Peanut Allergy: Would You Eat This?

I was going through the blogs in my feed reader and stumbled upon this:  Jif is now making Hazelnut Spreads.


I know what you're thinking - ugh, peanutty!

But not so fast there, tigers!

Being the chocolate lover concerned Peanut Free Mama that I am, I decided to investigate.  Things might not be so bad. Here's the label from the Chocolate Flavor:

I found this REALLY interesting.  Mainly because under the allergy information, peanuts aren't listed as a 'may contain' item.  Frankly, I was shocked.  And I know what you are going to say:  You're not going to eat that are you?! What about cross contamination with all those tree nuts and sunflower and wheat and soy???  

Well, yeah, there's that.  I didn't say it was allergen free.  

BUT IT IS PEANUT FREE - AND IT'S FROM A COMPANY THAT MAKES PEANUT BUTTER!!!  Is this progress or what??

Oops, sorry for shouting - I was just a little excited about a PB company having dedicated lines for non-pb products (I am assuming this - I haven't called them so I don't know for sure - but I can hope, otherwise why wouldn't they list peanuts in the may contain statement?).

We don't avoid 'may contain' warnings when it comes to tree nuts (and our allergist supports this) so technically, B could eat it.

But would I buy it for B instead of Nutella which I am more comfortable with her eating?  Probably not, but maybe I'd buy the mocha cappucino flavor for me.  There's no way B would eat that :)

I'll keep you posted.

p.s. have any of you seen this on the shelves?  tasted it?  do tell!!

Camp's Around the Corner....

So after MUCH back and forth with the Girl Scouts they decided to put ALL the allergic girls in B's grade level in my unit (including B - which is unheard of apparently). 6 out of 15 girls have a food allergy (and ALL include a peanut/nut allergy).

So I'm leading a unit with the following allergies:

• peanut
• tree nut
• milk
• eggs
• honey

It's definitely going to be interesting!  I'm going to be able to carry epis/benadryl for the girls in my pack (something the other leaders wouldn't do) and I'm working with the moms to ensure that the meals will be safe (it may require the moms to supply a substitute ingredient - like honey free graham crackers - is that too much to ask of them?).

As for meals, the camp leaders wouldn't let us ask the other unit's moms NOT to pack peanut/nut products (!), so we're going to have LOTS of hand washing before and after and we'll be setting up buffer zones for the girls - so if there's another girl with a PB&J, we'll make sure the girl with the ham sandwich is next to the allergic girl instead.  It'll be a juggling act for sure!

But ultimately, I'm doing what I had hoped that a group like the Girl Scouts would have taken upon themselves to do in the first place without a fight.

The funniest thing is:  I feel very nervous about this.  I'm in a strange position of watching after another mama's allergic girl.  I'm worried that I'll make a mistake and a reaction will occur. I'm worried that I wont read a label properly and slip up out in the woods no less.

Isn't that silly?

If you all have any suggestions/ideas about any foods to watch out for with a honey allergy, let me know.  We cookout on 3 of the days and our meals are: Tacos, Hot Dogs, and Pizza.  Desserts are homemade ice cream, watermelon, and s'mores.  I immediately thought of the graham crackers for s'mores having honey, but is honey in bread?  Suffice it to say, I'll be reading A LOT of labels in the coming weeks. I've got alot of homework to do.

When the contact at camp sent me the menus, she kept saying in her email things like "oh its veggies and ranch dip so all your allergic kids will be able to have it".

Uh, no they wont.  Last time I checked, Ranch had MILK in it.

Sigh.

If this camp thing isn't spectacular, then there's NO WAY we're going next year.

What have I gotten myself into?

UPDATE:  Good news!  I spoke to the mother of what i thought was an allergic camper.  Turns out that a girl who's file said she needs to avoid peanuts, honey, and eggs isn't actually allergic - i thought she was allergic or possibly vegan - but her mom just avoids them (not sure why as she's had all three in baked goods, but I didn't even want to ask why she had to put this on the health form - oh well). That makes just peanuts/nuts and milk to work with - that's a cakewalk!

Girls Scout Day Camp Problems

Girl Scout Day Camp starts at the end of the month and we're encountering lots of resistance with our efforts to keep our allergic daughters safe.

Unit leaders not wanting to carry epi pens, unwilling to make simple accomodations for snack foods, not willing to even ask (not demand) that parents not send in PBJ's. 

I'm not sure what's going to happen.

The leader of the camp has even suggested that very allergic campers not even attend.  Can you freaking believe that!?!?!?

I'm shocked and saddened.  And I'm looking for your advice.

What's our recourse here?  I've got a call with the head of camp tonight.  I've got lots of ideas to make this work, but would love to hear what you all have to say/your experiences/solutions, etc.

Thanks,

G

Waiters Mocking Your Food Allergies? NY Times tells you what to say...

I think this is my third post this week - yikes!

In the New York Times, Florence Fabricant answers a readers inquiry about waiters mocking her food allergies.

What do you think of FloFab's response?

For me, it was nice and succinct.  

What would you tell the reader to do?

Girl Scout Camp

Short post....

I'm volunteering as a unit leader at Girl Scout Day Camp this summer.

Yes, I (think) I know what I'm getting myself into.

B is going to be a camper (although not in my unit). It should be fun (seriously, it will be - I can't wait to do all those campy activities).

Tonight I had a training meeting with my co-leaders. We went over menus for the 2 weeks. It's 3 meals that we cook (the rest of the days campers bring their own).

Do I have to tell you what's on the menus?

Yup. Peanut Butter. Ants on a log! PBJ's!

Yikes! It's camp for cryin out loud! What happened to hot dogs and hobo packs???

Not sure what I'm going to do.

What do YOU think I should do?

p.s. as i'm writing this, I'm watching Modern Family. How much do I love that show?

THHHHHIIIIIISSSSSSS MMMMMMUUUUUUCCCCCHHHH!

Peanut Allergy Fear #2,986: Drop Off Birthday Parties

In the last 24 hours, B has gotten not one, but TWO birthday party invitations.

Great, huh?

The only bummer is that they are both drop off optional. One of them is in San Francisco at the Exploratorium - there's no way she's going to that alone for a variety of reasons.

Not sure about the other one that's local. It's at an arcade.

My gut is telling me to insist that I come or she can't attend. But I also know that eventually I need to let go.

But B is only 5! A baby I tell you!

Do I drive her there and sit outside the venue, just in case? Will I have 'crazy' written all over me??

What should I do??? What do you guys do???

Keep it on the Down Low

Sometimes I catch myself telling someone that Bella has a peanut allergy.

And then afterwards I think to myself "Should I have just shared that?"

At what point am I violating her privacy and possibly putting her in danger?

At what point do I stop being the watchdog?

Just wondering.