Bans on nut-free spreads in schools frustrate parents

[Seth1968]

The York District School Board, the third largest in Ontario, began asking parents to stop using nut-free butters three years ago, explaining that the spreads are confusing for teachers and students because they look, smell and taste so much like real peanut butter.

http://www.ctvnews.ca/lifestyle/bans...ents-1.2023653

Stop beating around the bush and just ban life

[spikerS]

we have a peanut allergy in the house, and so I buy wow butter as an alternative.

If you peel back the label, there are stickers that you can apply to sandwich bags that indicate there are no peanuts...

granted this only works if the parents apply them, but what is so confusing about that?

additionally, the schools here now don't even ban peanuts anymore, but instead are now "peanut aware"

[suntan]

It depends on the school's administration. Some do outright bans, others do the "allergy awareness" thing, etc.

It's really up to the principal to set policy.

[Tik-Tok]

My biggest fear is that my child will have a peanut allergy... it's a pretty big staple of my snacking diet

I agree with what a poster in the news link says though. If the majority of non-peanut butter products are all local start-ups, why not just change the colour (or add a new product to the existing line-up that is a different colour) , so it doesn't look like real PB anymore?

[Sugarphreak]

...

[baygirl]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
There is this thing called an EpiPen... takes just one time and the kids will learn to avoid peanuts in other kids lunch or snacks no matter what the setting.

Put them in a bubble all through school, they won't learn to be careful. First thing that will happen when they start work or college is an accidental exposure.

Our oldest has been taught to not share lunches, and always read the label. Her school also has a nut free table for people with allergies. I was more concerned when she was younger, worried if a class mate had peanut butter, didn't wash their hands and then played with something, that my daughter would come in contact with. (Her allergy is severe enough that her face exploded in hives without actual contact, just having it in front of her face). However now that she is older I don't worry as much. As for school cafeteria, I don't consider that any different than a mall food court and realize she can never be 100% safe.

[killramos]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
There is this thing called an EpiPen... takes just one time and the kids will learn to avoid peanuts in other kids lunch or snacks no matter what the setting.

Put them in a bubble all through school, they won't learn to be careful. First thing that will happen when they start work or college is an accidental exposure.

This is how that whole stupid idea of scent free workplaces etc came into being. They will expect employers to also ban peanut butter, and gluten, and meat and anything else someone could be allergic to or offended by.

The world we live in is pretty stupid.

I hate soccer moms...

[Hallowed_point]

I couldn't live without peanut butter. On ryvita crackers..reeces pieces/cups.

[Inzane]

Originally posted by baygirl
Her school also has a nut free table for people with allergies.
...
As for school cafeteria, I don't consider that any different than a mall f
food court and realize she can never be 100% safe.

I haven't done any reading up on the subject yet (my kids are too young to be in school and haven't shown any sign of allergies yet, nor do my wife or I have any food allergies so it's not something we're used to dealing with), but I can't help but wonder where the hell all these nut allegeries are coming from these days?

I moved around and attended lots of different schools from K-thru-12 in my time (late 70s-early 90s), in Fort Mac, Edmonton and Ontario and never in any of them do I remember "nut allergy kids" at school. Or any other serious food allergies. I don't remember any kids breaking out in hives, I don't remember epi-shock episodes. Hell they even served peanuts and/or peanut butter in those little "health food" sessions they had in early grade school. (I don't remember much from those, except for random things like drinking my first little paper cup of skim milk and thinking ewwww...).

Has the percentage of the general population with serious food allegies drastically changed over the last 3-4 decades?

[suntan]

Good question. My daughter is allergic to walnuts and pecans. Strangely so is my sister.

There's a girl down the street that's very allergic to peanuts. Her parents have no allergies.

I'm mega allergic to shellfish these days. Even oyster sauce gives me problems now.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by Inzane
Has the percentage of the general population with serious food allegies drastically changed over the last 3-4 decades?

