Failsafe shopping list in alphabetic order within 9 supermarket categories

Always read labels: ingredients change!

  • This list updates those in any of the Fed Up books and the Failsafe Cookbook. We try to make sure the products below are failsafe
  • Mention here is not an endorsement of any particular food or company, nor, obviously, is there any fee paid or collected. It’s here to help you.
  • Please do not use this information as a means of starting failsafe eating until you have read any one of Sue Dengate's books or seen a dietitian.
  • For recent changes and new failsafe products check the latest Failsafe Newsletter. You can subscribe to our free newsletters (email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. with ‘subscribe’ in the subject line)
  • For regions and countries outside Australia, your local failsafe group may have a shopping list - see under General category.


In the list below, you can eat anything that doesn’t have a bold warning in the paragraph.

Warning ingredients may vary in the different packs of the same product e,g, Pampas frozen puff pastry in sheets is preservative-free but dispenser rolls contain preservatives; Crisco sunflower oil in large packs such as 15L contains synthetic antioxidant (320, BHA) but is BHA-free in smaller containers.

Mistakes it is important to stick strictly to your supervised elimination diet – 2 mistakes per week or a daily small mistake can be enough to stop the diet from working.

Reader report: I am about to embark on the strict elimination diet for the 3rd time, but I am trying to pinpoint what went wrong the 2nd time round - was consistently bloating but not as severely as normal - versus the 1st time round when I felt fantastic. Using your salicylate and amine mistakes information sheets and the product updates on the fed up site, I have so far picked up the following errors: Coles Pears in Syrup snackpacks (contained pear juice), Simply Wize Crusty Bread (maize flour), Dovedale Rice & Chia Bread (Chia seeds), and the wrong Cenovis multivitamin (Once Daily Women's Multi, contains evening primrose oil). Thanks for all of your help and detailed knowledge, I think I would have been doing many more things wrong in the diet without having the fed up site to look at. - Belinda, by email

You are welcome to contribute to this page - please email me on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and let me know if you want your name to appear as well. My mailing address is PO Box 718 WOOLGOOLGA NSW 2456 Australia. Note * means according to the RPAH Elimination Diet Handbook with Food & Shopping Guide 2009, available from www.allergy.net.au

Dairy and non-dairy

Butter, with permitted ingredients e.g. pure butter (ingredients: cream, water, salt). For easy spread pure butter use Mainland Butter Soft. Some failsafers have recommended Harmonie organic butter from Denmark (according to Devil in the Milk, Danish milk is largely A2, so could it suit some failsafers better?) , thanks to Tane & Gill

Warning: Spreadable butter blends with permitted vegetable oils such as canola oil or sunflower oil may contain unlisted additives under the 5% labeling loophole (no olive oil, sorbates 200-203,antioxidants 310-321 listed or unlisted, natural colour annatto 160b) Check label carefully.

Warning In South Africa, Woolworths Ayrshire range of butter is annatto free, but their brick butter contains unlisted annatto 160b – thanks to Terry (please check, this information may be out of date)

Cheese, mild fresh white preservative free cheeses (no preservatives 200–203, no annatto 160b, no added flavours)

  • Mascarpone cheese (no preservatives) e.g. Wattle Valley, Pantalica, Paesanella
  • Neufchatel cheese is similar to cream cheese but lower fat and slightly softer than cream cheese for cooking, e.g. Kraft

Cottage cheese (no sorbate preservatives 200-203) e.g. Elgaar Farm is the only one we can find www.elgaarfarm.com.au and Mundella Foods in WA only http://www.mundellafoods.com.au/

Cream cheese, preservative free (no sorbates 200-203), many brands, e.g. own brands, Kraft Philadelphia Cream Cheese in blocks or tubs which no longer contain sorbate preservatives – thanks to Jacqui and all who emailed a complaint

Reader comment: I recently noticed that while the Kraft Philadelphia cream cheese in blocks and tubs are failsafe, their mini tubs contain sorbate 200. - thanks to Sara

Cream – fresh or canned reduced fat, thickened, lite or rich (but not sour which is moderate in amines)

Crème Fraiche is the French version of sour cream but not as sour as American sour cream e.g. Wattle Valley Crème Fraiche

Clotted cream, made by heating high fat cream (45%) to a high temperature, traditionally used as a spread instead of butter on scones or bread with jam, has a delicious caramel flavor, e.g. Wattle Valley

Ice cream (Icecream, Ice-cream) – see under Freezer

Margarine – with permitted ingredients such as failsafe oils and betacarotene 160a (no sorbate preservatives 200-203, no annatto 160b) Check label carefully. e.g.

