Sweethearts Candy Blog's

With the recent peanut allergy-related death of a Chicago 7th grader and the also recent enaction of FAAMA, it seems that schools may finally take food allergies more seriously. Still, resistance to using or even keeping EpiPens in schools is prevalent.

See this article from today's Chicago Tribune, an excellent piece that covers the main points that parents are interested in with regard to keeping kids safe at school. I especially appreciated the expert opinions such as that from leading allergist Dr. Scott Sicherer, who pointed out that many reactions that occur at school are from undiagnosed kids. He rightly suggests that having EpiPens at school as a matter of course can save lives.

I can speak to this situation, as my daughter was undiagnosed when she experienced a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction at preschool. Nothing was done for her there and I soon found myself in a nightmare that luckily had a happy ending. It was frankly a miracle my daughter didn't stop breathing--she had every other symptom and even lost consciousness during the episode. She was 4 years old at the time.

The current Tribune article doesn't cover preschools. That's an entirely different can of worms that I will address in a future post. However, it does uncover what many parents of food allergic kids have known all along: people are reluctant to use an EpiPen even if they witness the symptoms of anaphylaxis. Plus, currently no one will use an EpiPen on your child unless you have the doctor's order. So please have your documentation and orders on file. It's so important.

However, as the Tribune article also reveals, even that's not enough. As parents we must continue to be proactive and involved with our schools. We must monitor situations that are dangerous to allergic kids--and that means any food from a restaurant or a home kitchen. There is never a valid, curriculum-related reason to serve this stuff and yet you'd think banning restaurant food and home-baked cupcakes from a classroom is akin to getting an F on a midterm. I never saw this much food brought to school when I was a student and I don't know why we're seeing it now.

Even with FAAMA, food allergy emergency plans and EpiPens easily accessible, schools won't be safe until people understand what food allergies mean, what cross-contact means and that "peanut-free" doesn't only mean "recipe that doesn't contain peanuts." An understanding of what triggers a reaction can frankly remove any need for EpiPen usage--because reactions won't happen if they are prevented.

The article also sites sobering statistics for those of us sending peanut and tree nut-allergic children off to school each day. What allergies are the most deadly? Peanuts first and tree nuts second. And people wonder why we don't want our kids constantly exposed to food all day long.

If the tragic case of the Chicago 7th grader can have any positive impact, it is to show that half-measures and misunderstandings with regard to food allergies are not only unfortunate and ill-advised, they can be deadly.

Along with the passing of laws, which are just pieces of a larger puzzle, parents need to keep bringing home the fact that food in the classroom needs to be drastically reduced or eliminated unless absolutely necessary--i.e., actually meal times. Lives depend on it.

Everybody has been talking about this story today and I really need to chime in. I first heard of it on The Food Allergy Mama's Facebook page. Then, today, I read the story in the Chicago Tribune and also got flooded with e-mails.

I feel sick about this. This did not need to happen. This poor girl's tragic death could have been prevented. Why did this happen?

The entire facts of the case aren't yet clear and I'm only discussing what I read in the news story. More may be revealed later. Mention was made of Chinese food served in the classroom which the girl apparently ate. EpiPens, or lack of them, were also mentioned. It's not clear if this student had a food allergy emergency plan or not.

The news story tells how the school ordered in Chinese food after being assured, allegedly, by the restaurant, that the food would be peanut-free. OK, let's just stop right there. Chinese restaurant food can NEVER be safe for a peanut-allergic person. Who was naive or ill-informed enough to even attempt this?? If you know anything about how Chinese food is prepared or its key ingredients, you know that it is off-limits to peanut-allergic people for good reason. Cross-contact will present problems even if actual ingredients do not. In fact, on the list our allergist gave us, Chinese and Asian foods are at the top of the "do not eat" list.


Food allergy education can save lives. For example: "peanut-free" does NOT mean "safe for life-threateningly allergic to peanuts." To many, many people, "peanut-free" means, simply, that the recipe does not contain actual peanuts. Maybe a restaurant, in good faith, says "peanut-free" when they don't understand that what the customer was really asking for was "safe for peanut allergy" or "no risk of cross-contact." Being clear is key. Please, please, be clear.

I've learned never to assume that restaurant staff understand what you mean. That's why you ask for the chef or manager about the meal and present your food allergy cards to the wait staff. Check out FAAN for these downloadable cards.

This story just makes me so fed up. It's not only schools or restaurants that need education, it's the general public. Parents of the school where this child died are now talking "peanut ban." But what good is a peanut ban if people are ordering in supposedly "peanut-free" Chinese food and then serving it to a peanut-allergic girl??? No good at all. Education is key. Education will save lives.

This could have been your child. This could have been my daughter. For all of you heading out to holiday celebrations, please take something positive from this horrific incident and stand firm about your child's food restrictions. Food allergies can be fatal, and it's tragic. Even more tragic is that a fatal reaction could have been prevented with simple knowledge.

My heart goes out to this family in their loss.