep these kids included on this spooky holiday, the Food Allergy Research and Education organization came up with the Teal Pumpkin Project and a map to go with it.

“It’s really making it very inclusive, because from what I’ve seen, it’s more than just one allergy,” Samantha Wendt said.

Essentially, homes put out a teal pumpkin to show that their house has safe items for kids with common food allergies. These could be items such as stickers, pencils or homemade coloring books.

“So it doesn’t have to be that expensive. You just kind of got to get creative and help it to be inclusive for all,” Samantha Wendt said.

It is recommended to keep candy and non-food items separate to avoid cross contamination.

“For example, that package of candy bars that has peanut butter in them, maybe if some of that’s on the outside of those packages, and then you’ve put the pencils and stickers and stuff in with those candies, those are now contaminated potentially with the allergens,” Dr. Johnson said.

It isn’t always about being picky. It could be about avoiding an allergic reaction.

To learn more about the Teal Pumpkin Project and how you can get involved head to foodallergy.org.

Click here to download the KEYC News Now app or our KEYC First Alert weather app.