Look What I Found Inside My TV.

I consider myself a clean person. I have even been known to spend hours detail cleaning things that no one else would consider dirty. BUT never did I imagine I would spend 3 hours cleaning the inside of my TV.

Samsung TV

Our Samsung TV has been acting weird for awhile. Sometimes when it is turned on, it has pixel-ed lines running vertical through it. I can see the picture behind these lines but it is blurry. Then it goes black for a few seconds and a normal screen appears. 

The fun part is when it decides to add a high pitched squeal to these lovely lines. The sound would wake the dead and there is no way to stop it. We just have to go wait it out. My favorite time for this to happen is when my husband can't sleep and decides to turn the TV on. FUN

We started by having AT&T send us a new U-verse box, hoping it was that. It work for a few days and then back to the lines again. We called Samsung and they did a few tech. things via the phone to no avail. So we went to the internet and got some advice.

The suggestion was to take it apart and clean out the back. We figured there was nothing to lose, so we did just that and here is what we found. DISGUSTING

Inside Our TV- REALLY

Though it didn't fix the problem - it was a lesson learned.

Who Would Have Guessed My Celery Allergy Is Known in the U.K.?

In addition to not being able to eat gluten and dairy, I am deathly allergic to CELERY and all it's by products. Most people in the United States, including doctors, chefs, and educators have never heard of a celery allergy. Truthfully, this uncommon food allergy has made it very uncomfortable and awkward when I am eating anywhere but home. I often get the same reaction from people, "I've never heard of that before" as if they don't believe me.  It usually leads to a conversation at the table, which is the last thing someone who is trying not to obsess about their food allergies needs. This fear is escalated when I am traveling and have to eat out often. 

I am planning a trip this summer to Ireland and Scotland and decided to research how difficult it would be to eat there. The U.K. is known for its Celiac (Coeliac) Awareness and from everything I read eating gluten-free, in both countries, will not be a problem. 

According to the Food Standard Agency in the U.K.
The European Commission compositional and labelling standards (Commission Regulation (EC) No. 41/2009) establish levels of gluten for foods that makes a claim to be either 'gluten-free' or 'very low gluten'. These levels are:
'gluten-free' – 20 parts or less of gluten per million.
'very low gluten' – 100 parts or less of gluten per million. However, only foods with cereal ingredients that have been specially processed to remove the gluten may make a 'very low gluten' claim.

 Food Standard Agency  has an interactive page, called In The Restaurant,  where you can go in and take a test on what is in certain restaurant foods. (Indian, Chinese, Mediterranean and Deli) It was fun! 

What surprised me was the information I found about celery allergies. 

Celery Allergies

The first website I found was  www.anaphylaxis.org.uk. The UK considers celery one of the top 14 allergens and they even have a fact sheet for Celery Allergies.

Here's some of what they had to say: 

Celery is one of the 14 major allergens that under European Directives 2003/89/EC and 2006/142/EC must be declared whenever they are used, at any level, in pre-packed foods."
The inclusion of celery on this list, approved under EU law, is based on the view that celery allergy is a serious problem in certain European countries such as France, Germany and Switzerland. Based on our experience, celery allergy would appear to be rare in the UK. However, reactions to celery, when they do occur, can be severe for some people.

So everything I eat, whether packaged or at a restaurant, is required to have any celery ingredient on the label or after the item on the menu. 

The U.K. has Strict Allergen Labeling Rules

I will let you know how it goes after we visit Scotland and Ireland. If you been there recently, please share your experiences and favorite food places. Thank you.

Thank you U.K. for looking out for me!

References:
https://www.allergyuk.org/common-food-intolerances/common-food-intolerances
http://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/english/in-the-restaurant/
http://allergytraining.food.gov.uk/english/default.aspx
http://www.anaphylaxis.org.uk/knowledgebase/celery-allergy-the-facts/
http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/food-allergy/pages/causes.aspx