"He eats meat, but can't eat any processed meat."

[Flangelica]

If someone said this to you when you asked about dietary requirements for a child, would you think they were massively w*nky/snobby, or is it socially acceptable and fine?

I also had some bad experiences of processed meat as a child - the processed turkey at school was horrid from a texture point of view and I had many a lunch time sent to stand with my nose against the wall as I just couldn't eat it.

I once had a fishfinger that had skin in it too and even now I can't even look at one without heaving.

Fortunately my dd will wolf down a sausage roll or a pork pie so I've not passed on any of my traits to her!

No just means no sausages or chicken nuggets.

This

You don’t need to make up an allergy or otherwise lie but if you said that me “No allergies but we’re pretty much veggie at home,” then I’d find that much clearer and easier than “He does eat meat, but not processed meat” because then I’d have to clarify exactly what you meant and what was OK and what wasn’t etc.

The word 'can't' is a bit ridiculous

I disagree. Would you say that if someone said they can’t eat peanuts? I think “can’t” is pretty self-explanatory.
My go to meal whenever DD had friends for tea was pasta with tomato sauce and grated cheese.

I don’t feed my kids processed meat either
Its all absolutely shit
🤷‍♀️

Egg, chips and beans for tea then.

I'd ask what about processed meat he was allergic to, in case there were any E numbers etc I needed to watch out for in general that I might encounter in other ingredients.

But I have actual allergies, so wanky preferences wind me up.

In reality, I'd just feed him something with vegetables in it and not serve any meat.

I don't eat processed meat too, so I wouldn't think anything.

@OneTC 🤣I don’t think it’s unique to moi. It’s oxalates that you should avoid and I think something in the process of making instant coffee ups the oxalate levels per cup. I still drink coffee just one/two cups of ground rather than instant. The weirdest (to me) high oxalate food is rhubarb! So yummy and yet sooooo bad.

But then you can't have some other stuff also. If the kids got an anaphylaxis type allergy to food and it's parents are this vague then it's gonna be spending alot of time in hospital

If it’s an allergy I’d want to know what the allergens were, so I knew what to check for in other foods.

When my kids were little I tended to put a selection of food on the table and let them choose .

I think it’s ok, processed meat is so shit I don’t eat it either.

I don’t eat pork out of choice, if I went to a relatives house and they served pork I’d eat it out of respect for them.

Processed meat like those revolting Barney faces, or processed meat like normal bacon or sausage?

Everyone's different but he might have an allergy to all the shit they put in processed food.

I wouldn't think anything of it. It's a small requirement, easier than dealing with a dairy or nut allergy for example.

It's not fine. If you hand your kids over to someone else to feed and then suggest that their quality of food doesn't meet your minimum standard, it's rude

Exactly. People ask out of courtesy to check: a) no allergies (obviously vital), b) that the child isn’t vegetarian and c) no obvious dislikes to save embarrassment all round. So it’s fine to say “he eats meat but he doesn’t like sausages”. It’s not fine to say “I need to reiterate a minimum standard for food”. Don’t send your children to someone’s house if you’re not happy for them to “bunk in” with that family and they way they do things.

I would assume preference, if it's an allergy I would have thought they would be more explicit about it.
Don't see how frozen pizza or fish fingers, which are also processed are any healthier, if its a health concern.

Well it's a broad term. I'd need further details. Is fresh mince 'processed meat' for example? Sliced ham from a joint?

if I was presented with this, I'd just feed them something veggie for simplicity.

I'd think it was allergies - possibly sulphites if they've said processed meat.

Absolutely fine, cook a chicken or make tomato pasta.

I’ve had previous bad reactions to some cheap sausages and burgers so I avoid. Started in childhood. Hotdogs have triggered me in past. Last time I had horrific hives that lasted a couple of months.

DC has a friend whose parent has stage four bowel cancer at age 35, due to a BRAF gene mutation. I wouldn't feed this friend any processed meat at a playdate (though he's mad for ham as he never gets it!). I don't think of this as wanky or a fad, it's actually sensible - processed meat is carcinogenic. We do have ham and sausages sometimes but we've really cut down in recent years.

I suspect in the future, feeding kids ham will be seen in the same light we now see exposing them to passive smoke.

I was talking to friend yesterday who is a microbiologist in the food sector. They made the point mentioned by a pp - that many people in the industry think that nitrates and several types of processed meat will be banned within 5 years.

Or rather, those recommendations will be made to the government, and if it's still THIS government, then the whole thing will be ripped up or ignored.

Anyone avoiding them now - even in 'good' bacon and sausages - is ahead of the curve.

Yes, it feels about as polite as "my child only eats organic food."

If it is just about meat quality, a more polite statement is "my child only eats vegetarian food when out, but don't worry about cross-contamination etc, it's not a big deal if you cook things in the same pan, etc."

Actual allergies are different. They should always be accommodated. I think if your kid has a couple of mainstream allergies, you should offer to send food, but that offer should be refused by the host because it's not that hard to deal with. If your child has loads of complicated ones where they have to have a very limited diet (not by choice), then I think that has to become more of a real offer.

No, I'd think either;

they had some religious dietary issues that excludes pork , often found in processed meats like sausages, ready meals etc. Or

Their child reacts badly to common additives (colourings/flavourings, gluten etc) often found in processed meats (burgers, sausages).

Could be a close relative has had or even died of bowel cancer for which eating processed meat is a risk factor and the family avoid eating it.