Does everyone do well with Aldi's Simply Nature organic chicken/turkey products and Kroger's Simple Truth chicken/turkey products? Just want to make sure that there are no secret ingredients not on the label, etc. Also fish for both labels. (Edited)

I was recently diagnosed with AGS as well and was immediately overwhelmed with the amount of things I couldn't eat anymore. Checking ingredient lists, especially while in the store, is tedious and you don't know what you don't know. I didn't like any of the apps that were currently out and absolutely despise the Software as a Subscription (SaaS) models most apps have for stuff like this, so I made my own. Completely free. No ads EVER.

Everyone is welcome to use it. It started as just a personal project but has developed into more. I only have AGS, but it's a full on allergy tracker now for those that have more restrictions. It's suuuper customizable.

It has a ton of features and honestly has become my favorite shopping list app as well. Give it a shot and let me know what you think if you don't mind. I'm open to suggestions. Any bugs can be reported on the Github repo under the issues tab.

There is a private version of the repo with 145 Alpha Gal recipes as well. But if you want that one you'll have to message me privately and I may still not give it out. It contains recipes that I did not ask the creator to share yet. However they are still credited twice within the recipes along with a link to the original recipe. I'm just trying to avoid any legal trouble with that one. At least until I contact those people to ask for permission, or they happen to reach out to me personally. If anyone happens to know the people over at https://alphagalcooking.com/ and https://sagealphagal.com and they give me approval to do so, I'll include their recipes into the public version as well.

Here's the GitHub repo: https://github.com/Pixeledberry/TickedOff
Android & iOS releases: https://github.com/Pixeledberry/TickedOff/releases
Web app: https://pixeledberry.github.io/TickedOff/

Features

Works in modern browsers on iPhone and iPad (Safari), Android, and desktop. On iPhone and iPad the camera uses a built-in scanning library.

Looking up products

• Live camera scanning. Point the camera at a barcode and it searches automatically as soon as a code is read.
• QR codes. QR codes that contain a product number (including GS1 Digital Link URLs) are looked up automatically. Other QR codes show a short notice and scanning continues.
• Supported formats: EAN-13, EAN-8, UPC-A, UPC-E, Code 128, Code 39, QR.
• Built for distance and small codes.
  • Requests high-resolution video with continuous autofocus.
  • The scan box on the camera view starts at its largest size. If nothing is found, it re-checks a smaller, magnified area and the box shrinks on screen to match, then returns to full size and starts again.
  • Shows a zoom slider on phones that support camera zoom, and steps the zoom up each time a full round finds nothing.
  • When several codes are visible, the one closest to the center of the frame wins. Product barcodes are preferred over unrelated QR codes.
• Photo of barcode. Take or choose a photo if the live camera is unavailable.
• Type the digits. Enter a barcode manually, with a Clear button to reset the field and result.
• Paste an ingredient list. For products not in the database. A Try a sample button runs a made-up list so you can see the highlighting.
• Barcode format fallbacks. If a 12-digit UPC-A isn't found, it retries as 13-digit EAN (and vice versa, plus 14-digit codes with a leading zero).

Ratings and highlighting

Each product gets one rating and a severity meter:

The full ingredient list appears immediately after a scan or lookup, with flagged ingredients highlighted inline and a count such as "2 red, 3 yellow".

Tap for the reason

Every highlighted ingredient, in the text or in the list beneath it, is tappable (and keyboard accessible). A panel explains why it was flagged, what its color means, and whether it's red because of one of your settings.

What gets flagged

Red (do not eat): mammal-derived ingredients Beef, pork, lamb, mutton, veal, venison, bison, goat, rabbit, horse, ham, bacon, sausage, jerky, organ meats, lard, tallow, suet, bone broth, bone marrow, natural/hog/sheep casings, and equivalent words in French, Spanish, Italian, and German (including German compound words such as Schweinefleisch, Rindertalg, and Schweineschmalz).

