My kid is allergic to dairy... Now what?

So you just found out your child can't have dairy due to an allergy or EOE. Join the club! You're not alone. The bad news is that the number of children diagnosed with suspected dairy allergies goes up every year. The good news is that the more people are diagnosed with milk allergies, the more resources, products and information will be available.

Getting started
When shopping for milk-free products, start with whole foods -- not the store, the foods themselves -- like plain, raw, unprocessed vegetables, fruits, meats, grains, nuts, etc.

The Parve symbol ensures the product has not been in contact with milk

For packaged foods, the best place to check first is the presence of a Kosher or Vegan certification. If a product is certified Kosher Meat or Kosher Parve, then it has no dairy. If a product has a D next to the Kosher symbol, it contains milk.

The V certification ensures the product contains no milk, meat or egg products

Next stop is the ingredient list. Due to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004, ingredient lists either list allergens after the ingredient list or bold the name of the allergen within the ingredients.

Once you have spent a few weeks deciphering these "codes" and have in your regular arsenal a list of safe foods, this should come much more easily to you.

Good luck and safe eating!