When your writing, work, and life revolve around a specific topic, such as food, the people you deal with tend to be quite knowledgeable on that subject. Emails with fellow bloggers, viewers, and experts in the area of food allergies always yield a high understanding of food and its many concerns.

However, it is clear that the information is still not reaching the greater population. Our friends at HomeFree Treats, makers of delicious allergen-free cookies, conducted a simply survey of more than 1,000 people using Harris Interactive. Within this sample population, only 3% picked four common food allergens (dairy, eggs, nuts, and wheat) out of a list of seven foods that also included gluten, bananas, and cinnamon. 22% of the respondents either did not know or answered that none of the seven foods were common allergens. 43% mistakenly chose gluten as an allergen. Gluten is a concer for Celiac Disease, and many people find that they are intolerant to gluten, but it is not an allergen - though wheat is.

The survey from HomeFree Treats was reported in USA Today.