  • NOT Meadow Lea margarine (Warning both Original and salt reduced Meadowlea now contain preservative 202); ingredients: vegetable oils (sunflower oil* 36%, canola oil* 21%), water, salt, skim milk powder and whey powder, emulsifiers (soyabean, lecithin, 471), food acid (citric), colour (beta-carotene), flavour, vitamins A&D, preservative 202.
  • Mrs McGregors margarine, ingredients: vegetable oils, (may contain soyabean oil), water, salt, emulsifiers (soyabean, lecithin, 471), flavour, colour (160a), food acid (citric), vitamin D.
  • other brands, read labels as ingredients change frequently. No sorbic acid 200 or other sorbate preservatives 201-203, artificial colours, natural colour annatto 160b, synthetic antioxidants 310-321 especially 320 which is usually used in catering packs e.g. in cafés. Beta carotene 160a is a safe natural colour.

Milk - fresh, any strength (skim to full cream), buttermilk, longlife, canned sweetened condensed milk, evaporated, powdered, A2 milk, goats milk, sheep milk. Note that A2 milk is now available in the UK too www.a2milk.co.uk

FAQfailsafedairy

A2 milk seems to be better than regular (A1) milk for some people with food intolerance but it doesn’t necessarily help everyone, it may be better for physical problems than behavior and concentration – it is best to test effects with elimination and challenge. Read the A2 factsheet and recent blog on industry spin.

Reader reviews A2 milk

• Yesterday I drank 2 glasses of A2 milk with no ill effects, this is the most dairy I have had in nearly 20 years due to the stomach ailments regular dairy causes me! – thanks to Tracey

• My daughter is doing excellently, she is so much calmer, is actually eating heaps, gaining weight and has started to talk and since being on a2 milk we have had not a single vomiting and lethargic episode. – thanks to Catherine

• We saw a big improvement in my 4 yo autistic son when we switched to A2 milk, that was what first made us realize he was affected by food and led us to the elimination diet. Then we found he improved even more on soy milk – thanks to Darani

• We did an A2 milk trial with my daughter, after day three she started crying at small things, then it escalated over the next two days to forgetfulness, minor disobedience and concentration levels were noticeably reduced and after five days we decided that she has an intolerance to both A1 and A2 milk. We could see the change from wonderfully behaved over the two weeks without any milk she had slowly started to go back to her old ways. We are now using Rice Milk – thanks to Julie

Goat milk, milk powder, yoghurt, mild cheese and ice cream are available from Caprilac.. Goat milk is mainly A2. (Yoghurt and mild cheese are not suitable for your supervised elimination diet • for people who can tolerate moderate to high amines)   www.caprilac.com

Sheep milk

  • Sheep milk yoghurt and cheeses are available from Meredith Dairy and Grampians Pure Sheep Milk Dairy. Sheep’s milk is mainly A2. (Yoghurt and mild cheese are not suitable for your supervised elimination diet • for people who can tolerate moderate or high amines) www.meredithdairy.com
  • Sheep milk ice cream Milk Maid Vanilla is widely available in NZ. Also available, sheep’s milk powder and various cheeses http://blueriverdairy.co.nz Sheep milk powder now in Australia - suitable for those who can manage A2 but not A1 milk powders, though not cheap www.numbereightfoodgroup.com.au


Buffalo milk

Buffalo mozzarella and yoghurt is also A2 and available in Australia. See www.shawriverbuffalo.com. "We have about 400 pure breed milking buffalos, we imported 66 milking buffalo from Italy and Bulgaria in the mid 90's and have been producing since 1996, slowly building up numbers and growing our cheese market. All of our products are hand made without any added nasties and we farm without the use of pesticides and herbicides. We are a family business and 100% Australian owned." – Thea

Milk Products & Dairy Desserts with vanilla, caramel, malt or butterscotch flavours, natural colour betacarotene 160a (no artificial colours, no annatto 160b, no preservatives, no synthetic antioxidants, no fruit, coffee or chocolate flavours) e.g.

