01/19/2016
Allergy Friendly
To help you make an Allergy Friendly choice, plants with our new labels on have been rated with the Ogren Plant Allergy Scale (OPALS™).
The scale runs from 1 - 10. The plants with ratings 1 through to 5 are Allergy friendly. Plants with ratings increasing from 6 through to 10 have a higher potential to trigger allergies.
This rating is not a substitute for medical advice and no liability can be assumed for its use.
OPALS™ stands for Ogren Plant Allergy Scale, and the scale, which is a registered trade mark, has been in effect since 1996, and has been published and in regular use since 1999. OPALS™ is numerical, ranging from 1 (least allergenic) to 10 (most allergenic). Ratings are based on a possible 130+ different criteria; examples of various criteria are length of bloom period, amount of pollen produced if any, s*x of plant is dioecious, size of individual pollen grains, specific gravity of pollen grains, shape of grains, position on the plant of pollen flowers, average rankings (1-4) in actual skin scratch tests, patch tests, and sniff tests, propensity to trigger itch or rash, cross-reactivity to food allergies, etc. OPALS™ is a science-based tool designed for improved, smarter allergy and asthma-friendly plant selection. OPALS™ has been used by many individuals worldwide, by allergy and asthma coalitions, by cities, schools, parks, hospitals, state departments of public health, by lung associations and by the USDA.
To find out more about Allergy Friendly Gardening visit http://www.safegardening.org/
Queux Plant Centre has a selection of plants which now have these new Allergy Friendly label