Peanut Allergy Questions

[lesliepear]

I am just curious about this.

Alan has no problem with peanuts and eats peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at home.

If I make something for his preschool class for a treat, does it matter that my utensils may have been washed in the dishwasher with a knife that had peanut butter and jelly on it? Should I take any other precautions when cooking? (I'm considering making spinach lasagna for international day for his class and we've been asked not to use peanuts - I'll read the boxes on my ingredients carefully.)

Also, are there any good online sites or articles on peanut allergies anyone can recommend? I'm considering sending something in to his preschool to share with other parents.

Comments

[bshaahtovah.livejournal.com]

It's great that you're asking this, as cross-contamination with utensils can cause reactions. If you wash/rinse the peanutty utensils before you put them into the dishwasher so that the peanut butter isn't stuck on, and if the dishwasher soap you use is regular and not organic (natural detergents don't contain bleach), then there's a better chance that the allergenic proteins will be denatured, or neutralized.

I like this site. Hope you find it interesting:

http://www.calgaryallergy.ca/aasubject_index.html

[quiltingdragon.livejournal.com]

spinach lasagna = international???

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

Lasagna is italian. I have no idea what to make this time.

The first year I did noodle pudding
Last year I made some fried rice from a recipie I found
This year I thought I'd make the spinach lasagna which is something I've done for work with great success.

[quiltingdragon.livejournal.com]

Actually, it's arabic (brought to Sicily by the Arab invaders)
but I was actually asking will 3-4 year olds eat it? My brother wouldn't touch spinach until his late teens, and neither would I.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

Alan used to love Boston Market Creamed Spinach, and still eats it a little.

It's regular lasagna with spinach mixed with the ricotta actually, they probably won't even notice it.

[quiltingdragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, ok.So there isn't much spinach. I went and found the program from Girl Scout international night, no luck there. Our italian dish was spaghetti and meatballs. :) I have a few good international recipes for german and Australian things.

[dstroy.livejournal.com]

It's more a question of what they're exposed to and what form it's in. There's nothing inherently icky about spinach. My first peanut butter and jelly sandwich consumed without gagging was in college.

My kids love spinach lasagna! And that weird Stouffers spinach soufle never lasts for leftovers. They'd eat that stuff as a main dish if they could.

[dstroy.livejournal.com]

And I should add, my parents STILL cant handle anything with peanut butter, and we're not talking allergies :)

Oh - related story - during the afganistan conflict AMerican forces were dropping food and medical supply parcels all over the desert for the civilians there...apparently these consisted of large jars of peanut butter which no one there had any idea what to do with. They had a hard time believing people EAT that stuff!

[jpallan.livejournal.com]

Whereas my kids are right now clamoring for the gumbo to be done, love okra (and we're dyed-in-the-wool Yankees!) and have a major thing for goat cheeses, Moroccan-style stuffed peppers, and salmon.

It's all a matter of what they're exposed to.

[hippybngstockng.livejournal.com]

K has a peanut allergy, and I used to share a dishwasher with my mom who despite all my complaining used to put peanut butter things only barely rinsed in all the time. He survived. Dishwashers as a rule do seem to do a good enough job that they don't let anything important to the allergy stick around. If your dishwasher is good you shouldn't have to worry. I would be more careful about things like wooden spoons and stuff like that that might have absorbed oils but don't get washed in the dishwasher- Maybe think of using only plastic or metal ones whenever you make something for school?

[butterflymama3.livejournal.com]

I am so tired of peanut allergies dictating what our children can and can't eat. I know that for these children it is life threatening and all but it is such a pain not to be able to give our kids PB&J sandwiches or snacks with PB in them.

sorry for the mini-rant... :)

[butterflymama3.livejournal.com]

No - please don't misunderstand me. I don't want to put anyone's child in danger EVER, I just am being cranky today. It seems that every other day we are hearing about something else that is banned from school for one reason or another. I am very sorry if I upset anyone.

[bshaahtovah.livejournal.com]

Your rant is understandable. It must be frustrating. On the other hand, while it's an inconvenience to avoid sending these items to school, most kids are able to eat peanut butter at home. By contrast, kids with life-threatening peanut allergies can die due to exposure to peanut butter, which is easily transferred by little hands in a school setting.

The reason you're hearing about it more in the news, is that we're talking about 2% of all students -- that's a very sizable proportion of the population.

It's very easy to say "Fine. Let them stay at home" (you're not saying this, but some do) but not all parents are able to homeschool. As a result, schools have the obligation to provide reasonable accommodations, since life-threatening allergies are considered a protected disability. Here, it's a matter of other parents being *empathetic* about what is simply "a pain" or an inconvenience. A life-threatening allergy trumps mere inconvenience every time.

I know parents who once felt the same way you do. And then, they happened to have a child with a peanut allergy, and their response became "Oh my goodness. I had no idea."

Every parent wants their child to come home alive at the end of the day. If all it takes is other parents helping to minimize the risks, then that's not only a reasonable effort, but displays the kind of unselfish behaviour we want our children to adopt with respect to their global community.

I'm not going to reply to this thread again, as I'm on bed rest and must relax, but here's an article in two parts that explains more about life-threatening allergies in a school setting. I hope it's interesting to readers.

http://www.barrhavenindependent.on.ca/page1.pdf

http://www.barrhavenindependent.on.ca/page7.pdf

[bshaahtovah.livejournal.com]

Sorry. I tried to edit the above posting, but it ended up not working, so I'm posting it here.

No problem! I actually understand your perspective. I'd be cranky too if I didn't know what it's like on the other side of the fence. PB&J is a good, nutritious and inexpensive school lunch for most kids. The issue is a really challenging one, but for now, all we can do is try to work together to keep all kids safe.

[lesliepear.livejournal.com]

I think the difficulty with peanut allergies is that it can cause a reaction just by being near the food. Most other food allergies that I know of require ingesting or touching the food (which adults usually can deal with, it's more complex with little children.)