A family of a woman who died of nut allergy urges food companies to provide clear labels while raising awareness on life-saving techniques.
Joanna Salmingo, 30-years old was sharing a dessert with her mother on August 8 when she went into a state of anaphylactic shock.
The danger of allergies
According to her brother, Joey Salmingo, his sister went upstairs to her room for around 5 minutes after eating the treat. After a few minutes, she went down the stairs, stumbling and gasping for air and calling out for Mom. She later suffocated and passed out on the floor and her pulse was undetectable. Immediately, their mother started CPR.
As a nurse, Joanna’s mother performed chest compression until the paramedics arrived at the scene.
According to her mother, she has performed CPR on her patients around 5-6 times but this time it was her daughter. Her maternal instincts is telling her to calm and go into her nursing instinct to save the life of her daughter. She tried as much as she could until help arrived.
Joanna was taken to the healthcare facility by the paramedics where she stayed in the intensive care unit for 17 days. She was later declared clinically brain dead due to lack of oxygen.
What is the culprit?
The food item that was purchased from Whole Foods in Markham was mochi which is made of glutinous rice. The store utilizes a label that cautions “we cannot guarantee that our items are free of trace amounts of peanuts or other allergens”, yet the family said it was not clear enough that the vegan options were made with nut products.
According to Joey, the first ingredient in the vegan flavors is cashew milk. This simply means that the “may-contain” sticker is completely useless.
The family spoke to the global foods safety leader with Whole Foods on working to improve the food labeling practices. The Salmingo family also vowed to attempt and prevent similar events by launching the Food Allergy Training an Education (F.A.T.E) Initiative which is an educational summit on the seriousness of food-related allergies.
Importance of first aid training
With the increasing incidence of food-related allergies, it is vital that you are prepared to handle a potentially dangerous reaction once it arises. As part of first aid training, you will be prepared to handle such incidences. Timely intervention can greatly help in reducing the severity of the reactions until medical care can be given.
For more information about this story, click here.
LEARN MORE
Learn how to be ready for emergencies by enrolling in our course on first aid and CPR. Our courses maintain social distancing measures with reduced class sizes to maintain the minimum 2 meters apart along with the mandatory use of face masks and regular temperature checks. The venue of the courses undergo regular, enhanced cleaning and disinfection routines.
For more information, check out these sources:
https://www.mayoclinic.org/first-aid/first-aid-cpr/basics/art-20056600
https://www.webmd.com/first-aid/cardiopulmonary-resuscitation-cpr-treatment
https://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/health/conditionsandtreatments/first-aid-basics-and-drsabcd