  • Vanilla flavoured milk • Oak Vanilla Malt Flavoured milk (warning malt contains gluten)
  • Custard, (no artificial colours tartrazine102, sunset yellow 110, no annatto 160b, beta carotene 160a is okay • Paul’s Vanilla Custard; • ALDI Brooklea Vanilla Custard (natural colour 160a betacarotene is failsafe - natural colour 160b annatto is not - read all labels as others in this range contain annatto 160b)
  • Creamed rice (vanilla flavoured, free from annatto 160b colour) • ALDI Brookdale Vanilla Flavoured Creamed Rice (Milk, white rice, sugar, flavour) Reader report: The ALDI creamed rice is lovely
  • Warning - Vanilla fruche now contains annatto 160b so is no longer failsafe, thanks to Lesley

 

Lactose free and Low Lactose dairy products for people with lactose intolerance

Lactose intolerance or lactase deficiency is an inability to digest lactose – milk sugar – due to low levels of an enzyme called lactase. Lactase levels vary and can be temporarily reduced by gastroenteritis. Symptoms can range from mild abdominal discomfort, bloating and flatulence to abdominal cramps and diarrhoea and usually occur soon after ingesting certain dairy products especially milk and yoghurt. Long term lactose intolerance is rare in Caucasians though common in others, NOT to be confused with dairy intolerance – behavioural reactions are not lactose intolerance http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcarticles.nsf/pages/Lactose_intolerance

  • Lactose Free and low lactose milks, fresh or longlife (e.g. Lactaid, Harvey, Zymil) from supermarkets
  • Lact-easy Drops by Pharmotech 03 9531 6667 or ordered through pharmacies
  • Lacteeze Drops (NOT Lacteeze Tablets which have mint flavouring) http://www.alternativehealth.com.au/Product/lacteeze.htm - thanks to Brenda & Rosemaree

 

Quark is a mild white European cheese sometimes described as cottage cheese but actually made from yoghurt (can be used as a spread, in cooking or in cheesecakes). You can make quark yourself, see our easy Quark recipe: http://fedup.com.au/recipes/other-recipes-and-hints/quark-how-to-make e.g.

 

Ricotta cheese (no preservatives) e.g. Pantalica, Paesanella, Olympus www.olympuscheese.com.au Warning ricotta is made by acidifying milk with vinegar or similar, may cause problems for the extra sensitive

The following are not suitable for your supervised elimination diet* • for people who tolerate moderate amines, annatto-free natural or vanilla yogurt, yoghurt premixes such as Easiyo, sour cream, Bocconcini cheese, e.g. Pantalica, Mozzarella cheese • for people who tolerate high amines (additive-free, no-added-flavours) mild yellow cheese e.g. cheddar & Swiss, feta, additive free cheese slices • for people who tolerate high amines and some glutamates, parmesan cheese, blue cheese, soft ripe cheese such as brie and camembert

Reader review: For people who can tolerate amines and dairy, Coles Farmland cheese slices, Woolworths tasty cheese slices and ALDI Westacre Farms are additive-free but most of the other brands contain annatto 160b – thanks to Marg

Yoghurt Warning: Yoghurt can be very variable in amines depending on how old it is and how it was made, from low to moderate. If you see a problem, be careful. Annatto-free natural or vanilla yoghurt is okay for people who can tolerate low amines but fruit flavoured yoghurt is very high in salicylates, amines and glutamates* - Jalna A2 natural yoghurt is okay for people who can manage low amines but not the vanilla flavoured due to fruit juice sweetener - intake of vanilla flavoured yoghurts should be limited because salicylate responders need to limit vanilla intake from all sources. If the diet isn’t working for you, avoid yoghurts, see Checklist of Common Mistakes - thanks to Briony, Megan and Julie M. Note that RPAH had natural yoghurt listed as moderate but this was a mistake and has been corrected to low.

Reader Warning: unlisted additives - I have found some products seem to change their ingredients, you always have to double check. On the last yoghurts I bought I was really excited to see no 160b listed (my son is affected by annatto). But once I got it home I noticed one of the flavours was vanilla peach which rang alarm bells. I contacted the (very large) manufacturer who advised it does have 160b in it and said it must have been an error that it was not listed but then they emailed that the number should appear on the outer packaging of the multipack. I contacted them again and finally got a phone call from the manufacturer six weeks after the first enquiry saying sorry about not having 160b on the packaging and they reckon they are aware and fixing it immediately!! – thanks to Marg

Vaalia yoghurt: due to so many requests from Network members, Vaalia now uses failsafe 160a in all yoghurts. Please thank Vaalia at http://www.vaalia.com.au/get-in-touch/

