To think schools searching sandwiches is a bit much

[Comewhatmay25]

Just found out my DDs school search their lunchboxes everyday. But not just lunch boxes but open sandwiches to see the filling and open flasks to see what's inside. This feels very intrusive and I wonder if it could have the opposite effect of cross contamination. It's not done by staff in the kitchen just dinner ladies with no gloves on or nearby handfasting facilities. AIBU to think this is disgusting and intrusive or is there a need for it?
Does anyone else's school do this?

How is this even relevant

I'm pretty sure everyone understands the reason but the point of the post is that the method is intrusive, unsanitary and potentially creates greater risk.

There is no way that some random teacher without gloves going from sandwich ti sandwich touching each one is an appropriate way of monitoring.

If the dc themselves say with their sandwiches opened them and a teacher walked around checking then that would be better. But man handing food and not washing between sandwiches just spreads germs and more importantly any allergen. It's stupid

It's not at all impossible. Most dc may get school dinners do it would only be a minority of dc. And it was assistants. So it might be each class assistant just doing that class or that year group.

It's stupid and risks spreading germs and allergens.

Any child who has an immediate allergic response is at risk of a severe reaction. Reactions can vary depending on health/stress levels/hormones etc. but there's no "mild" allergy if you are having an immediate response.

There is non -iGe allergy where you get a delayed response eg stomach trouble /eczema (used to be called intolerance)

But anything giving an instant allergic reaction should be treated seriously

Yet parents of children with milk allergies have to send their children into school knowing they will be surrounded by milk, yoghurt, cheese....

(Mine have nut and milk allergies)

In my pediatric first aid training, I was told the most common childhood life threatening allergy in the UK is now milk.

I don't know if it's true, but I can't see why the first aid trainer would otherwise say this.

Milk. That stuff that schools are covered in and that is in many products in nearly all lunch boxes.

My school has serious milk allergies and very mild nut allergies... We exclude nuts, check for nuts - but milk products are grand. It boggles my mind, every time I check what snack someone has while they run about a playground carrying a tiny milk carton.

If you're certain it's happening (and off things do happen in schools), then I'd raise it as a food safety and hygiene issue. I don't mind opening a lunch box and giving it an eye, but hands in all the sandwiches is a massive cross contamination risk and food hygiene issue.

In my pediatric first aid training, I was told the most common childhood life threatening allergy in the UK is now milk.

I dug into this a while back. I'm going from memory so any or all of this could be wrong, but:

• milk allergies are more common than nut and peanut allergies
• nut and peanut allergies are less common but more severe on average
• the stats separate out nuts and peanuts (which is correct), and I think unknown nut as well. When this is done, milk is responsible for the most fatal reactions

It's really really important that people understand this, people with life threatening allergies to milk, egg and who knows how many other rarer things really struggle to be taken seriously. Whereas as soon as I mention peanuts for DD people start asking me if she'd die if someone ate peanuts on a plane (no).

As a milk allergy sufferer with a child with a milk allergy, I would be raging if they did this to my child's lunchbox. Touching the sandwiches with butter or cheese or Nutella or whatever then touching my child's sandwiches with the same gloves will get the butter/cheese/Nutella on my child's sandwich. It's really poor food hygiene. I would be really angry and unable to not die on this hill. I would report this to environmental health because the risk for cross contamination is through the roof. No one should be interfering with other people's food to this extent.

Yes.

I'm pleased to hear that paediatric first aid training covers that now.

How have you seen it, do you work in the school?

Totally unreasonable and I work in a school.

They should not be touching anyone's food, yes you might notice a lunch box full of crisps and Oreo's but taking sandwiches apart is a no.

The school shouldn’t be doing this. What do other schools do when they have students with severe food allergies?

I remember my son’s classmate had a severe nut allergy, so the school was nut free, parents were supported with info about what they can be hidden in, and the classes with allergic children in would use the dining hall first.

If any danger foods were sent it, they would be disposed of and the parents phoned. But that was rare because no one wanted to risk hurting or killing a child!

Umm because of the seriousness they did a full investigation.

They're actually opening the sandwiches to see what's in them? Yuck. That is disgusting. Personally I would refuse to eat it after someone had been putting their possibly unwashed fingers on it.

My daughter is anaphylactic to wheat so I would be fucking apoplectic if I found out people were rootling through other kids' sandwiches before touching her food. Stupidest. Policy. Ever.

We had a flight back from holiday last year where the airline would not serve any packets of nuts due to one person declaring a nut allergy. Not good (could be dangerous and expensive) on a plane if it kicks off. Sounds like one child may have an extreme allergy reaction that it's best to avoid.

However the risk of cross contamination by one person checking all the sandwiches probaby increases the risk exponentially.

I'm new to the allergy world so it's not something I've ever had to think much about before now but I've noticed how strict schools are about nut products, with repeated reminders about not bringing them in but I don't think I've ever had a letter regarding dairy. Why do you think this is?

It's not because of the lack of severity for dairy allergies. It's because it's easier to ask people to avoid something like nuts. You can't easily ask people to cut out dairy.

My son is allergic to dairy, nuts and kiwi. Easy to ask people to not bring in nuts or kiwi (so school have done so, albeit at the request of previous parents). Impossible to expect it when it comes to dairy.

We're pragmatic about it but it is a huge risk (he has reacted badly just to contact - and Karanbir Cheema sadly died just from contact with cheese at school)

Umm still.. I don’t see how an investigation would uncover a specific child who happened to have eaten x at breakfast, then touched specific pieces of fruit. It seems unlikely. Not doubting the allergic reaction happened, just dubious as to how you know exactly which kid it was.

Are you serious? It was a full investigation because of how serious it was and you want to question the results? It doesn’t matter what kid did it. It was innocent and there was no blame. It was to ensure better measures were in place and avoid going forward.

Indeoendant school. 15 kids in the class. Every kid was asked what they had for breakfast and parent verified. Only one had eggs for breakfast and chose the fruit right before rhe girl with the allergy. It didn’t take MI5. The girl said she touched the exact fruit that was then eaten by the girl with allergies. Bowl of fruit was washed before being out iIt. Geez.

Absolutely and what I also didn’t appreciate is the nut particles can be airborne. So yes absolutely cross contamination on a plane but also proximity to nuts being consumed.

Personally if this is really happening I would speak to the local authority's food hygiene team and raise your concerns about food cross contamination. Its not OK.

I also call bullshit.
You start by saying‘I have just found out that my DD’s school….’
Then, after not getting the responses you expect you say ‘ I have personally seen it with my own eyes…’ How have you seen it with your own eyes?
Do you work at DD school, if you you should be able to explain what is happening in context.
i think you’re just telling porkies

This is outrageous, OP.

You should question it from several angles -

Hygiene
Cross contamination
Gross intrusion/ privacy
What end could possibly justify the means chosen here

What are they looking for ?

contraband

or to check no nuts /squash as only meant to be water

but always a few on our class app who say xxx won’t drink water so give him squash