New And Seem To Be Super Sensitive

[catsmeow]

Perhaps a new thread regarding exceptional allergies and chemical sensitivities would be in order.

I was thinking the same thing, but I wonder how much traffic it would get since allergies are the minority. However, I would love to have a place where we can all compare notes and not feel so all alone.

[T.H.]

Wheat in wood?

It's not inside solid wood, no, but wheat can be used in pressed wood products, including some brands of plywood, which can be an issue for inhaled gluten if there is sawdust from it, or I would imagine might be a contact issue if one has an allergy that's severe enough and there are broken edges so contact with the inside is possible.

So sorry I don't have a list of manufacturers, though! To look at a specific brand, the MSDS (Manufacturers Safety Data Sheet) of the product used to be where I found the information. However, I've been looking recently to try and get more information, and it seems that this is more complicated than I had first realized.

The laws regarding MSDS's and what needs to be disclosed vary by state, so they can sometimes be incomplete, I'm told. Also, if a hazardous substance makes up less than 1% of the product, it does not have to be reported, which might be an issue with a sensitive enough allergy.

And the MSDS doesn't help us much when one is, say, visiting a friend's house and there are old plywood veneers in the house that were there before the homeowner bought it. No way to know what brand they are, anyway, yeah?

Solely based on MSDS rather than contacting companies, the trend seems to be heading away from wheat-based glue extenders (in addition to the formaldehyde glues). I have also seen information from companies here and there that they used to use wheat, but no longer do. However, considering that these woods products can be in our homes for years, there might be older products around that would be of concern.

There may also be an increase in the future in wheat straw being used itself instead of wood, for 'green' products. Particle board and particle board veneers are something I've found this in.

A couple examples:

This company used to use wheat as an extender in some products, and post-harvest wheat stalks in a particle board type product. They mention it in their FAQ, but no longer use it. (Open Original Shared Link )

This is a wheat based plywood called 'biofiber' that is made from wheat straw (Open Original Shared Link ).

[kareng]

When was checking on a glue I use, the MDS doesn't list the "safe" ingredients like wheat or soybean oil, or " I don't know what would be in it". I called the company. The young guy said he couldn't give me a list of all the non- regulated stuff. It's secret. But what was I concerned with? I said "wheat". He said, " wheat?". I said I have an allergy. That was all he needed to hear. He took a few minutes to read all the ingredients and the source of an ingredient if relevant. He said that it had no wheat.

I would think that approach would work for most companies.

[T.H.]

I called the company. The young guy said he couldn't give me a list of all the non- regulated stuff. It's secret. But what was I concerned with? I said "wheat". He said, " wheat?". I said I have an allergy. That was all he needed to hear. He took a few minutes to read all the ingredients and the source of an ingredient if relevant. He said that it had no wheat.

I would think that approach would work for most companies.

Hopefully so. I've had good luck with the few companies I called, as well. Kind of funny that I had better luck with companies in construction, when dealing with food allergies, than with some of the food companies I've called.