Talking Allergies

http://news.nationalpost.com/2011/10/13/‘tyranny-of-the-minority’-ontario-school-bans-peanut-butter-substitute/

A school board has banned Wow butter and other substitutes. My kids like wow butter and sunbutter. I think if it came to this the school should offer to serve school safe sandwiches for a small cost. My kids school offers the kids sandwiches if they don't have one or are still hungry.

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My son: cocoa
Myself: fish shellfish, flax,latex, Seasonal , contact allergies. New allergies to wheat,corn and walnuts

Wow, I'm surprised by this and not in favour at all. Restricting too many items really makes non allergic parents frustrated and resentful. If they use the labels saying it's soy (or pea, etc) butter, then that should be good enough.

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema

Our school has also banned the substitutes. I myself think it is a good idea as they all smell/look so similar and to be honest, I could see pb being sent in under the impression it is a substitute butter. Our son is ana. to peas so Peabutter is just as deadly to him as pb.
I might be in the minority here and not popular by opinion but in my eyes I see this as one inclusive ban not a multiple ban. If it looks like pb, smells like pb eat it before school.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

It's a matter of compliance. How can the school ensure that the sandwich is not peanut butter? Rules need to be basic and easy to enforce. Allowing a food that feels, looks, smells and tastes very much like the banned substance just sets the school up for problems.

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

Our son's previous school would not allow it as they could not distinguish the peabutter from the peanut butter, so to be safe, they wouldn't allow either. Makes sense to me. Not sure about the current school, but I should ask.

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14 yr old daughter: no health issues
11 yr old son: allergic to peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, fish, sesame, sunflower, mustard, poppy seeds, green peas, some fruits, instructed to avoid all other legumes (except soy & green beans), pollen, cats, horses

This issue was discussed on CBC Radio on Friday on Ontario Morning. Wei Chen interviewed the director of education for school board which banned the PB substitute. He was very well spoken and clearly outlined the multiple reasons behind the ban - the inability to distinguish the substitute from the real thing, the confusion it creates for the FA child (a young allergic child might start to question their allergy), the staffing issues during lunch times and the legal obligations that the school board has under Sabrina's Law.

Wei Chen really interrogated him but he remained calm and continued to present a very reasonable argument supporting the ban. She clearly had an opinion on the subject and it came across quite clearly in my opinion.

I think that you can listen to the interview on the CBC website.

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11 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
9 year old son - no allergies

ARTICLE:
http://www.canada.com/health/story.html?id=5549994


This is not a statement about kids safety, this is a statement based on marketing and $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$ - from maker of Wow Butter Scott Mahon.




Totally disturbing....Firstly this does not just protect ONE child. Secondly since when did $$$$ and commercial product placement in our schools come before protecting children. Thirdly I would hope that in our country ONE LIFE is worth protecting and making changes for.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

As of Sunday morning, Fridays episode is not up yet but maybe after Mondays episode they'll put it on the website.
http://www.cbc.ca/ontariomorning/episodes/

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

I don't think knee jerk reactions are helpful for anyone, but I share concerns about the similarities between the 2 substances, which is why I have not introduced peabutter/sunbutter into our home.

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DSs 7,7,9 all PA

I also have not bought substitute products for my own children to consume as I think it would be confusing, and especially when they were younger, might think regular PB is the same as the soy, sunflower or pea butter that they ate regularly at home.

However, I think that if another parent wants to send the substitute to school, and sends the letter beforehand and labels the product, don't we trust them that it is the substitute and not actual PB?

Our school is 'nut and peanut free', but does not have teachers going around inspecting lunches. I just trust that *most* parents comply/remember, and if someone does forget, then it's 1 PB sandwich in a school rather than 50, which reduces the risk to a level that I'm happy with. My kids still only eat their own food, clean their hands before eating, wear two epipens at all times, etc, and because there are 'may contains' and other allergens (like egg, dairy, sesame) everywhere at the school anyway, the risks are still there. The staff are all trained, and should there be a mishap, I'm confident that the school will deal with it appropriately.

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DD 2004 Allergy to peanuts, egg, sesame, and new: lentils and chick peas
DS 2006 Allergy to peanuts, tree nuts, milk, egg, kiwi fruit, eczema

Whatever side of the fence anyone is on with banning these extra butters I still strong feel that this issue has been very poorly presented to the general public in this article. The tone is very lopsided towards the business repercussions the owner of Wow fears while placing very little weight (or education/explanation) on what is best/options for the safety of children with allergies.

The comment about one child's parents complaining ruining it for, basically the whole city, really annoys me. It just drives home the impression to that allergy parents are crazy and want the world to revolve around our children. The article should have gone on to say how many children average a school/district with allergies whom might be affected. We aren't RUINING anything, we just want our kids to be safe.

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DD 12 yrs -no allergies
4 yr old DS - asthma/eczema Anaphylactic to Peanuts, all tree nuts, sesame , all pea/lentil legumes, gelatin.
Allergic to trees, grass,ragweed, feathers, dander, mold and dust.
Outgrew eggs, fish, shellfish

Wei Chen from CBC radio interviewed someone from an allergy association near London about the PB substitute issue on Monday. This interview is now posted on their website. If you want to listen to it use Susan's link. I wish they had posted the discussion from last week it was much better.

It is very unfortunate that someone from an allergy support group passed along inaccurate information. She said that peanuts were the only allergen that always lead to anaphylaxis whereas for other allergens there was only a risk of anaphylaxis. If we (meaning allergic parents) are speaking in the media we need to make sure we pass along accurate information. From my experience with a radio interview last year, it is very stressful speaking publicly but please get the basics straight!

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11 year old daughter -- lives with life-threatening allergies to milk, eggs and peanuts; seasonal allergies (birch, maple, ragweed); pet allergies; asthma; and eczema
9 year old son - no allergies

I had phone Wow butter in the summer, because I could see something like this happening...the person I wanted to speak to was on holidays and they never phone back. I pointed out to the person I did speak to that soy was one of the top 8 allergens, and so it wouldn't be safe for a kid with a soy allergy. I find their messaging disturbing:




Check out there website...http://www.wowbutter.com/safe4school.html marketting just moved into a strange, new world. On face value, they seem to be helpful, but if they had allergic kids safety at heart, they wouldn't have created such devisive messaging.


In our school district, using kids to sell products is really frowned apon. Our drink machines used to have company logo's, but they were removed because it was deemed inappropriate to be exposing young minds to advertising at schoool. I eat peabutter or sunbutter just because I hate the Wow butter website.

Here's the link to the CBC episode:
http://www.cbc.ca/ontariomorning/episod ... itute-ban/

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Moderator
Daughter: asthma, allergies to egg, milk, peanuts, tree nuts, most legumes (not soy) & penicillin. Developing hayfever type allergies.
Husband: no allergies
Me: allergies to some tree that flowers in May
Cat: allergic to beef, pork and lamb

I would like to hear the Friday one as well. Where is it I wonder.

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Myself - Seasonal, cats
dd-asthma (trigger - flu) anaphylactic to eggs, severe allergies to bugspray and penicilin,pulmicort
ds-Seasonal, cats and OAS
dh-allergy cats, bugspray and guava, outgrew egg allergy