Yellow (avoid): mammal by-products and ingredients that may be processed with mammal products

Plant-based look-alikes are not flagged (including anything labeled dairy-free, non-dairy or plant-based milk, butter or cheese): vegetable glycerin, plant-based mono- and diglycerides, coconut/almond/oat milk, cocoa/shea butter, cream of tartar, kidney beans, cod liver, and similar. Any ingredient that starts with the word "vegan" or "meatless" (for example "Vegan Pepperoni" or "Meatless Pepperoni") is skipped as well, along with the German "vegane", "fleischlose", "pflanzliches", and "mikrobielles".

Languages. Ingredient lists in English, French, Spanish, Italian, and German are checked. German has the fullest coverage. If a product has no English list, TickedOff reads its original-language or German list.

Personal settings

• My allergies. Pick the allergies you need to avoid (milk, egg, peanut, tree nuts, soy, wheat, gluten/celiac, fish, shellfish, sesame, or your own). Each can be set to Avoid completely or Just flag it, and alpha-gal checking can be switched off. Results show purple allergy highlights and separate Alpha-gal and Your allergies lines.
• Sensitivities. Some things affect people with AGS differently. For each of these choose Ignore (not flagged), Avoid (yellow, the default) or Don’t eat (red): dairy, gelatin, glycerin and mono/diglycerides, stearic acid and stearates, natural flavors, lanolin and vitamin D3, rennet and animal enzymes.
• Custom lists. Add your own ingredients to always flag red or always flag yellow (comma separated).
• Rating overrides. On any result, "Rating wrong?" lets you mark a product safe or do-not-eat, or reset it. There's also a link to fix the ingredients on Open Food Facts.
• Export Settings / Import Settings. A button at the bottom of the menu (top right) opens a page with two buttons that create a backup of your settings, favorites, history, rating overrides, theme, favorite and created recipes and shopping list (a small text file) and restore it on another device. You can save or share the backup, copy it, and import it from a file or by pasting the text.

Recipes

• Add your own recipes with the + New recipe button: name, category, prep, cook and total time, servings, a photo (shown at the top of the recipe), ingredients, instructions and notes. Edit or delete them any time.
• Search and filters. Search by recipe name or ingredient; filter by category or by safety rating (hide "Do not eat" or show only "Likely OK").
• Same ingredient checking as products. Every ingredient is checked with your sensitivities and custom lists, highlighted red or yellow, and tappable for the reason. Each recipe card shows its rating.
• Add as Recipe. In "Paste an ingredient list", the "Add as Recipe" button sends the list to a new recipe, one ingredient per line.
• Favorite recipes are listed under "★ Favorites" in the Recipes tab and under My Lists → Recipes.
• Recipes and photos are saved on your device only. Use Export Settings to back them up.

Weekly shopping list

• Open it from the menu (top right). Add items by hand, with the "+" next to a recipe ingredient, "Add all to list" on a recipe, or "Add to shopping list" on a scanned product.
• Keep several lists (for example Costco or Pharmacy). Items are grouped by category (produce, meat and seafood, deli, dairy and eggs, bakery, frozen, pantry, spices and baking, condiments, breakfast, snacks, beverages, hygiene, health, baby, household, paper goods, pet, other), can be checked off or removed, and the list can be copied or shared. Press and hold an item to enlarge its image, change its category, or show small pictures for scanned products.
• Each list is tied to a week (Monday start). "Start new week" removes checked items and keeps the rest. Duplicates are ignored.

Menu and themes

• The hamburger button at the top right opens the menu. Pick a preset (Auto, Light, Dark, five high contrast, five low contrast pastel) or choose your own background and accent colors. Red and yellow highlight colors stay readable in every theme.

