<p>"Sometimes feeling normal – or at least close to normal – is the highest priority, especially for a child who often has to feel that she is “different.” "</p>
<p>Thank you, Marian. I hate McDonald’s, and certainly never thought I’d be feeding it to a young child. But years ago, when my son was very young and had multiple food allergies, McDonald’s was one of the few places that provided full nutritional information. Their french fries were free of all the foods he was allergic to.</p>
<p>Imagine this: you are in a huge supermarket, in the cookie/cracker aisle. You’re looking down an aisle as long as a football field with shelves and shelves of crackers and cookies. There is not one box on that aisle that you can buy to give your child, who is allergic to milk (milk products in everything) and sesame seeds (in a surprising number of foods), as well as a dozen other foods.</p>
<p>I forgot to mention the absolutely great things about my kids having peanut allergies. Yes, we all know the bad side, but there is a good side. My oldest who suffered through multiple anaphylactic reactions, doesn’t eat cookies, ice cream, chips, chocolate or candy. She has developed an almost impeccable nutritional awareness and habits through years of reading labels. She had a safe peanut free chocolate and thought it was disgusting. Both kids failed at peanut desensitization because they hated the taste of peanuts. Peanuts tasted like dirt to them.</p>
<p>This is a good argument for a peanut-free dining hall. </p>
<p>As Niquii77 points out, most people who aren’t familiar with peanut allergies would not realize that contaminating a waffle maker with peanut butter could have disastrous consequences for someone else eating in the same dining hall.</p>
<p>Doesn’t it make things easier if the situation can’t arise because there is no peanut butter available?</p>
<p>My point was more towards not blaming people for killing PA suffers when they didn’t know the extent of their actions in the first place. Don’t blame someone for not knowing you’re allergic to something.</p>
<p>But it doesn’t protect the college from getting sued if a student puts peanut butter in the waffle batter, and a later user of the waffle machine dies from an allergic reaction to the traces of peanut in his waffles. What does prevent this from happening is not having peanut butter in the dining hall at all.</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s fair to make ALL of the students accommodate a handful of students. What if the students have NO idea that their waffle mix has peanut butter in it? Are students’ food being checked as they come in to ensure there are no peanut products? How is this being regulated? </p>
<p>A much better idea, IMO, is to allow the individual students that need peanut free meals to be able to prepare their own meals (by exempting them from a food plan and allowing them to have an apartment or something) or have them prepared in a special kitchen- away from any possible cross-contamination.</p>
<p>frugaldoctor: “Both kids failed at peanut desensitization because they hated the taste of peanuts. Peanuts taste like dirt to them.”</p>
<p>My son, who outgrew his peanut allergy, almost failed the food challenge because peanut butter is disgusting to someone who has never had it. A food challenge takes an entire day. It’s double-blind, with the subject being given increasing amounts of food containing the allergen in the morning, and the same food without the allergen in the afternoon (or vice-versa). Every 20 mins or so, a hospital worker who does not know whether or not the food contains the allergen will bring a small amount in and the subject will eat it. The first “dose” is a tiny, tiny, bit. The amounts increase as the morning or afternoon goes on. If at the end of the day there has been no reaction, the subject has to eat a certain amount of the food openly. My son had to eat a cracker with a thick layer of peanut butter on it. He was gagging and could hardly get it down. Fortunately, he did not vomit, because that would have meant that he’d failed the food challenge, because no one could be sure that the vomiting was not an allergic reaction.</p>
<p>Neither of my sons can stand peanut butter, because they did not grow up with it. My husband can’t stand it, because he grew up in Europe and didn’t have it.</p>
<p>Bottom line is that some believe they have the right to have access to peanuts/nuts despite the risk of death to others. It was also mentioned/implied that those requesting a peanut free environment were guilty of a sense of entitlement. I guess if you are in the minority, requesting a change in policy that could save your life reeks of entitlement. Sad commentary on the kindness and compassion of a certain subset of society as a whole. ( although, as I mentioned earlier none of the kids we’ve had the privilege of meeting would even blink at making accommodations once they truly understood the consequences).</p>
