What’s with those teal pumpkins?
Posted October 28, 2015 3:43 pm.
Last Updated October 28, 2015 3:44 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – It’s something to keep in mind when buying candy for little trick or treaters — getting something that doesn’t have nuts or gluten. There’s a new initiative this year that could help save a little kid’s life.
It’s called the Teal Pumpkin Project and it’s gaining popularity nationwide.
Putting one of these painted pumpkins on your porch tells little kids you have other options they can actually eat.
Beatrice Povolo with Food Allergy Canada suggests putting out other things than food, like pencils or stickers.
“So what we recommend is that at the end of the night when they’re out trick or treating, when they come home they go through all of their bag and go through them with their parents and look at all the food labels to determine what might be appropriate or a safe option for them to have.”
She adds there are several options you can buy.
“If you’re able to give out products that don’t have peanuts or nuts because there are quite a few on the market today, I think that would be great for those children that have allergies. For children that have other allergies such as milk, egg or wheat — those may not be an option, but there may be other candies there that don’t include those allergens,” she says. “In addition to that, because not every candy might be suitable for children to have a non-candy treat. What’s really popular these days are things like glowsticks, teal-coloured sunglasses, bouncy balls — there are a number of little trinkets and treats that the kids can have that will last long after the candy is gone.”
Povolo says food allergies are a growing problem in this country with 2.5 million Canadians affected and of those more than 300,000 are children.