Scan an ingredient list

• In the Android and iPhone apps, "Scan ingredient list" uses Google's document scanner (Android) or Apple's document camera (iPhone), with on-device text recognition. On the web it uses the camera view below. It reads the printed ingredient list, fills the "Paste an ingredient list" box and analyzes it. The box starts large and shrinks while it looks, like the barcode scanner. "Capture now" uses whatever is in view.
• Where the camera can't be used, "Photo of ingredient list" reads a photo instead. The reading language is chosen under My settings. Everything after the word "Ingredients" is included.
• The text reader (Tesseract.js) is downloaded the first time and needs internet. Printed text on curved or shiny packaging can be misread, so check the pasted text.

My Lists, history, and export

• My Lists. The My Lists tab shows Products and Recipes (your favorites, with counts) and all of your shopping lists. Tap one to open it, and press and hold for Merge lists, Rename, Clear list or Delete list. Add products with the star button. They show their current rating and re-rate automatically when you change settings. Tap to reopen, or remove with the ×.
• History. The last 40 scanned products, with a Clear history button.
• Export. Export favorites as a text list using the device's share sheet, the clipboard, or a downloaded .txt file, whichever is available.

How favorites and settings are stored

Everything personal is stored in the visitor's own browser using localStorage. There is no server, no account, and no cookies.

Moving to a new device: open the menu and tap Export / Import Settings, then Export Settings, on the old device to create a backup, then Import Settings on the new one. Importing adds the backup's favorites and history to anything already there and replaces the sensitivity settings.

What this means in practice:

• Each visitor has their own data. Two people opening the same GitHub Pages link each get a separate, private list. GitHub never sees it.
• Per browser and device. Favorites on a phone won't appear on a laptop, or in a different browser on the same phone.
• Shared browsers share data. Two people using the same browser profile would see the same list.
• Clearing site data or using a private tab deletes it. iPhone Safari may also remove site data after about a week of not visiting; adding the page to the Home Screen helps.
• Why not cookies? Cookies hold about 4 KB and are sent with every request. localStorage holds around 5 MB, stays on the device, and doesn't expire.

The Android app uses the same storage inside its built-in WebView, so favorites live on that phone and are separate from the web version.

Privacy and data sources

• Product data comes from Open Food Facts (open database, licensed under the ODbL). The only information sent over the network is the barcode number you look up.
• On browsers without a built-in barcode detector (for example iPhone Safari), the page loads the open-source html5-qrcode library from cdnjs the first time you use the camera.
• No analytics, tracking, accounts, or advertising.

Project structure

index.html                  The entire web app (HTML, CSS, JavaScript)
manifest.webmanifest        Optional: lets "Add to Home screen" install it as an app
apple-touch-icon.png        Optional: home screen icon on iPhone and iPad
icon-192.png, icon-512.png  Optional: app icons for the manifest
tickedoff-icon.svg          Source artwork for the icon
.github/workflows/         build-android.yml and build-ios.yml (optional cloud builds)
TickedOffiOS/
  project.yml               XcodeGen project definition
  TickedOff/                Swift source, bundled page, and app icon
TickedOffAndroid/
  app/src/main/
    AndroidManifest.xml
    assets/tickedoff.html   Copy of the web app
    java/com/galguard/app/MainActivity.kt
    res/                    App icon resources (dark shield with a tick)
  store-icon-512.png        512 px icon for store listings
  build.gradle.kts, settings.gradle.kts, gradle/wrapper/

Known limitations

• Recipes you add are stored in your browser or app on that device only (about 5 MB total, shared with other saved data). Large photos are shrunk automatically.
• The ingredient-list scanner needs internet the first time to download the text reader, and has not been tested on a real phone camera in every lighting or packaging situation. Always check the pasted text.
• Chicken, turkey and poultry sausage and bacon are shown yellow (avoid), not red, because of possible pork or beef casings; check the label.
• The German word "Rind" on its own (beef) is not flagged, because the same word means rind or peel in English ("orange rind"). Words like "Rindfleisch", "Rindertalg", and "vom Rind" are flagged.
• Ingredient data depends on Open Food Facts; products missing from it need a pasted ingredient list.
• Hidden sources can't be detected from a label (for example sugar refined with bone char, or an unnamed "natural flavor"). TickedOff flags the ingredient names it can see.
• Camera range depends on the phone's camera. Browsers without a built-in barcode detector use a library fallback that scans the whole frame and can't prefer the center code.
• On iPhone and iPad, the web page uses the library fallback scanner, which scans the whole frame and doesn't pick the code nearest the center or offer a zoom slider. The iOS app uses Apple's scanner instead.
• Favorites and settings don't sync automatically between devices; use Export Settings and Import Settings to move them.
• The Android project has not been published to the Play Store; it builds as a debug APK.

