School getting sued for failing to inspect kids lunches

I don't really get this - from what I read- parents of all the other children are not supposed to send foods that contain what are allergens to these specific children, in their own childrens' lunches? Why? Because these children who are allergic might eat another child's lunch item that contains these ingredients?

Wouldn't it just be easier and more efficient to teach the child who has the allergy never to eat anything that anyone other than his or her own mother or father prepares?

I can understand why the school balks at this. Aside from time and personnel constraints, by agreeing to monitor or otherwise take responsibility at all for something like this, they are opening themselves to liability if something slips by.

I feel for these kids, but honestly- if it were me or my child who had this issue- I wouldn't feel safe relying on anyone else- school, other parents, other children- anyone- to monitor what my child was or wasn't exposed to.
You teach the kid- 'You eat this and you might die...so sharing lunches or trading snacks is just not an option for you.'

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The peanut allergy can be very severe.

Girl with Peanut Allergy Dies After Kiss

However, inspecting every food item that enters the building seems burdensome to prevent freak accidents like that.

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Moreover, lots of food allergies are caused by the parents; feeding peanuts to a baby can cause the sensitivity.

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aidan wrote:

I don't really get this - from what I read- parents of all the other children are not supposed to send foods that contain what are allergens to these specific children, in their own childrens' lunches? Why? Because these children who are allergic might eat another child's lunch item that contains these ingredients?

I work with someone whose daughter has a peanut allergy. As she explained it to me, even fine particles of peanut in the air (peanut "dust") can cause an allergic reaction. She has to be particularly careful when taking her daughter on an airplane, for instance, because the mere presence of peanuts in the cabin poses a risk. I don't know if eggs present the same kind of hazard, but I suppose it's possible.

That being said, I'd think that this situation would be handled differently in the US. First of all, federal regulations, such as the ADA, wouldn't apply in this situation because it's a parochial school (Canada apparently does things differently). Secondly, I wouldn't have advised the school to adopt the voluntary measures that it did -- for reasons that are now obvious. Once having adopted the measure, the school created an expectation on the part of the parents that it would continue to follow those procedures.

If this were a public school, it would have been required to make reasonable accommodations for the allergic students. The emphasis here, however, would be on the word "reasonable." I'm not sure if checking every student's lunch bag is reasonable under the circumstances. The fact that the school actually did it voluntarily, on the other hand, militates in favor of finding that the measure is reasonable.

aidan wrote:

I can understand why the school balks at this. Aside from time and personnel constraints, by agreeing to monitor or otherwise take responsibility at all for something like this, they are opening themselves to liability if something slips by.

I agree. That's another reason why I would have advised the school not to adopt this policy in the first place.

DrewDad wrote:

Moreover, lots of food allergies are caused by the parents; feeding peanuts to a baby can cause the sensitivity.

That may be so, but we don't usually punish children for the faults of their parents.

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In fact, Joe, when Canada East (Québec) and Canada West (Ontario) were united in the "province" of Canada in the late 1830s, after the failed uprisings, they came to several accommodations designed to prevent the clash of cultures. One was that both agreed to a formula for public education. The schools of Québec were run by the Catholic Church, and the French Canadians were loathe to change the system. At the same time, there were large numbers of Catholics in Ontario (caveat--but still a small proportion of the overall population). So a deal was struck whereby the government of Ontario supports Catholic schools, and the government of Québec provides secular schools for non-Catholics who don't want their children in Catholic schools. So the government of Ontario provides public funds for the Catholic schools--in this instance, the York Catholic District School Board. (York Region covers the area to the north and east of Toronto.)

The claim that anyone is being sued is also misleading. The parents in question have appealed to the Ontario Human Rights Commission, alleging that their children are being discriminated against on the basis of an "invisible" disability--their food allergies. So, there is an issue of "reasonable accommodation," because the Catholic school system is, in effect, a part of the public school system. The original deal in Canada West probably didn't bother too many of the English Canadians, because Catholics in Ontario were few--some francophones in eastern Ontario, and some Irish Catholics in Toronto/York region. However, modern demographics have drastically altered the situation. There is a very large Italian and a very large Portuguese population in Toronto (and to a lesser extent, in York Region) now. