Food Labelling And Poor Eyesight

[brainfood]

Hi,

I wanted to sign up on behalf of my wife who has a lot of food allergies and myself who has poor eyesight.

The reason I'm writing in here is that I usually do the shopping for our household but I have poor eyesight and have trouble reading many food labels and have more than once forgotten my glasses on a shopping trips and without the time to go back home and collect them before shopping, have made mistakes with the products I've brought home through not being able to read, in detail, the ingredients on small labels (or even medium sized labels to be honest!)

Does anyone else here suffer from a similar problem with reading labels? I know there's this 'traffic light' system for calories and content etc. but for all the people with allergies, we shouldn't be contained to just the one section of the supermarket as there are plenty of products across the shop that are safe to eat as long as we consult the labels!

Does anyone know of any liability of the supermarkets to provide those of us who can't see well with a solution? Or failing that, is there any product you could suggest that I could carry around with me (although I often find myself in this predicament because I can't remember to take such products with me!)

Also, does anyone else suffer from this sort of problem? I can't imagine I'm the only person who has problems reading small print and when allergies are concerned this is a potentially life-threatening problem!

I'd appreciate any help/advice - or if there's enough of us we can petition the supermarkets!

[RiceGuy]

What comes to mind first, for helping eyesight, is a sublingual methylcobalamin (vitamin B12). This specific form is perhaps the best available, and has been shown to benefit eyesight.

I'm sure others will have some helpful comments regarding the rest of your questions.

Welcome to the board!

[home-based-mom]

You might try buying an inexpensive pair of reading glasses or a magnifying glass or some such and keep it in the glove box of your car. That way you would only have to retreat to the parking lot and not all the way home!

Anyway, I know what you mean by the labels. I am still OK with the ones that are black print on white or light background, but cannot read the white print on dark background when they use that typical microscopic font.

Sigh

[Phyllis28]

My husband keeps reading glasses everywhere, including at least one pair in each car. We must have at least 10 pairs of the inexpensive reading glasses so he always has them available.

He also has a wallet size magnifiying glass that fits in a wallet.

[brainfood]

I quite like the wallet idea but these solutions all require me to be efficient and remember things!

I think a simple solution would be some sort of magnifier attached to one shelf in each aisle or in the handle of the odd trolley or something - I'll bet that a lot more people would own up to needing to see labels properly if there was a solution installed.

I'll look into a wallet magnifier for the meantime as that could be handy at the bank or music shop or something for quick fixes. I still think there should be glases for loan or magnifiers you can borrow or something in each aisle on a string or something - but hey, that's the dream!

[Juliebove]

I have this problem. I am nearsighted and have astigmatism. My glasses are fine for distance, but to read, I have to take them off. Seeing as how I'm over 40, I sometimes find fine print hard to read. I bought an "Owl". It's a little magnifyer about the size of a credit card. I keep it in my purse. It helps sometimes. But with the astigmatism, magnification doesn't always help.

The other day, I had a problem with a bottle of shampoo. It was a light shade of purple bottle/label and the print was not only very tiny but in lavender! So impossible for me to read. Even my 9 year old daughter could not make out the letters. So I just put it back and didn't buy it.

Another problem I've had is with foods that come from other countries. We went to a gluten free fair and they were selling single serve packs of some crackers that I had never bought before. I could have sworn there was some reason I had not bought them but I couldn't remember why. The package was so small and it was covered in fine print in every language known to man. I searched for the English and didn't see anything my daughter was allergic to.

A few days later, she was eating the crackers and telling me how good they were when she doubled over in pain and dashed to the bathroom. I then looked up the crackers online (at this site) and sure enough there was soy in them! She is allergic to soy.

[ShayFL]

My grocery has a pharmacy as well with reading glasses on display. I would borrow a pair. But not make a habit of it. Just if I forgot.

[Guest AutumnE]

I would keep a magnifying glass in your purse and keep it in there always since you always need your purse to grocery shop. I usually keep my phone with me too and call the 1800 number if I question anything as I hate trying something new only to have to bring it back because it contains hidden gluten.