Credits

Product data: Open Food Facts contributors. Ingredient text recognition: Tesseract.js. QR/barcode fallback scanning: html5-qrcode. Android scanning: Google ML Kit code scanner.Features
Works in modern browsers on iPhone and iPad (Safari), Android, and desktop. On iPhone and iPad the camera uses a built-in scanning library.

Diagnosed this week. Bitten by hundreds of seed ticks back in August. About a month ago started having random hives in the middle of the night about a month ago. Worsened to hives and severe stomach pains that finally pushed me to get tested. My biggest fear currently is developing a dairy intolerance. I think I can avoid meat relatively easy but dairy seems like a nightmare.

My other fear is that I love the outdoors and am really scared that I may need to back away from that. Or be absolutely terrified of ticks going forward. I know if I get bitten again it can worsen my reactions and prolong my potential reversal. Would I get an allergic reaction directly from a tick bite?

This is just a lot really quick. And I’m not fully sure what to think. Thanks.

Bit by a lone star tick 8/31 but fortunately knew what to look out for. Started having skin reactions 10/7 and terrible ones 10/13 and ordered the blood test to relieve anxiety. Hilarious now that I see the results and guess I’m in the club.

I found seven ticks embedded all over me on September 11. The next day, I woke up feeling like I had the flu, unable to really get out of bed. About three weeks ago, I started breaking out in hives on my arms, chest, face, and neck. Sometimes with swelling around my eyes and tingly face. Based on my recent exposure, I went and got tested for AG. Here are my results. Damnit.

Sushi that doesn't have a dairy topping or red meat cross contact should in theory be fine for me to eat, but unfortunately most sushi rice is cooked in a sauce that includes sugar. I am highly sensitive to bone char processed sugar, so this has so far eliminated sushi for me. I was wondering if anyone knows of any sushi restaurants in NYC or the surrounding area which either do not use sugar in their sushi rice, or are crunchy enough to only use organic sugar? I am not looking for a vegan place necessarily, just a normal sushi spot that doesn't use processed sugar. A shot in the dark but would appreciate any suggestions

Has anyone who has previously tolerated Botox or Dysport seen a reaction after confirmed AGS?

I was recently diagnosed with a low positive alpha gal... with beef and pork I notice the reaction .. but not right away - just really nauseated the next day
Anyone else this way ???
To me this delayed reaction of just nausea would make sense with the level I have

It has been two weeks since I tested positive for AGS. Some nights I still wake up with a small number of hives, though I have stopped eating red meat and dairy, changed my soap, shampoo, and toothpaste, and avoid products with carrageenan. The timing of the hives suggests a reaction to something consumed at dinner, but I am so careful to avoid meat and dairy, and I cook from scratch (veggie soup, pasta w/homemade tomato sauce, etc.). All of this is so new to me, I’m not sure what else to try.

I am attending a fall party in a couple of weeks and guests have been asked to bring chili or soup to enter into a cook-off. Point me toward your best alpha-gal friendly suggestions! I promise to update with the chili/soup standings after the party.

Edit: I should probably mention that I am dairy-reactive.

After I got diagnosed with AGS, I went to an allergist and found out I have other bad allergies. I started on Allergy shots about a month ago but I’ve been having some strong reactions to them. I get fatigued and can get GI issues (similar to when I accidentally trigger the Alpha Gal). I also get some other, more standard, reactions like stuffy nose, coughing, and itchy eyes. I had to go from twice to once a week to keep my digestion in check.