Buffalo mozzarella and yoghurt is also A2 and available in Australia. See www.shawriverbuffalo.com and their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/ShawRiverBuffaloCheese. "We have about 400 pure breed milking buffalos, we imported 66 milking buffalo from Italy and Bulgaria in the mid 90's and have been producing since 1996, slowly building up numbers and growing our cheese market. All of our products are hand made without any added nasties and we farm without the use of pesticides and herbicides. We are a family business and 100% Australian owned." - Thea

Non-dairy foods

Darifree calcium fortified potato drink is suitable for people who have to avoid dairy products. Available as a tin of powder, see www.biomedcafe.com.au

Margarine e.g. Nuttelex additive free, dairy free Original margarine, the mild flavor additive in Nuttelex is well tolerated.(No sorbates 200–203, no antioxidants 310–321, no artificial colours, no annatto 160b, no olive oil due to high salicylates) For other brands, read labels – ingredients change frequently. Colour 160a (betacarotene) is failsafe.

Nuttelex margarine: has a new recipe, it’s still failsafe and now also soyfree); now available in NZ: Cruelty Free Shop, Shop 11, St Kevin's Arcade, 179 Karangahape Road, Newton, Auckland. 09 379 3747 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (Monday-Friday 10-6pm, Sat 10-5.30pm, Sunday 11-4pm) http://www.choosecrueltyfree.org.nz – thanks to Stuart

 FAQdairyfreemilk

Oat milk e.g. Pure Harvest Pure Harvest Oat Milk (ingredients: filtered water, organic whole oats, organic sunflower oil, sea salt) (not permitted on the gluten-free version of the RPAH Elimination Diet)

Ricemilk: RPAH recommendations:

Vitasoy Protein enriched rice milk (with chickpeas) (Currently not available) - while the sunflower oils used in their rice milks are cold pressed, we have never had a report of any reactions to that ingredient.
Australia's Own Rice Milk (low fat)
So Natural Original Rice Milk
Imagine Foods Rice Dream

Soy products – avoid tamari, tempeh, soy sauce (fermented: amines, glutamates)

Soymilk – Soymilk (be careful with flavoured soymilks and unlisted antioxidants in oils. I prefer calcium enriched, these are the brands we drink: Sanitarium So Good, Sanitarium So Good Soyaccino, SoyLife Original, PureHarvest Organic Soymilk gluten-free)

**Caution**SO GOOD Soymilk with ‘fresh new taste’ now contains added ‘natural flavour’ so we asked for reader feedback:Most failsafers find they can tolerate this product but one failsafer wrote: “I was able to isolate my reaction to this product as I still had some of the earlier formulation and when I used that the symptoms eased or disappeared”. Thanks to Merryn.

Soy yoghurt (no annatto 160b) - Soylife yoghurt from Parmalat www.soylife.com.au in most Australian supermarkets. It has vanilla flavour but uses failsafe 150a for colour and has live yoghurt cultures. Warning: Yoghurt can be very variable in amines depending on how old it is and how it was made, from low to moderate. If you see a problem, be careful. Soy Life Yoghurt labels that show annatto 160b are wrong according to the manufacturer, who say there is no 160b. Thanks to Liz who rang them.

Soylati ice cream Crème Caramel flavor Available at Foodland, IGA, Independent Grocers and Good Health Food Stores Australia-wide. If not available at your regular shop, ask the store manager to get it in for you.

Soy cream, Soy sour cream Available at Foodland, IGA, Independent Grocers and Good Health Food Stores Australia-wide. If not available at your regular shop, ask the store manager to get it in for you.

Soya spread ‘Pure’ non-dairy (in the UK) is failsafe. Ingredients: Soya Oil (45%), Water, Vegetable Oils, Salt (0.75%), Emulsifier (Mono and Diglycerides of Vegetable Fatty Acids), Vitamin E, Natural Flavouring, Vitamin A, Colour (Natural Carotenes), Vitamin D as D2, Vitamin B12. We checked and the colour is failsafe (betacarotene E160a) and there are no added antioxidants in the vegetable oils.

Soy cream cheese: Kingland now contains added sorbic acid 200 - thanks to Kerryn

Tofu (plain, unflavoured, silken, soft, firm)

Thanks to failsafer Sonia Gulwadi for the great graphics  https://www.facebook.com/easytoavoid

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The above list shows the most common items. For a comprehensive list see RPAH's Friendly Food 2019 available from our shop, Target and BigW.

last updated August 2021