It's more than just food allergies. Child Autism, Asthma, etc, have massively increased since the late 70's.

[msommers]

Originally posted by Sugarphreak
There is this thing called an EpiPen... takes just one time and the kids will learn to avoid peanuts in other kids lunch or snacks no matter what the setting.

Put them in a bubble all through school, they won't learn to be careful. First thing that will happen when they start work or college is an accidental exposure.

I've had a lifelong cashew allergy and gone to the hospital a few times because of it. Sometimes, shit just happens no matter how careful you try to be.

[n1zm0]

Originally posted by suntan
I'm mega allergic to shellfish these days. Even oyster sauce gives me problems now.

My brother is somewhat allergic to shellfish, around his mouth gets all swelled up cause of eczema, but not enough to stop him from eating it though, he just barrels through because, well it's hard to pass up crab/lobster/shrimp.

but his major one is pine nuts for whatever reason, for that he needs an epipen, which he doesn't even carry around with him either apparently. But only certain types of foods have pesto/pine nuts so I guess it's all about being careful.

[Tik-Tok]

Originally posted by Inzane


Has the percentage of the general population with serious food allegies drastically changed over the last 3-4 decades?

One cause is that doctors have increasingly warned expecting mothers to avoid certain foods (peanuts being a big one) in the past 30 years. Because they don't eat them while pregnant, the childs system doesn't know how to handle it.

Apparently C-sections affect childrens immunity as well, and they've been continually on the rise.

[msommers]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


One cause is that doctors have increasingly warned expecting mothers to avoid certain foods (peanuts being a big one) in the past 30 years. Because they don't eat them while pregnant, the childs system doesn't know how to handle it.

Which is odd for me to hear considering my Mom was eating cashews like crazy while preggers with me and I'm mega allergic to them. They honestly taste like burning

[Inzane]

Originally posted by Seth1968
It's more than just food allergies. Child Autism, Asthma, etc, have massively increased since the late 70's.

Yeah, I definitely knew about the asthma issue, but was partially attributing that to our declining air quality.

Originally posted by Tik-Tok
One cause is that doctors have increasingly warned expecting mothers to avoid certain foods (peanuts being a big one) in the past 30 years. Because they don't eat them while pregnant, the childs system doesn't know how to handle it.

That's interesting. Didn't know about peanuts specifically. I don't recall my wife mentioning anything about her being told to avoid peanuts or peanut products. And I didn't come across that from the reading I was doing at the time of the pregnancies either.

[Inzane]

Another question for those of you actually with nut allegies (or family members).

I can understand a case of say peanuts, where you're cracking shells and it makes a bit of "dust" that could affect people around you.

But for a thick spread like peanut butter, how does that affect someone sitting at another table or down the row from you? Can smell alone be enough to trigger a reaction? (or do you have to eat it or make skin contact?)

[FraserB]

Originally posted by Seth1968


It's more than just food allergies. Child Autism, Asthma, etc, have massively increased since the late 70's.

I think a portion of this can be explained by increasing ability to diagnose things and an increase in parents shipping their kids off to the doctor at the smallest sign of trouble.

[baygirl]

Originally posted by Tik-Tok


One cause is that doctors have increasingly warned expecting mothers to avoid certain foods (peanuts being a big one) in the past 30 years. Because they don't eat them while pregnant, the childs system doesn't know how to handle it.

I ate peanut butter toast every day while I was pregnant and neither me nor her father have any allergies. I waited til she was 12 months to try her on it, and it was suggested I should have waited until she was 2. There were days in her first year that she had a rash on her face and I realize now it was because I didn't wash my hands properly after handling peanut butter.

[Seth1968]

Originally posted by FraserB


I think a portion of this can be explained by increasing ability to diagnose things

Numerous studies have been conducted on the matter, and all came back inconclusive. However, the studies did find that better diagnostics and reporting could only account for about a 25% increase. That's peanuts compared to the 600% increase in autism over the last few decades. Similar numbers apply to asthma, food allergies, etc.