School bans Peanut Butter & Jelly sandwiches

[Draka]

Seriously? Seriously. Well, then they decided to say "Okay, your kids can have peanut butter in their lunches, but they have to sit at a special table."

It all started with a peanut butter-and-jelly sandwich.

On his second day of kindergarten, mom Denise Clifton-Jones of Viola, Ark. (pictured), sent her son to school with a peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwich for lunch, only to have the sandwich taken away from him because the school had a nut ban due to food allergy concerns. Clifton-Jones says the school never told parents about such a ban.

After making a comment on Facebook about her son’s experience, she found some like-minded parents who were concerned about a full-blown nut ban in her son’s school. “I’m a nurse practitioner by trade, and there are other allergies that are just as severe as nut allergies,” she said. The Facebook flurry of activity led to much debate in Clifton-Jones’s community.

Eventually, the school district decided that students could bring in nut products for lunch, but not for class snacks. Those eating nut products with their lunches sit at a special table, a table that is usually full of kids with peanut butter sandwiches, says Clifton-Jones. She's pleased with her school’s compromise, but similar debates shed a spotlight on food allergy legislation in schools.

More of the article at source:
How Far Should Schools Go to Protect Children With Food Allergies? - Allergy Center - Everyday Health

Now, in the rest of the article it is also pointed out that the second most common food allergy is milk. Correct me if I am wrong, but isn't the usual drink issued out at school cafeterias milk? So what is next? No more milk? No one can have cheese? No yogurt? If a packed lunch is for your kid it is for your kid, not for any other kid. You are not packing it for the entire school. :areyoucra

 

[MoonWater]

I think the key difference here is that nut allergies can be activated simply from inhaling residue or by coming into contact with residue, whereas i don't think the same can be said for milk products, those have to be injested.

I have a friend with nut allergies and just the smell of peanut butter can make him feel ill and i remember hearing a story of a child who had a lethal allergic reaction to nuts just by passing through that aisle of a grocery store.

Edit: i'm personally in favor of a nut ban, though i agree that parents should be well informed of such a ban

 

[Draka]

I think the key difference here is that nut allergies can be activated simply from inhaling residue or by coming into contact with residue, whereas i don't think the same can be said for milk products, those have to be injested.

I have a friend with nut allergies and just the smell of peanut butter can make him feel ill and i remember hearing a story of a child who had a lethal allergic reaction to nuts just by passing through that aisle of a grocery store.

How many decades have we been sending children to school with PB&J sandwiches? If it really caused such terrible problems we'd have seen huge repercussions and we haven't. And having your stomach turn at the smell of something is not the same as having an actual allergic reaction. I have things that the smell of which make my stomach flip over too, doesn't mean I'm allergic nor put me in a hospital. As to the lethal allergic reaction just walking down an aisle of a grocery store, I have an extremely hard time swallowing that and would have to think that a "check up on Snopes" thing.

 

[Reverend Rick]

I am speechless.

 

[Falvlun]

Yes, the difference between nut and milk allergies is that inhalation/contact can cause a reaction in the former, but not the latter.

However, I don't think that a schoolwide ban is an appropriate reaction; it sounds like the typical over-reaction school officials have to other things, like toy guns.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

But a lot of kids swap lunch items, it might be rather difficult to ensure a control environment if the items are brought in.

 

[psychoslice]

The majority always suffer because of the minority, i don't know if that's fair or not ?.

 

[InformedIgnorance]

Mind you the minute inconvenience to the many weighed against the life threatening disaster to the few...

The distribution of outcomes is every bit as important as the net of beneficial outcomes.

 

[Father Heathen]

I didn't realize that schools were having problems with students stuffing their sandwiches down other children's throats.

 

[Falvlun]

But a lot of kids swap lunch items, it might be rather difficult to ensure a control environment if the items are brought in.

If your kid is deathly allergic to peanut butter, you should probably have instilled in him a healthy amount of respect for this condition.

As for swapping items, if this were seriously the concern, then it does become unreasonable to only limit peanut items, since kids can be allergic to a variety of other things that they may swap.

 

[Falvlun]

Mind you the minute inconvenience to the many weighed against the life threatening disaster to the few...

The distribution of outcomes is every bit as important as the net of beneficial outcomes.

The Pascal's Wager of the Lunchroom!

 

[Draka]

I had a talk with the lady who handles the lunch finances for my kids' school a few days ago (some mess up concerning my kid getting charged for a hot lunch when he had a cold one), anyway, we got talking about kids having specific diets and cold lunches because of gluten and allergies and so on and how parents would pack specific items for their kids and that she knew they wouldn't have hot lunches and so on.

Point is, if a kid has food issues, it would seem to be on the parent to make sure their child is aware of them, provide their lunches accordingly, go over what they can and cannot eat, and perhaps even, if they are smart, notify the appropriate person/people at the school as to what sensitivities their child has in case something were to happen (like the child tries to go for that hot lunch they shouldn't have). Banning all kids from eating as they normally would because of maybe a handful of children whose parents perhaps couldn't be bothered to take proper precautions doesn't quite seem fair though now does it?

 

[InformedIgnorance]

If your kid is deathly allergic to peanut butter, you should probably have instilled in him a healthy amount of respect for this condition.

One would assume, though I am unsure as to the ages of the children in question whereby it may not be practical to make such an assumption.

As for swapping items, if this were seriously the concern, then it does become unreasonable to only limit peanut items, since kids can be allergic to a variety of other things that they may swap.

I would agree, but have insufficient information about the school, for example DO they have other children with significant non nut allergies? If not it would be entirely reasonable to limit it to peanutbutter, if so, then it would require justification as to why the difference in treatment.

