Nut-free Reqs in School

As a parent with a child who has a peanut allergy - I'd say - yes if you are making something for the children and there is potential for a child with a nut allergy to eat it - then you need to find all the ingredients that are not made in a factory that processes nuts.

Here is a brand that is safe for allergens (I've seen this brand at Super Target).

http://www.cherrybrookkitchen.com/

That said - I probably wouldn't let my son eat anything baked in someone's kitchen that I didn't know... just because I wouldn't want to take the risk. I'd send in an alternative snack for him.

I'm so glad my son's school has switched to asking children to bring a book to donate to the classroom library on their birthday - instead of bringing in treats.

J.

Not that this really helps you, but our school will not allow anything homemade at school. It has to be store bought and SEALED. Nothing personal, but I would not want my kid eating something made by someone I didn't know. And further, I would not want to be responsible for making something that maybe won't agree with someone. Store bought items are much safer. You can bring fruit/applesauce cups and 100 calorie packs of things if you want a "healthier choice". Good luck.

Our school does not allow homemade treats or anything that is not individually packaged. Nor do they allow the kids to eat it at school. All treats are taken home, so it's the PARENTS responsibility to discern what can and cannot be eaten by the child.

Otherwise--Rice Krispie Treats?

I actually have a real issue with "nut bans" in school. Here are a few of my reasons:
1. Telling people they can't have something because of a few is antagonistic to many parents and uncomfortable for the school.

2. Once a ban is in place, much of the effort and energy of the school goes into enforcing the ban, instead of educating the public about the allergy.

3.There are other life-threatening triggers such as milk, wheat or eggs, which would be impossible to ban. Where do you stop?

4. No school can ever be completely nut-free. Unless you plan to pat down everyone who walks theru the door. Even then, kids could have had peanut butter at breakfast, and still have it on their hands when arriving, thus touching dorrknobs etc., with the peanuts.

5. Kids need to be taught their own responsibility in managing their allergy, just like an asthmatic or diabetic child. They need to be continually reminded not to eat other's food, and possibly sit at a peanut-free table at lunch.

6. The latest research states that only approx 1.4% of children are truly (anaphylactically) allergic to peanuts. We have a lot of parents overreacting about whether their child has a true allergy, or perhaps just an intolerance to peanuts, which are two entirely different things.

7."Peanut/nut-free" gives everyone a feeling of false security, which in turn encourages complacency in the school about dealing with life-threatening allergies.

And before anyone goes crazy about my post, let me just say that I have a peanut-allergic child. He carries his EpiPen everywhere he goes. He has been taught and reminded constantly about his allergy and what to avoid. He has a bag of peanut free snacks at school for the times that treats are brought in that are homemade. I would NEVER ask my child's school to ban peanuts for the few who are allergic. Before you know it, we'll be banning milk, soy, eggs, etc. When will it stop. Knowledge is power.

To answer your question, make you box mix, and put a note on the container, letting the teacher know that you can't garauntee that it's peanut free, for whom that affects. Knowledge is power.

You may want to make sure you can "make" treats. Even my older kid's schools, and they are adults now, didn't allow anything that wasn't store bought.

Ummm, I would make sure you can even bring something you have made to the school.

To answer your actual question, you must make sure NOTHING has possibly come into contact with the peanuts - NOTHING!

Either way, I think you have to bring in store bought products any how - most schools are like this due to insurance reasons - they have to be able to sue someone in the event there is an issue.

Don't bake anything.
Bring something other than homemade baked goods.
Homemade baked goods, does not have a list of ingredients.

Some other ideas:
Fruit cups, as Ms. Kitty said below
Otter Pops
100 calorie snack packs
Ice cream cups
Fruit leather

Or, ask the Teacher for ideas.
The Teacher is also responsible for his/her students, per school rules. And they have to make sure whatever is brought to school for the class, is nut free. Or it cannot be served. Or any child that is allergic, will need to be seated away from the food items. And not eat.
Depending on how old the child is or what grade, a child will know what they are allergic to. But a young child, say Kindergarten, may not be as careful or may be shy to speak up.

I won't bring anything I baked at home to my son's class because we don't have a nut-free kitchen. This year for his birthday he wanted his favorite cookie bars to share with his whole class, including his peanut-allergic friend. So I spoke with his mom and arranged to go to their house and make the treats there, with unopened ingredients that we checked together before I started. Quite a production, but it was worth it when the whole class got to share them together!

Just as an fyi.... twins in my sons class have an allergy to any kind of tree nuts so at the start of school we were send home a lit of approved things to send in and believe it or not all pillsbury products are nut free unless noted on the box... it makes it a lot easier to make cupcakes and things!

As a parent of a child w/ severe food allergies, I agree with Jess--I would not let me child eat something baked in someone's kitchen, if I didn't know that person really well. I might be okay if a) I knew the person cleaned their work surface & utensils before baking, and b) showed me the exact box they used.

I would suggest getting something from an nut/etc. free company, like Cherry Brook Kitchen or Enjoy Life (our local Meijer's carries EL).

At our school if you are in a classroom with allergies you can make a box mix or from scratch, but you must be sure that it's completely nut free. I have a side cake decorating business. I can tell you from experience, that making something from scratch is the best way to go. Many cake mixes are produced by third parties who are "supposed" to have dedicated nut free lines. Duncan HInes used to be nut free and now is no longer.

Our pre-school does not allow home baked items for that reason. All items (even cupcakes and such) must be purchased from a store and contain allergen declarations on the packaging.
If you have any nuts at home (or items that were processed in a facility that processes nuts) there is almost no way for your to avid cross contamination, unless you operate a commercial kitchen in your home...
Good luck!

don't bake go and buy rice krispy treats totally nut free and kids love them. teachers love that they are individually wrapped. most schools require birthday treats to be store bought / wrapped

Most schools are not allowed to have home made treats brought to school. It is against the health codes. You truly do NOT want someone else bringing a homemade treat to school and giving it to your child. You do NOT know what is growing in their kitchen. Most likely it is clean but sometimes other people just do not have as clean an area as others.

I have a bff that I won't eat anything that comes out of her kitchen...nasty!

This is a great policy because it protects everyone that it effects. You should just buy some pre-packaged treats or cupcakes and be done with it.

You can bet that the cafeteria in that school does not spend the extra money to buy foods not made in factory's that also process nuts. That kind of food costs hundreds of dollars more than normal foods.

I would say if there is someone allergic they should bring their own snacks to be sure they are safe.