Peanut butter banned: some primary schools are doing it

Petje Pitamientje (did you also always think his name was Píetje Pitamientje?) would nowadays not be able to bring a sandwich with peanut butter in his lunchbox at some schools. Whereas a school ban on peanut butter or nuts was initially something we heard existed in America, there are also a number of schools in the Netherlands where parents are asked not to give their children peanut butter sandwiches, because of the very serious reactions they can trigger in classmates with a life-threatening allergy.

That is of course very considerate of these schools, but according to the Dutch Anaphylaxis Network, it is not the very best solution.

Shock

Such an allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis, and the consequence is also known as anaphylactic shock. It must be treated immediately. As a precaution, some schools ban all forms of nuts and peanuts in order to protect children who are at risk because of this condition. However, the danger of this, says Frans Timmermans of the aforementioned NAW, is that it can create a kind of false sense of security.

Risk of peanut butter

According to him, a ban is never 100 percent safe, and “education at home is therefore the most important thing, since the children themselves need to learn how to deal with it, not their surroundings. Outside school, they will come into contact with it as well… Risk can never be completely ruled out.” Other foods can also cause anaphylaxis, he says, and banning everything would not be the solution. Much more important, in his view, is raising awareness; education and knowing what you can and cannot do.

Age-appropriate

He does see value in age-related measures, because children in years 1 through 4 have a different level of awareness and different ways of interacting than slightly older children from around the age of nine. For the youngest children, he says, parents could be asked to think carefully about which foods they send to school, but a general ban on peanut butter and/or other foods would instead cause tension within such a group.

Raise awareness

This is not recent news, by the way, but in our view it is an important story to bring to as many people’s attention as possible. It previously appeared in AD, and 24Kitchen also devoted attention to it.

Also read:

• No birthday treats: more and more schools are banning them
• Research reveals troubling conditions in the Brazil nut industry
• 5 things you didn’t know about peanut butter

Source: AD