<p>I do understand folks LOVE peanut/peanut butter. (I love nuts!) I get that it’s cheap protein. I also get that it’s ONE food group. Anecdotally , my D1 athlete has managed to fuel her body quite nicely over 21 years w/o the benefit of any nut/nut product. I think the difference is, we view nuts as a want, not a need, so we don’t get the fuss over eliminating the nut products from the dining hall. Btw, I have no problem with kids having their own stash in their own rooms. A simple request ( not mandate) from the RA to use extreme caution with hand washing, etc, can go a long way to keeping kids safe. Is it a perfect solution? No, but it is a compromise that can help minimize a persons risk to a really serious side effect. I really do believe that most young people have compassion for their classmates who suffer with this issue and want to do right by them. A few of the responses on this thread seem to be the extreme exceptions to our experience, hence the surprise on my part.</p>
<p>What I’m advocating for is implementation of various mechanisms to combat the following:</p>
<ol>
<li>Easily-avoided allergen exposure: </li>
<li>a nut-free/peanut-free policy for food prepared in the dining hall kitchen</li>
<li><p>clear labeling of all items, packaged or locally-prepared</p></li>
<li><p>Cross-contamination by diners due to lack of awareness:</p></li>
<li><p>Enhanced awareness in the form of signs like “Please don’t put anything but waffle batter in the waffle iron. Some people may be allergic to the ingredients you add. The ingredients in waffle batter are…”</p></li>
<li><p>Cross-contamination due to proximity:</p></li>
<li><p>removal of chopped nuts from ice cream sundae bars, making them available either elsewhere in the room or in individually-packaged portions that people could carry away from the table</p></li>
<li><p>removal of nuts (and arguably, eggs and fish, other key allergens) from the main part of the salad bar. They can be placed elsewhere for people who want them.</p></li>
<li><p>placement of jars of peanut butter separate from the station where bread is available. I am not sure whether it’s advantageous to have individual portions of peanut butter (because those packages could be left all over and would be problematic) or jars of peanut butter. The problem with jars is the knives, and the proclivity of people to put a knife with peanut butter on it into a jar of something else. </p></li>
</ol>
<p>P.S. I know some people are allergic to soy, but if you aren’t, try soynut butter. It’s excellent.</p>
<p>I think this is an important point. For those of you who are current students: Is it common for students to have food in their possession when they come into the dining halls? </p>
<p>If it is, then having peanut-free dining halls might only benefit the college and the outside vendor (if there is one) that operates the dining halls – by decreasing their liability. It would not actually benefit peanut-allergic students much.</p>
<p>My younger daughter hates peanuts, too. We were advised not to let her have them until after she could be allergy tested at age 2, because her older sister already had documented peanut allergy. (I understand this is fairly common advice for all babies now, but it wasn’t then.) Then she rarely had them, due to growing up in a peanut-free house. </p>
<p>My older daughter (the peanut-allergic one) won’t eat any peanut butter substitutes because the texture freaks her out. She can’t get past thinking it will kill her and doesn’t even want to try sunflower butter, soynut butter, almond butter, etc. (She’s not allergic to tree nuts.)</p>
<p>Deskpotato, you are making so much sense you are starting to sound like the inspectors from the health department. They have rules to prevent cross contamination of many different items. I believe that my state requires labeling of foods with nut products. At least that is what a local restaurant owner told me. Over the last 6 months, labels started showing up at the buffet line, menus, etc. It is a good thing. Despite those efforts, we avoid restaurants serving any peanut products.</p>
<p>Would you eat in a restaurant where no peanut products are served but where diners might bring them in?</p>
<p>Here I am thinking of Chipotle. There are no peanut products on the menu, but the employees at my local Chipotle don’t object if parents bring in food from outside for small children who won’t eat anything from Chipotle’s menu because the food is too spicy. They want the rest of the family’s business. If the parents bring a peanut butter sandwich for the child who won’t eat anything Mexican, they won’t say a thing.</p>
<p>This is similar to the situation romanigypsieyes described, in which students might bring peanut products into a peanut-free dining hall. </p>
<p>Would your family eat in my local Chipotle? Or would the situation be too risky?</p>
