To buy ‘may contain’ food labels for catering large event

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I’ve been tasked with buying the snacks for our primary school disco. Biscuits, popcorn, squash, sweets etc….

instructions are that biscuits must not contain milk, nuts, seeds. AIBU to buy if they say ‘May contain’ on the label but not listed as an ingredient? Struggling to find biscuits that don’t say this. Catering for 300 kids and some have severe allergies to milk and nuts.

Also who did this last year and what did they buy? They will know what they got with your exact budget. Personally, if I'm catering for allergies at parties, I buy from the Free From section of the supermarket but it really depends on your budget.

Asda, waitrose, Ocado they all have “free from” sections, the biscuits there did look a bit nuff and boring though. Can you just skip the biscuits and buy free from cake instead? Those looked great!

They'll be surrounded by may contains day in day out, including at school. No school is free of may contain anything, including nuts.

I'd say scrap the biscuits too and focus on stuff that can be guaranteed free from eg sweets

But you can't say that with 100% certainty. You literally cannot know that a person with allergies will be OK with that food being open, eaten and on the hands and faces of other kids.

I can say that my DS would be OK, but I wouldn't make that choice for others.

When I've done parties in the past, I've asked everyone to confirm what level of labelling they are happy with and worked to whatever the strictest response was. So if everyone's happy with "may contain" I went with that, but when my relatives child came, it couldn't even be food with warnings about "made in the same factory..."

Presumably your DC go to the school OP? Unless may contains are banned in packed lunches then you'll be fine as long as you can ensure you know who the DC with allergies are and that they won't be served anything they aren't allowed.

‘May contain’ labeling I’ve seen on packs of nuts. You cannot trust labeling on most products imo if you have a genuine allergy.

So with my allergy I have to actually consume the ingredient at volume. My cousin cannot be in the same.room as peanuts however so YABU

www.lancasterschools.org/cms/lib/NY19000266/Centricity/Domain/834/NUT-FREE%20%20DAIRY-FREE%20%20EGG-FREE%20SNACKS.pdf

Does this list help?
Oreo's look promising

That's because people are often only allergic to one or more type of nut (or peanuts which aren't actually a nut) but are able to eat others, and actively encouraged to do so to reduce the probability of further allergies.

A may contain statement helps them work out the cross contamination risk.

That’s a great list, I’ve saved it for future parties!

small packs of Haribo?

You couldn’t possibly know this about all schools.

My son has allergies (dairy, soya, egg) and he can have ‘may contain’. Some companies use ‘may contain’ to advise that their product has been made in the same environment as another product containing a certain allergen, which can be an issue for some people. The school really needs to tell you what‘s ok and not, as it depends on the kids. It’s normal for us to be asked to provide something ‘safe’ for school/PTA events, which then gets put aside and not mixed up with food for the other kids - is that an option? Otherwise, try Tesco Oaties or Jammie Dodgers.

That’s a great list, I’ve saved it for future parties!

It is isn't it, obviously I'd probably check each time but a great start , dc have friends with various cultural or dietary needs

Have you ever heard of an entire school being nut, egg and dairy free, never mind may contains on top? Even nut free schools aren't recommended any more.

But OP will know if her DC's school is free from may contains day to day because they're there every day.

Sainsbury’s own hob nobs (think they’re called oaties) 60p a packet and the only allergens are wheat and soya - no ‘may contain’ warnings so should be safe for all.

Surely kids with known allergies wouldn't be eating from a mass catered buffet in the first place? You'd (and he) know he couldn't have random shop bought biscuits?

Yeah, cos they're nice at a party, aren't they. The most boring biscuits after custard creams.

@AlwaysPrettyOnTheInside

Funnily enough, as a mum of a kid with severe food allergies I value safety over exciting when it comes to food.

I suspect the parents of the children with allergies going to this event would agree.

The other kids can have their exciting food any other time when it's not endangering anyone.

The vast majority of people with allergies will not react to being in the room with others eating products that 'may contain' their allergens.
There is always a risk, but that's life with allergies. If this was an issue for a particular child then this would be well known.

It's great for children with allergies to be able to have the same as everyone else, but it's a lot of pressure on the person responsible and the chances of things going wrong are high.

I know what my child can have/ can't have, I'm an expert on his allergies. But when you're looking at multiple children, various allergies and a team of volunteers, then the safest option is for allergic children to bring their own food or their parent to be present at the party.

Or stick to vegetarian sweets and crisps for all!

Yes, from my point of view (because i learned instantly to be cynical and untrusting!) but in theory, if a parent/cafe/event says the food will be free from certain allergens then I should be able to trust that at least they have done their utmost, but that the decision is still mine based on likely risks. If they say food may contain an allergen then my decision is an informed one. What they shouldn't do is say the event is free from X and X when it's actually not.

I've seen someone have an anaphylaxis reaction in a restaurant after being told their food would be allergen free and prepared completely separately.

So in this case if the school confirm that "may contain" is an acceptable level then it's all good, but if they don't then it's not acceptable to take that risk.

Tesco bourbons don’t have milk or nuts or precautionary allergen labelling for eother

also check Oreo’s and party ring s

The thing is with may contain labelling though, it’s not a requirement, so stuff could well be “may contain” and not labelled as such. It’s a minefield

intbink most supermarkets have policies that require it though so own brand prob is the best bet

I agree with this 100% as a parent of 2 children with severe allergies.