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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

School rules and nuts

371 replies

Bagsalot · 25/10/2018 21:16

My daughter is 11 yesterday was her birthday. She took an asda tray bake to school with her. She wasn't allowed to share it as apparently some where on the box it says may contain nuts. This has never been an issue before. Today an email came out stating no nuts or seeds allowed in school including lunchboxes. My daughter's in year 6 has been at the school since nursery age 2, this has never been mentioned. I've asked to see the risk assessment. I feel it's an unreasonable policy but possibly I'm being unreasonable

OP posts:
manicinsomniac · 25/10/2018 23:16

Actually, I don't think YABU.

I work in a nut free school and nearly all children bring cake in for their birthdays (don't agree with that but that's another thread!) They are absolutely not allowed to bring in something that has got nuts, peanut butter, sesame seeds etc in. And rightly so. We have 4 epipen allergic children in school. But generic 'may contain traces of nuts' are on almost anything shop bought and are just a way for the shops to cover themselves. If things like that couldn't be served to the school population as a whole they'd barely eat. I always check packaging on non nut products and, if the the 'traces' warning is there then a child with a nut allergy wouldn't get it but the others would. The children with the severe allergies tend not to eat anything at all that hasn't been plated for them specifically in the school kitchens, regardless of what it is. Which is sad for them but the only way to guarantee that we keep them safe.

frogsoup · 25/10/2018 23:16

I think that would be madness and I say that as the parent of a child with a severe dairy allergy. The anaphylaxis campaign say bans are dangerous and counterproductive - what more knowledgeable advice are people looking for?!

frogsoup · 25/10/2018 23:16

Sorry that was to atsea

ladydickisathingapparently · 25/10/2018 23:19

Yeah the Anaphylaxis Campaign hasn’t exactly covered itself in glory recently over the National Epipen shortage so I’m frankly not all that surprised. Sad as previously I’d have trusted their advice.

frogsoup · 25/10/2018 23:19

Yes manic, how many people for eg know that 'groundnut oil' is peanut oil? It'd be madness to trust in random parents to be able to make guaranteed nut-free cakes. Bans breed dangerous complacency.

frogsoup · 25/10/2018 23:24

How so ladydick? It's hardly their fault?Confused Not sure how it affects the validity of their longstanding advice about peanut bans either...

MeteorMedow · 25/10/2018 23:27

As someone who has lived for years with several allergies in the familiy I can tell you right now that ‘may contain nuts’ is on EVERYTHING even the dairy free, egg free, wheat free & gluten free cornflakes I currently have in my kitchen ‘May Contain Nuts’ 😂

So good luck to any school banning all trace of nuts - no manufacturer likes to guarantee no nuts!

Banning actual nuts though or items in which nuts are a prominent ingredient - I totally understand that.

madeyemoodysmum · 25/10/2018 23:29

But the cake said 'may contain'. So surely that will Apply to virtually all snacks in the children's pack lunches

R they going to police every food that enters the school that thoroughly .

And I speak as a parent of a nut allergy sufferer.

YesILikeItToo · 25/10/2018 23:31

In an effort to avoid products marked ‘may contain nuts’ I went online to do some research because if you just stood in a supermarket reading the packets you’d be there a long time searching. A store that markets snacks to nut allergy sufferers was selling Bear Yo-yos so I bought some of those. They are marked ‘Stored in a cave where nuts are also stored’ Hmm.

ladydickisathingapparently · 25/10/2018 23:32

The advice the AC offered on adrenaline injector shortages was too little too late; in fact as recently as a month ago they were denying there was any shortage. If you call yourself a campaign and you completely fail to heed the importance of a national shortage of lifesaving medication connected with that campaign, and more to the point you are subsequently proved to have been wrong, then yes I’m afraid I’m going to question the competence and professionalism of your organisation. Literally a case of - you had ONE JOB!

Iaimtomisbehave1 · 25/10/2018 23:33

@ladydickisathingapparently

How is it there fault? They aren't involved in production... Or have I missed some connection?

Iaimtomisbehave1 · 25/10/2018 23:33

*their

Coconutspongexo · 25/10/2018 23:34

Why don’t some people grasp how serious nut allergies are??

