To wonder what is dangerous about my child’s lunch

Utterly ridiculous. So if you go to the park and there's a kid with an allergy there are your favourite foods banned? Because there's a risk it could squire or splatter there too. What about if you get a plane and there's a child on the plane with an allergy? Are all other passengers banned from eating things they like eating? There's a risk you might get struck by lightning if you go outside too, should we just never go outside? So because there's a 'risk' it could splatter or squirt (even though it's never happened and probably never will), because one child has an allergy the entire year/school can not eat the things they like. Is this really what schools have descended to? That every other child has to be restricted? What about the child with the allergy being restricted to another eating area so that everyone else's kids can have a normal life?

Wow the snobbery - and misconceptions:

all ‘breads’ are processed - you have to process the grains to make the flour and then, if shop bought, it will have a shedload of salt and preservatives;
all shop-purchased chicken and tinned tuna will also be ‘processed’ to be canned or packaged
all cheese and yogurt has been processed in order to produce it from milk.

Bloody hell, my autistic/arfid kid would have starved! Thankfully he’s at secondary now, where they wouldn’t give a shit if I sent him in with a bag of Haribo and a can of Red Bull for his lunch* 😂

*I don’t

My bin men wouldn't empty my black wheelie bin the other day just put a note on it saying to remove the stuff that wasn't allowed to be in it. Really irritating. I assume it's because it had hay in it - hay which is animal bedding and according to their rules cannot go in the green bin and must be in the black bin. I hadn't bagged it up because why create more landfill, esp for stuff that disintegrates.

Nowhere is yoghurt more airborne than in the presence of a baby with a spoon

Yes true! They can literally squirt them at each other...DD isn't old enough for that to have crossed my mind 🙃

Your school bans UPFs? How on earth do they define UPFs? It's a very new concept (with no single definition that I've ever seen) to have made it to the banned list.

Milk allergies can be airborne - particularly in cafes with milk frothers, for example.

Anyone who's worked in a primary school lunch hall knows that Frubes can be airborne.

@ButteryBiscuitVase contents of frubes can become airborne!

OP has come back and said that it was the Frube as there's a dairy allergy.
Yes, dairy allergies can be airborne too.

Juice cartons, Frubes and Peperami would definitely not be allowed at our school due to the healthy food rules. Any brightly packaged snacks, UPFs or beverages containing sugar, including juice, are forbidden.

Can't see which foods go against allergies, as dairy isn't airbourne afaik. Some people can have airbourne strawberry allergies although applying that to the Frube would be a huge stretch.

@user09876543 my logic isnt flawed at all as I dont believe there should be food bans at all. I believe there should be education.

You however seem to want all the poor children with a food allergy to suffer, lump them all together and let them make all the sacrifices while all the normal kids can work away without any impact.

It is completely different to separating out children for additional resources, your child is getting additional support from the school, that's positive discriminations, what you are suggesting is the opposite of that.

Do you not think gruyere, tinned tuna and sliced chicken are not processed? Or do you cook a whole chicken just for your kid's lunch.

OP has updated, school has got back to them this morning and said it was the frube (squirty yoghurt) due to a milk allergy

I wouldn't say that lunch is 'dangerous'. Bit ultra processed for me, but not dangerous

They banned Frubes at my DS school as they were deliberately squirting tham at eachother .
As for the lunchbox Police on here you know what your child will eat OP and its better that your child actually eats something than bins it or brings it home.

No, it has no impact on those without allergies and a massive impact on those who do. In addition it does nothing to spread information about allergies or reduce risk. It doesn't help anyone as it fosters a false sense of security for all.

Could the brown bread contain nuts?

Separating out the children with allergies is a terrible idea. First of all, children with allergies can face isolation from their peers anyway, why would you want to make that worse? Secondly, do you have a group for peanut allergy sufferers, dairy, wheat, etc. or do you expect the group en masse to be the only ones not to bring the allergens in?

It's no different to having separation for any number of other things, ability groups for maths, sen provision for children with learning disabilities etc, different teams for different sporting ability. My child has a learning disability. It means he has to be in a different classroom for various subjects. Its just life and something he has to get used to.

And your logic is flawed regarding the second point. You're arguing that a large group of thousands of children should have to comply with a rule around allergens rather than a small group of a dozen or so. Making everyone comply doesn't relieve the child in the allergen group of the burden so why make everyone comply when it is avoidable.

I do agree that DC with allergies need to learn from the off that they can't eat like other kids and that they will need to be treated differently at times.

For the vast majority though there's no need to segregate them (especially as there are lots of different competing allergies). Sensible precautions like not sharing food, wiping down surfaces and washing hands will suffice.

It's much better to teach children how to manage their allergies with as little fuss as possible. I don't worry that my 6yo will eat peanuts. I do worry that one day she'll be a rebellious 14yo and head to Five Guys the second my back is turned.

Also, that age old question: why Babybel? Is there a larger bel?

Back in the 80s in France at least there was a large version (might have been called Bonbel?). Me and dsis used to argue over who got to peel the wax.

As for the processed Vs upf thing I really don't know - my understanding is something is upf if it's made of things you wouldn't generally have access to in your own kitchen. For me that includes rennet!

Separating out the children with allergies is a terrible idea. First of all, children with allergies can face isolation from their peers anyway, why would you want to make that worse? Secondly, do you have a group for peanut allergy sufferers, dairy, wheat, etc. or do you expect the group en masse to be the only ones not to bring the allergens in?

Most allergies are not airborne but are contact/consume. My DS can sit beside someone eating a peanut butter sandwich and not react. The issue is that the child may get peanut butter on his hand and transfer it to the table, door handle, etc. DS can then pick it up from there.

I dont agree with food bans but would prefer educating children and parents. My DS was in primary school which had a nut ban when a classmate pulled out a peanut butter sandwich beside my DS. DS can smell peanut butter from a mile away and asked him if that is what it was. The boy when told that DS had a nut allergy offered not to eat it but DS said it was fine but asked if the boy would wash his hands afterwards. Boy said no problem.

I understand that if you dont have a child with a food allergy that you are unaware of the effect on the child and their family. Its honestly so draining worrying that your child will eat something that will kill them or that another person will eat a food around them that will kill them or land them in hospital.
The worry is constant. Just be thankful it isn't your child and have some compassion for those that have it.
If I was offered a choice of millions of pounds or for DS to be free of his allergy, there wouldn't be a seconds hesitation from me.

They'll be singled out all their lives and it's the children themselves that need to understand they can't eat or be near foods they are allergic to. Eating in a separate safe room with others who are similarly affected is a logical solution which has the least impact on everyone.

Ah there you go then, that makes sense and mystery over!

Because they have different allergies, you’d need lots of rooms. The child with the nut allergy may well want to eat dairy, no good eating with the child with the dairy allergy.

I can see that it’s annoying, but segregating children for having differences is hardly going to foster acceptance and a sense of community.