<p>Desk Potato…probably a really good idea that your daughter won’t try Almond butter. As our daughter’s allergist said, there are very few ( if any) peanut factories! Factories that process peanuts generally process other nuts, so the risk of cross contamination is very real.</p>
<p>Such a scary thing for a kid to always have to wonder if her food is safe, or if it could hurt her.</p>
<p>Marian…your post was directed elsewhere, but my 02 on Chipotle issue…for the hyper allergic ( reaction from airborne exposure), I’d stay away IF I knew their was risk. This kind of kid will likely not be able to enjoy very meals out, and will have to modify life greatly. No way around it…it would stink! For others, who must touch/ingest to react, I’d carry Clorox wipes and scrub the tables/ chairs. Probably bring in a water bottle and utensils too, so as not to use common soda fountain or utensils that are in common area.</p>
<p>Life is just harder for allergic peeps. But, we’ve managed the past 21 years, albeit w/ 2serious and scary reactions.</p>
<p>Ironic considering IMO…it’s really the other way around. Those who demand the right to peanuts/nuts without thought/regard to risk of severe allergic reactions which could be lethal or even kill those allergic to them are the ones with the entitlement mentality. </p>
<p>I don’t even think one can even get a pass on ignorance of such issues anymore considering the fact such issues have been raised by medical professionals, researchers, and newsmedia over the last 2 decades at least. </p>
<p>Hence, their seeming need for the whaaambulance. </p>
<p>As much as I love peanuts/peanut butter, I don’t see how deprivation of one type of food in a mandatory dorming environment like a residential college could result in anything remotely on the level of severe reactions requiring epi-pens, hospitalization, or even death.</p>
<p>Cobrat…entitlement does, indeed, go both ways.</p>
<p>Smokers would argue that they have the right to smoke, and that bans are a violation of that right. I argue that you polluting our shared airspace is a violation of my right to not breathe in poison. How is the nut issue any different?</p>
<p>Accordingly, if, as romanigypsieyes suggested, students might bring peanut products into the dining hall at college, having a dining hall that serves only peanut-free foods would not meet the needs of a student with such a severe allergy. That student might still have to request an exemption from the dining plan and, if necessary, exemptions from other rules (like a rule that all freshmen must live in the dorms or a rule that freshman cannot have cars; the student might need a car to get to a supermarket). This would modify life greatly on a campus where living in the college residences is an important part of college life.</p>
<p>But having a peanut-free dining hall would protect the college from liability, which is probably what the college cares about the most.</p>
<p>I’m the one who mentioned the inconspicuously peanut-free company cafeteria at the place where I work. People can bring their own food into the cafeteria and eat with colleagues who buy the cafeteria food. So it seems that our company’s cafeteria isn’t really available to anyone with a severe peanut allergy. The peanut-free policy mostly protects my employer and the catering company rather than severely peanut-allergic employees. :(</p>
<p>Most almond butter actually has a cross-contamination warning on the jar.</p>
<p>I actually made some myself. This was the only time I bought something from an infomercial. Remember the ad for the “Thunderstick Pro” where they stuck the immersion blender in a can of cocktail peanuts and turned it into peanut butter? I actually BOUGHT that thing thinking I’d make almond butter. I got the almonds at Trader Joe’s (which has a really good allergen-warning practice–rendering just about every cookie or candy product they sell off limits, although thanks to helpful posts on this thread I now know that is a GOOD thing that protected my kid from harmful exposure to the empty calories of Schoolhouse Cookies) where the almonds do NOT have a peanut warning although many of the other nut products do. </p>
<p>Turns out it was gross. I couldn’t figure out how to make it into anything resembling a spread.</p>
<p>Years later I did spot a jar of almond butter without a cross-contamination warning (it might even have said peanut-free) and brought it home and discovered I didn’t like it. It needed lots of sugar and salt. I love almonds, but they don’t make a great spread. (I believe peanut butter has sugar and salt as well…I probably wouldn’t like it without those additives.)</p>
<p>I think you’re right. Someone with allergies so severe that they could be affected by airborne exposure to someone else’s breath or the aerosolized particles released when someone opens a Clif bar is going to have great difficulties in any public environment. I don’t know the prevalence of allergies of that severity. We have been very, very fortunate that this is not my daughter’s lot. I can’t imagine how constraining that would be.</p>