AIBU to report nut-containing muffins being brought into a nut-free school?

[AlmondFlourmuffins]

I’m really conflicted whether to keep quiet about something or not . If I say something it will be completely obvious it was me that reported.

Dd best friend always takes in a homemade muffin to school as has packed lunch. Dd had a play date and when I picked her up said that she had some and can we make them for her lunches after the half term break so I asked for the recipe.
One was a ‘Bakewell muffin’ made with almond flour and glace cherries the other was a peanut butter chocolate and banana marbled muffin. The thing is it’s a nut free school and when I said ‘oh I’m surprised you’ve got away with this’ after she shared the recipe she just laughed. Now I’m feeling like it’s wrong?

I know in the class there are no nut allergies but I have no idea obviously about the rest of the year/school. But if I say something is it going to cause a massive problem ? This is dd best friend and I just don’t know what to do ?

Any food can be an allergen. Milk allergy (also very common) is actually far more dangerous in terms of aerosolisation/cross contamination but nobody would think about banning that! Blanket bans provide a false sense of security

Is it not just a lot easier to be nut-free than dairy-free? Most people without allergies probably consume significantly more dairy than nuts. It’s interesting to hear that allergy charities are against nut-free schools. I think the point is though that if a school has said they are nut-free, that needs to be supported by all families, whatever Allergy UK might say.

I had this argument at a playgroup as children were alowed to eat around all the play areas and would walk around with a cheese string, cheese crisps, yoghurt tubes.. in their hand dropping it on the floor. I asked if their was anyway that food could be eaten at the tables provided due to allergies and I was told it was too hard to police, that a milk allergy was no way the same as nuts as they are not nearly as dangerous 🙄🙄🙄

I stopped going to the group.

Not sure what type nuts were in your pesto, but for what it’s worth pine nuts aren’t considered nuts for the purposes of allergy labelling in the UK and Europe, though they are in the US.
It’s very confusing.
My nut allergic child avoids them anyway.

A lot of cheap pesto has cashew in it, because pine nuts are so expensive.

You can't police what people eat at home or say they can't ever eat nuts in their own kitchen, so can't eliminate the risk of cross contamination.

A nut free school? Seriously? How on earth is this even enforced.

Indeed

But it is interesting that most of those getting on their high horse about bringing nuts into school would probably freak out if told not to bring in cheese /yoghurt /milk yet they carry the exact same danger to my children as a peanut butter sandwich

Please know I’m not trying to downplay dairy allergy at all, but just to say that one reason dairy is listed as the highest incidence for anaphylactic deaths in children in the UK is simply because nuts are categorised into three separate groups in the studies…peanuts, tree nuts, unidentified nuts. Collectively, nuts are responsible for more anaphylactic deaths in children (and far more in adults when dairy is much less of a danger).

In addition, more dairy is consumed than nuts by children in the UK.

I’d never say dairy isn’t nearly as dangerous.
Taking the above factors into account however, nuts are still the more dangerous of the two, even for children. This is at a population level, not at an individual level, of course.

Indeed. But all foods (and many other things) are potential allergens

Most allergy deaths in children these days are due to cows milk protein.

There have been several high profile deaths from children in recent years due to exposure to cows milk protein at school

So it's hypocritical to judge someone for taking in a cake containing nuts if you are sending your child in with cheese /yoghurt etc.

(Mine are allergic to milk and nuts )

Nobody is saying that! I’m talking about a child eating nut products in the dining hall.

Right. You expect a reception aged child to sort their own allergy? You’re also forgetting some have air borne allergies too. It’s not just teaching kids not to eat stuff. It could be life or death for a child if Mary opens up her nut containing lunchbox in front of someone with an allergy! Kids can go without nuts for one meal a day!

It must be very hard for children with any allergy but such a serious dairy allergy must make life incredibly hard.

Oh no I am not saying one is worse than the other. I am just saying that the amount of uneducation with dairy allergy is massive.

all allergies should be treated equal. Not saying bans but limiting contamination in settings of all allergies should be a viable option.

I remember DDs school advising us not to have peanut butter at breakfast due to a child with a nut allergy in their school. Fuck that.

How extraordinary! Your reaction is shocking.

@SunnyRedSnail I agree with the sentiment to teach children never to share food and to know when they are having a reaction.

But sometimes children are just too young to know what they are feeling. My friend's son was diagnosed with a nut allergy at 17 months, he literally started wheezing in the kitchen and swelling up. The kitchen was completely clean, the bins had been emptied as they had a small party the night before. The only thing that was out on the unit was some uncovered nuts in a bowl.

Send that child to school aged just 4, they have no idea what their symptoms feel like. We have had children faint because they feel funny but have no idea that they are lightheaded until they hit the deck. My friend's son actually exposed himself to nuts because he would be going off to uni and wanted to know what it actually felt like to react so he could spot it.

You could argue all day long about whether nut free schools are a good idea or not. The point is that this school is nut-free and a parent is sending in nut-based food and laughing when it's pointed out.

The nut free (or any allergen free) policy doesn't mean parents can't teach their children to behave as if it wasn't, rather than being complacent. You can never completely eliminate risk, in any situation - it's about risk reduction, not risk elimination.

You realised you are literally saying fuck that to a child potentially having anaphylactic shock?

shocking (and disgusting)

Why? No one would be shocked by people consuming vast amounts of dairy products or egg at breakfast then sending their children off to school

I don't think there's any point in blanket bans tbh. My niece has a severe peanut allergy and if people have had peanut butter for breakfast and came in and touched the desk and she touched it after then she could have an eczema flair up. You can't ban people from having peanut butter for breakfast.

Peanut allergens are not airborne so just being in the same room as someone eating them won't cause a reaction.

I agree that I also know a child with a milk allergy and no one has banned milk because of it. I can find on Google several cases of children dying due to milk allergy in school but no one is banning dairy products.

It's awful, but I'm not sure what the school could do to be honest. The parent obviously doesn't care, so even if they talk to her, she probably won't do it right. The only way I can see this working is if the school said everything has to be shop bought and sent in it's original packing, but that would discriminate against poorer families who couldn't afford to buy pre-packed stuff, be hideous for the environment etc. Or if they banned packed lunches altogether, but that would starve the kids who had strict diets in other ways....

It’s interesting to see different takes on this. My son has a peanut allergy and last year had to have his EpiPen administered in school because another child took a chocolate bar with peanuts in and coughed near him.

His consultant has told us that having allergic reactions after allergic reaction can cause more severe reactions because the immune system becomes more sensitised. It’s a real worry for me, he knows how to use his EpiPen, as does his brother and other family members and it’s kept in an easily accessible place. So in terms on managing and teaching him, at age 5 he does very well. He’s vigilant of what other people eat and will ask if things have nuts in. He, as well as the rest of the family know how serious it can be. We’re very lucky that the staff at the school are vigilant too. When he had to have his EpiPen, the school emailed out to say that a child had needed rescue medication and reinforced not to bring nuts in.

We are never going to eliminate the risk but we manage it well and it helps when other people do what they can too.

That says more about you really

Again, I think the point here is that when people are asked to avoid a food for reasons of child safety and then happily flout that, it is dangerous. If my child’s school or my own school made a similar request about dairy and explained the request, I would honour that equally.