It’s a big day in our family. Miss 12 has downed her Lucy Out and About YouTuber hat and headed off to her very first day at high school on the bus. Master 10 and the cousins have been walked to school. And I’m back to packing lunch boxes and sorting through the nut free policies. Are you up to speed on the latest advice for schools? And most importantly, have you heard the hot news on an Australian allergy treatment breakthrough?
Nut bans vs nut management plans
Does your school ban nuts? What about products with “traces of nuts”? Do they allow egg cartons in craft making? What are the rules about sharing food? Is the eating area supervised? As the incidence of food allergies rises dramatically we have had to deal with this highly complicated area to help keep kids safe.
I’ve had the pleasure of chatting to Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia President Maria Said about this in great detail over the years. My understanding is that all schools and preschools should have a comprehensive management strategy in place. Often, part of that strategy is to minimise allergens such as nuts, however this strategy is only one small part of a comprehensive strategy to manage risk of food allergic reactions.
No school can ever claim to be “nut free” as this is physically impossible and could set up a false sense of security in the school community. Secondary schools and universities rely on the maturity of older students to help self manage their food allergy minimisation. And that’s the best way to help set them up for living in the wider world away from watchful parents and carers.
So the idea of calling for nut “bans” is not the right wording. The best approach is to have an allergen minimisation strategy which includes encouraging parents to not bring nuts or nut containing products to primary school, pre-school and childcare settings. But that is just a tiny part of what schools should do.
The strategy of allergen minimisation must be implemented along side education, training staff, educating all children and parents, hand washing after eating, not sharing food, educating children with a food allergy in an age appropriate way, communicating openly with the parents of a child with allergy and more. You can read more in their fact sheet: If school bans don’t work, what does?
One of the best steps for your school to take is to join the Be A M.A.T.E program.
Probiotic and peanut study
Researchers from Murdoch Children’s Research Institute have successfully trialled a treatment for peanut allergies that could potentially provide a long term cure for children with food allergies.
Over 60 peanut allergic children in the study were either given a dose of a probiotic, Lactobacillus rhamnosus, together with peanut protein in increasing amounts, or a placebo over 18 months to assess whether children would become tolerant to peanut. The probiotic was a fixed daily dose, while the peanut oral immunotherapy was a daily dose of peanut protein starting at very low doses followed by a dose increase every two weeks until the maintenance dose (2 grams peanut protein) was reached. At the end of the treatment, the child’s ability to tolerate peanut was assessed by a peanut challenge performed two to five weeks after stopping treatment.
Astoundingly, researchers found over 80% of children who received the oral immunotherapy treatment were able to tolerate peanut at the end of the trial, compared to less than 4% of the placebo group. This is 20 times higher than the natural rate of resolution for peanut allergy. 23 of 28 (82.1%) probiotic treated children and one of 28 (3.6%) placebo-treated children were able to include peanut in their diet at the end of the trial.
So what to pack?
Well. It really depends on your school. So check the policy now. And if you want to make one 12 year old very happy. Check out these lunchbox ideas that are independent of her mamma. Traces of nuts and interesting nutrition claims within.
How’s the school year shaping up for you lovelies? Any other clever ideas on packing it?