[tarnalberry]

I have to go with the personal responsibility one here. I wear glasses, but don't generally wear them around the house. I've gotten into the car and while I can drive without them, if I get pulled over, a cop's gonna cite me for it. If I'm light sensitive a particularly day, I have to remember my sunglasses on my own (and that's hard to do in Seattle, when it's overcast most of the time ). Keep your glasses with your keys (put them back there when you're done) and simply always keep them there. Or have one extra pair that always stays with your keys and/or wallet.

[Juliebove]

I have to go with the personal responsibility one here. I wear glasses, but don't generally wear them around the house. I've gotten into the car and while I can drive without them, if I get pulled over, a cop's gonna cite me for it. If I'm light sensitive a particularly day, I have to remember my sunglasses on my own (and that's hard to do in Seattle, when it's overcast most of the time ). Keep your glasses with your keys (put them back there when you're done) and simply always keep them there. Or have one extra pair that always stays with your keys and/or wallet.

I use Transitions because I would go nuts if I had to have regular glasses and sunglasses. I had to laugh earlier because my daughter and I went to Walmart in Lynnwood and we were trying to find our van. The sun was out and it was blinding her. I wasn't totally blinded, but it was enough sun to keep me from seeing well because it was coming right in our eyes. That seems rare for here. Most of the time the Transitions are good enough. But it always seems strange when the sun is out like that.

[brainfood]

I do appreciate what tarnalberry is saying about personal responsibility with something like this and obviously I know that my case is more extreme than your average Joe who's forgotten their glasses. However, I don't see why supermarkets shouldn't be required to offer some kind of VIPs for the ever growing proportion of their customers who are in need of glasses. Something like a shelf mounted sheet of magnifying plastic or something similar in each aisle would be perfect and I'll bet that people who don't need glasses (or at least say they don't) would end up using it! I agree with Juliebove as well that much of the problem stems from colour schemes; you'll often see lotions and similar products that use text in a different shade of the same colour!

[ravenwoodglass]

I do appreciate what tarnalberry is saying about personal responsibility with something like this and obviously I know that my case is more extreme than your average Joe who's forgotten their glasses. However, I don't see why supermarkets shouldn't be required to offer some kind of VIPs for the ever growing proportion of their customers who are in need of glasses. Something like a shelf mounted sheet of magnifying plastic or something similar in each aisle would be perfect and I'll bet that people who don't need glasses (or at least say they don't) would end up using it! I agree with Juliebove as well that much of the problem stems from colour schemes; you'll often see lotions and similar products that use text in a different shade of the same colour!

The idea for a shelf mounted sheet is a great one and would be helpful to a lot of people. I hope the stores pick up on it. You should also make sure to get that sublingual B12. It can help a great deal with memory and alertness and it is not one of the vitamins you need to worry about taking too much of. Even if it doesn't help your eyesight it may make it easier to remember to bring your magnifying glass.

[Karli]

Hi Brainfood,

I am new to this celiac thing but I am an old hand at reading labels. (garlic sensitivity) .. you have been given some good advice on reading glasses and magnifyiers.... so let me give you some other tips.

When you forget your glasses in a supermarket ... find and employee/stock person and ask them to read the label. I live in a small town and know many of the employees by name; but I have done this in neighboring communities and big cities with good results... sometimes I have had to take the box or can to the customer service counter... often I can find a stock "boy" near at hand.... I have even had the "bread man" read labels...

When looking for garlic on the label it was pretty cut and dried.... Now with this gluten thing.... I am beginning to make a very detailed shopping list at home... using the computer.... I have 'searched' many of my favorite products.... and when I make my shopping list in size 14 or bigger font... I no longer just type... baked beans

for example.... now .... I list the brand name and exact type that claims to be gluten free and garlic free:

Brand name/ maple cured ham/baked beans

Store brand/entric coated/aspirin

Brand name/ ready to eat/ rice cereal

Brand name/ yogurt

Store brand/egg substitute

This takes extra time to make the list but once I have safe things on the list I do not delete them I just change the print color.... items I need... are in black... items I donot need are in blue.

hope this helps...

[gfpaperdoll]

All good suggetions from previous posters, another option is to get yourself a small Surefire flashlight. They fit in pocket or purse & once you shine that little baby on something - you can see!!!! Also good for menus in dark restaurants.