 

[Falvlun]

One would assume, though I am unsure as to the ages of the children in question whereby it may not be practical to make such an assumption.

Well, kindergartners would be the youngest, at 5. I think even 5 year olds can be taught not to swap food with others. This would also be the age group that would have the greatest supervision. If your kid has fatal allergies, I'm sure teachers and other school personnel would be aware of this.

I would agree, but have insufficient information about the school, for example DO they have other children with significant non nut allergies? If not it would be entirely reasonable to limit it to peanutbutter, if so, then it would require justification as to why the difference in treatment.

To be honest, I think the whole thing with peanut butter is due to overly-protective and hysterical parents.

Peanut allergy is common. But the super allergic variety that causes a quick death? Not so common. My suspicion is that parents are conflating the two, and demanding extra special precaution that is not really needed.

 

[Falvlun]

Some interesting info:

5. Can someone allergic to eating peanuts also have a reaction by touching or smelling
peanuts?
A study from Mt. Sinai Medical Center in 2003 specifically examined those questions. Thirty children
with severe peanut allergies were exposed to both skin contact and the smell of peanut butter. The study
reached the following conclusions:
• A rash may occur where the skin is touched by peanut butter but a dangerous reaction will not result
unless the peanut butter enters the mouth, nose, or eyes.
• The rash will get better when washed with soap and water, and when Benadryl® is given.
• Just smelling peanut butter will not cause an allergic reaction because there is no peanut protein
in an odor

from HERE

I was trying to find out how many schoolkids have actually died from having peanuts in a school, but not having luck. I did find these tidbits:

But death by peanut is extremely rare. While estimates range from about 150 to 200 deaths a year from peanut allergies, reporting is spotty and not required, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention officially documents only 13 deaths (including six adults) between 1996 and 2006.

From HERE

Somewhere around 150 to 200 people die in the U.S. each year because of food allergies. It's estimated that around 50 percent to 62 percent of those fatal cases of anaphylaxis were caused by peanut allergies.

from HERE

Based on the second source, I think the estimate in the first source is accidentally doubled: ~150 is the total amount of food allergy deaths, with 50% of those being due to peanuts.

 

[lewisnotmiller]

My daughters child care facility bans nuts. The primary school she is going to doesn't. Thinking is that the smaller the kid the more likely food sharing is to occur.
Bit of overkill, but there are 4 kids in my daughters group allergic to nuts, 3 of whom are pretty severe.

So my daughter has to eat her peanut butter on toast for breakie, and has Vegemite at lunch (sometimes) anyway.

 

[Bishnu Aryal]

If your kid is deathly allergic to peanut butter and you should probably have instilled in him a healthy amount of respect for this condition.

 

[MysticSang'ha]

All concessions we sell at the studio follows a policy of being peanut free because of the potential to be lethal from inhalation. Any food that comes in to pot luck events are screened to ensure no peanuts are included.

For all those who think this is ridiculous, I've seen what happens when a child came into a facility (my daughter's karate dojo), where peanuts in trail mix were sold, and within 5 minutes was beginning to show signs of shock and had to be taken to the hospital. It is not funny or face-palm-worthy.

Of course I remember going to school with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and yes times have changed. But if it means life or death for a child simply for breathing the same air, I'm in favor of erring on the side of caution.

We have one child who is a student at the dance studio who is severely allergic to peanuts. Her parents have been helpful in educating other parents who are confused and unaware of the severity of the situation. And they give other options (like almond butter or sunbutter) for parents who want to bring items in to the dance studio for their kids.

 

[dawny0826]

I'm not so quick to throw darts at the school, unless they've made the decision without any justification. If a five year old isn't capable of using an epipen jr., and this isn't an absurd notion, their actions may not be as whack-job as they appear.

They may actually be thinking about what's in the best interest of a student, for whom they do have an obligation to.

From a liability perspective, if you have the opportunity to do something and you don't and something happens to that child...who is at fault?

 

[Draka]

All concessions we sell at the studio follows a policy of being peanut free because of the potential to be lethal from inhalation. Any food that comes in to pot luck events are screened to ensure no peanuts are included.

For all those who think this is ridiculous, I've seen what happens when a child came into a facility (my daughter's karate dojo), where peanuts in trail mix were sold, and within 5 minutes was beginning to show signs of shock and had to be taken to the hospital. It is not funny or face-palm-worthy.

Of course I remember going to school with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and yes times have changed. But if it means life or death for a child simply for breathing the same air, I'm in favor of erring on the side of caution.

We have one child who is a student at the dance studio who is severely allergic to peanuts. Her parents have been helpful in educating other parents who are confused and unaware of the severity of the situation. And they give other options (like almond butter or sunbutter) for parents who want to bring items in to the dance studio for their kids.

You don't have an allergic reaction from smelling the peanut butter on a kid's sandwich down or even across the table from you. You'd have to have Wolverine's sense of smell to even smell someone's sandwich from down a table, you certainly aren't going to have an allergic reaction to someone else's lunch from inhalation unless you are shoving your face right over it and trying to suck it up your nose. We're not talking a bag of crushed and dusty peanuts here, scattered about all loose, we're talking creamy peanut butter safely between two slices of bread with some jelly.

Truly, it does boil down to teaching your child what they can and can't eat and what to stay clear from. You simply don't eat your friends' lunches and you don't try sucking it through your nose either. If a parent can teach their child these kinds of things, give a heads up to adults about important points to be aware of, then it shouldn't really infringe much at all on the eating habits of those around them.