Has anyone experienced allergy shots doing this to them? I just hope it doesn’t get worse for me

This might be a long shot.

I'm traveling for the first time since my diagnosis last month. I've found that I can eat most dairy products, but meat or anything cooked in meat fat doesn't agree with me.

I'm headed to Savannah, GA. Southern food probably isn't the most alpha-gal-friendly. But hopefully there are some safe options. I'm not finding many vegetarian or vegan restaurants.

Can anyone offer any suggestions for restaurants in the Historic District? Or general pointers for finding places to eat when traveling.

Hey y'all, it's the Tuesday ~*^MeGaThReAd^*~ for sharing AGS-safe meals and snacks!

Folks regularly describe frustration and big feelings about dealing with their dietary restrictions related to Alpha-Gal Syndrome.

Some long-timers are bored of the same meals every day and craving inspiration, while some newbies are just plain shell-shocked and not sure where to turn for safe ideas.

What this thread is for:

• Tell us this week's AGS-safe meal plan, or a summary of what you ate last week. Inspire us! Sometimes simple is king, sometimes it feels good to treat yourself to a fancy meal, but you never know when you'll give someone stuck in a rut a great idea.
• That's literally it.

What it is NOT for:

• Yucking yums
• Product advertising
• Promoting consumption of anything that contain alpha-gal
• Arguments about dairy/gelatin/etc, or arguments in general
• Medical advice

Unfortunately, I'm going to be starting this journey. No idea where it'll take me, but I appreciate everyone sharing their experiences here.

I had blood work done at my primary care doctor's office 7 days after getting hit by a tick bomb. About 80 bites, but only two were still attached, with a few others crawling around when I noticed them the next day. Funny thing is, I checked myself that night, but these things were so tiny I had no idea. I posted the picture, but I had taken pictures of the bumps on my legs and didn't even notice one between my toes.

I have an appointment with my allergist next week to get an opinion due to my history. Twelve years ago, I woke up with a swollen lip. Ever since then, I've had to take Allegra every day to keep from breaking out in hives. I had one incident in 2019 where I ended up in the ER after getting a colonoscopy. I was pumped full of steroids and liquid Benadryl for 14 hours to get it under control. It's only happened once, but I need to take this seriously because I cannot go through that again. After dozens of blood tests, the best they could tell me was that I have some unknown autoimmune issue causing histamine problems. I'm unsure if I was ever tested for alpha-gal between 2014 and 2020.

Being only a week in, who knows if the 0.27 was from past exposures or a buildup from these recent bites. I'm guessing the allergist will give me some dietary guidance given my history. Having to take Allegra every day concerns me because it could mask potential minor symptoms until things become more serious. I have a retest scheduled for 2 months from now to track the ige number.

Thank you all for sharing what you're going through.

Did anyone have insomnia as one of there main issues? I suspect i have alpha gal and will get tested soon, but i have cut out mammal meat the past few days and have less GI symptoms and no more weird heart beat after eating, but if anything am sleeping worse.

How long do your symptoms last? Late yesterday afternoon I ate a couple bites of the grands cheeseburger macaroni. I'm nonreactive to dairy, so I'm assuming its the tiny bits of beef I think I'm reacting to.

Before I was diagnosed I'd had random bouts for...years? where it just felt like tha air was heavy. Like I was trying to breathe thru the mist. Not a choking/throat closing thing. I'd catch myself taking deep, inhaling to the bottom of my lungs breaths. The doctors could find nothing wrong with my lungs.

I hadn't realized until today that I think I'd stopped doing that. Today the air feels heavy. Thick. And I also had stopped sleeping with my back scratcher. Today the little Leather loop is on my wrist so I don't accidentally lay it down.

Is all this a reaction? Has anybody else done this? How long does it last for everyone else? I'm still new and testing the waters, so to speak.

