For years, peanuts and tree nuts have been considered off-limits in school snacks and lunches as a key precaution to protect those with life-threatening allergies. However, as one Canadian school lifts that restriction, is the tide beginning to turn away from specific food bans?
Are eggs and fish banned too? Or are allergies less severe in general?
Peanuts are the hand grenade of allergies - you don’t have to consume them to react if you are allergic
Everything else is relatively safe if you can keep from eating, or otherwise come into contact with it
source: father of a child who has many food allergies
That’s very interesting. I wonder if there’s biological reasons for that.
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My understanding is that nut allergies are common, the reactions are severe, there’s more public awareness, it’s easier to cut them out (eggs for example are more ubiquitous). At the same time they’re more common than say shellfish
All of these factors change over time and it’s not justification, just why it’s the way it is right now
The given reason when I was in school was that peanut oil residue could trigger a reaction, so if a kid eats a PB sandwich then touches a doorknob then that doorknob is touched by some other kid with a peanut allergy, that would be enough to trigger. No idea if that’s true. It always annoyed me because PB is one of the most calorie dense foods and is easy to pack in a lunch, so my mom really wanted to be able to send me that. I often was hungry in elementary school because I didn’t find the alternatives as filling or satisfying.
I was completely out of school before the peanut bans kicked in. A good thing, too, as I basically lived on peanut butter. Still do. :) Even when I was working and packing my own lunches, it was either leftovers or peanut butter sandwiches. Food of the gods (or demons, I suppose…)
Yeah I eat PB sandwiches basically every day. I’m autistic so I like the routine of eating the same thing, and PB is as good as you can get for food density to effort ratio.
Haven’t nut allergies climbed over the years as well? PB was never banned when I was in school.
I believe nut allergies spiked for a period of time when we thought it was due to early exposure, so people kept their kids away from peanut and that led to much more people being allergic to them. They’re now recommending that you expose your kids to common allergens as soon as possible to avoid this. I’m guessing the numbers are going back down enough that we’re comfortable with allowing peanuts in schools again.
Those allergies are not nearly as common or severe. Also, someone won’t eat a snack of shellfish and not wipe up after while nuts are constantly consumed by people who won’t wash hands or surfaces when finished.
I am not allergic to anything food related really, but I have no problem with these restrictions, I can eat those foods in my home or a restaurant. I care about other people so it doesn’t matter to me, but a selfish person would get very upset by these rules.
I know a teacher with a severe peanut allergy. One of her students found out, chewed up a mouthful of peanuts and spit in her face. She barely survived.
But why? I would hate to kill a kid because I wanted a snack, there are plenty of other foods that don’t put someone else’s life at risk.
There is no problem with the ban and I hope this school gets some negative feedback and reverses course soon.
I love nuts, all types of nuts, but it’s just not to worth the risk to those with nut allergies.
Sometimes you just need a good nut.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
As Whitehorse students pluck water bottles and food containers from their lunch bags, something unfamiliar to most Canadian schools emerges: a small tin of mixed nuts.
This month, École Émilie Tremblay unveiled a new policy to allow peanuts and tree nuts, which came after consultations with both staff and families — including those with food allergies, noted principal Marie-Héléne Gagné.
In 2021, the McMaster University professor led an international panel that published a series of recommendations about managing food allergies in schools and child care settings after five years of analyzing evidence-based research on the topic.
The idea of schools lifting nut restrictions is likely alarming for many food-allergic kids and their parents, especially those indignant at the notion food bans create a false sense of security.
Klachefsky has started to ease her “all-consuming” fear for her now nine-year-old son’s safety amid his severe allergy to cashews and pistachios, after realizing Simon himself, some of his friends and others in their circle have gradually become his advocates as well.
Still, she’s aghast at the idea of schools lifting restrictions on peanuts and tree nuts, which are the most common food allergens (followed by dairy, egg, finned fish and shellfish).
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