Every day, every meal, is a concern for Laurie Prentice.
"We told our son if he ate a peanut, or something that wasn't safe, it could be deadly.
Which means everything in the house has to be peanut free. That involves a lot of label reading. But also calling manufacturers, because there is no food labelling laws that are strict enough, in her view.
Mike Kwiecien is the co-creator of My Food Facts, an iPhone application designed to bring peace of mind to those whose choice of diet can literally be deadly.
"One of the backbones of the application is that you can customize the allergens that you are allergic to."
Using the built-in phone camera to scan barcodes, the app immediately alerts consumers if it finds the product could be hazardous to their health.
Kwiecien says it's a quick-dependable way to decipher the fine print.
"A lot of it is voluntary, as far as the manufacturer is concerned, what they put on the label."
And common allergens like milk and eggs can be listed under almost a dozen different names, making it confusing and easy to miss.
My Food Facts was launched in the United States this month. It's capable of scanning more than 100,000 products from 6,000 manufacturers.
Its founders are preparing for the Canadian release this summer.