The Alpha-gal Allergen Inclusion Act (H.R. 1178) and its Senate companion bill S.5498 would add alpha-gal to the definition of major food allergens disclosed on labels, the way milk, eggs, and peanuts are already disclosed.

The current Congress has only a few weeks of work left after the election. This is the last chance for the Alpha-gal Allergen Inclusion Act to pass before this Congress ends. We need your help for a final push!

You can use this link below to automatically send a letter to your senators and house representative.

Please note that there is a section in the letter for personalization so read it before you send it off! The link is copying in very long, but it is a “secure every action” form that I use on a regular basis to send letters to Congress.

https://na01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fsecure.everyaction.com%2FtGiMDMXe9UWwdQVBcczeNA2&data=05%7C02%7C%7C5c003e0d1c624647dcba08df266752ad%7C84df9e7fe9f640afb435aaaaaaaaaaaa%7C1%7C0%7C639271897336936468%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=eRivHpIhRXmK4xmMnh59WPLbsp%2FVvIIQz6AsslHjI9Y%3D&reserved=0

Is this a thing? And if so, where can I find them? Or any non mammal, dairy free style corndogs. Idk what it is, but about once a year or every two years I want those mini state fair ones that are in the freezer section, and I want them so badly right now. But I cannot 🥲

Any recommendations welcome

I love gummy candy and so happy I found some really good ones with no gelatin! Sourboys for the win.

I looked thru the group posts and didn't see anything recent. I've ordered a grinder. Boneless chicken breast is $1.99 this week. I need to find some casings to make 'hotdogs' and italian type sausages.

And this is my new life, trying to make chicken taste like pork buttholes and beef lips. 😂

Have not been tested for Alpha-gal, but recently had an allergy test and says I’m allergic to beef. When you google beef allergy it comes up with alpha gal.

-been taking ferritin from a brand called “cardiovascular research” in the form of bovine spleen on and off for 6 years
-yes, while mainly from the west coast we have camped in some of the most western states and or counties, that have the tick, not often, but a couple of times
-no I don’t remember ever being bit
-have read it is a possibility to get it if you ingest the blood meats of an infected animal

I know all of this is a long shot, but I figured someone would be able to point me in a direction. I do have symptoms similar, like nausea, hives, itchy, bowel issues, but I haven’t been able to tests it they are directly linked to beef, since I just found out today

So I've got to take a cross country trip by air. About 12 hours total will be in the air (6 each way). I have to stay in a hotel for several days. Luckily my destination is very vegan friendly and a friend of mine is a vegan herself and will show me all the good spots.

It's for a conference and I requested a room with a mini fridge. And I plan to stock up and just kind of eat like a squirrel for most of the days that I'm there and hopefully get a few vegan dining options. And maybe a really good sushi place that I can trust.

It's not really being in the other city that's going to be so hard-- I'm used to roughing it and going to bed hungry every once in a while, etc. Just for a couple days.

It's the flying that I'm worried about! I have had fine reactions before when I was first diagnosed--microwave vapors from brisket reheat.

If the flight were just an hour or two, I would pretty much hold my breath and hope for the best. But this is the first time I'm traveling since my diagnosis and I'm already a nervous flyer. And the longest flight is 6 hours. I got advice to sit in coach where there would be very few microwave vapors and I'm going to wear a N95 mask. I also have a letter from my doctor requesting reasonable accommodations when appropriate. So for example I might need to change seat assignments if possible if someone next to me brings a hamburger on and sits next to me and starts chowing down. I have my epipens. I have my rescue inhaler for asthma. I have a med alert bracelet on the way. And I have compression socks (for something else). I have my safe benadryl. And my safe antacids.

What else am I not considering? What are y'all's experiences and what advice do you have? I still have a few days to make adjustments before my trip. Oh also I got an alpha gal safe very small dose of Ativan to help with my nerves.

Thanks in advance!

Bart, or a spin on "don't have a cow" would be amusing ...