I can LITERALLY die if I’m even around nuts I don’t have to ingest them!

ladydickisathingapparently · 25/10/2018 23:37

Who said they were involved in production of Epipens? Not me?

It’s been very clear for over the past 18 months that all autoinjectors are getting harder to get hold of. A situation they not only ignored but denied was a problem until last month.

Coconutspongexo · 25/10/2018 23:38

queen

Very rarely eat out - but that’s also due to other issues.
Don’t do cinemas or anything.
Never had an issue with public transport in the past.
I’ve never been to a supermarket where I’ve come into contact with open nuts.
It’s worse when you’re in a small warm room or a room with air con. Anti histamines and epi pens at all times

frogsoup · 25/10/2018 23:39

" as recently as a month ago they were denying there was any shortage."

On their website they've been posting regular updates about EpiPen shortages since at least March of this year, and offering advice about alternatives?!

AtSea1979 · 25/10/2018 23:40

frogsoup why is it dangerous to ban dairy in a school where they have a child with a life threatening allergy to it?
I work in a school with a child who has a life threatening allergy to wheat and I have a seperate toaster for his snack etc. I also have a brother with a severe nut allergy and he only has to smell peanuts to go in to anaphylaxis.

TheMythicalChicken · 25/10/2018 23:40

I visited a school recently that take a different approach. They have quite a few children allergic to various things and have a noticeboard in each classroom with all their pictures, what they’re allergic to, what to do in the event of an allergic reaction, etc.

Where they differ is that they put the whole responsibility onto the allergic child. They are responsible for not eating food they’re allergic to, they are responsible for getting their Epi-Pen to take out on trips, etc.

And nuts are not banned.

ladydickisathingapparently · 25/10/2018 23:46

What alternatives? ALL autoinjectors have been affected by supply problems!

29th September 2018 in an interview with Sky she stated that it was “very unlikely” that Epipen users wouldn’t be able to get hold of new pens. News to me as mine expired end of that month and I had an absolute nightmare. But as you say, that’s a deviation from their advice as to nut bans which (certainly for primary school) I’m fully in agreement with.

Coconutspongexo · 25/10/2018 23:54

Where they differ is that they put the whole responsibility onto the allergic child. They are responsible for not eating food they’re allergic to, they are responsible for getting their Epi-Pen to take out on trips, etc.

Well this is stupid considering a child can’t help if it they have a reaction from someone else eating nuts, nevermind the fact that epipens don’t always work and they still need medical attention afterwards

queenbeetofive · 25/10/2018 23:56

@Dippingmytoesin i sympathy with anyone who suffers/has a child with a nut allergy it must be awful to live with that constant fear of being exposed

Aus84 · 26/10/2018 00:14

OP, I don't think its unreasonable to wonder, after all these years, why you have not heard about the nut policy. They may not have been able to share the risk assessment with you as it named the child/ren with the allergy but to for the school not to make sure the parents are aware each year is pretty bad. Nut bans are very very common but its still important for a school to put the information out there.

I would have thought a plain sponge cake is fine, so I can see why you'd be confused about that. Our policy states that food labelled as 'may contain nuts' or 'made in a factory that also produces nuts' is fine as that would rule out most package foods. In your position I would also be interested in viewing the policy as, if it clearly states you can't have foods labelled as 'may contain nuts', it's going to make finding suitable packaged foods pretty difficult.

At my kids' school they are taught from day one to thoroughly wash hands before and after eating, sit down in a supervised area while eating and to never share food.

LizB62A · 26/10/2018 00:17

You will need to make any future cake yourself as virtually all such products say "may contain nuts" as the companies like to cover myself.

At my sister's work canteen one day (at a very large company) the plain baked potatoes had a sign next to them "May Contain Nuts".
She asked what was on the potatoes - the answer was "nothing, there's nothing at all, completely plain but we need to cover ourselves just in case".
And she's got a severe nut allergy. She had the potato for lunch with baked beans Smile

LizB62A · 26/10/2018 00:18

-myself- = themselves !!

mathanxiety · 26/10/2018 02:08

You are asking for the risk assessment just to be a curmudgeon then.

Someone will have to find it and either put it in the post for you or send an email attachment. What are you going to do once you see it? Dispute it?

Way to waste the time of someone in your DD's school office.

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