Peanut and tree nut allergies are very common among school-aged children. Peanut allergies can cause varied reactions from skin rashes to stomach issues to severe respiratory problems and anaphylaxis. When your child has an allergy to peanuts, he may need to avoid even trace amounts of peanuts at all costs to avoid an allergic reaction. During the school year it's helpful to other parents to get the word out so that they can avoid sending in snacks made with peanuts or peanut-derived products.
Cookies
You don't just have to avoid peanut butter cookies if you have a peanut allergy. Most cookies are made with some type of peanut products. Large cookie manufacturers often make their cookies in the same large kitchens. As a result, you may not see peanuts listed as an ingredient, but the cookie may have been "contaminated" by peanuts used in the process of making other cookies.
Muffins
Many children will bring a roll or muffin with them as a mid-morning snack. This may be an acceptable snack in a classroom that does not have a child who has a peanut allergy. However, muffins are often made with peanuts (at least in trace amounts). As a result, they should be avoided at every turn.
Granola
Granola and granola bars are some of the more popular snack foods, and with good reason as they offer an energy boost. However, granola bars are frequently made with peanuts and other tree nuts. If you are working to avoid allergic response, these products won't work for snack time unless you don't see nuts listed on the list of ingredients and there's no notification of shared processing with nut products by the manufacturer.
Asian Foods
Many Chinese and Japanese foods contain peanuts. Nearly 90 percent of the dishes found in most Chinese restaurants in North America contain peanuts or an amalgam of peanut oils and products. While you can specify that no peanuts should be used in preparation of your item, most packaged products used standard processing that incorporates peanut-based products.
Keep in Mind
If your child is in a class with another student who has a peanut allergy, your child may not be allowed to bring in any foods that may contain peanuts. You will likely receive a list at the start of the school year of snacks to avoid, but you should know that baked goods, candies, cereals, crackers, ice cream, yogurt, tofutti, marzipan and nougat all contain the properties that can set off an allergic reaction. Check the list of ingredients for any snack, and don't pack those that aren't specifically absent of nuts or nut warnings.
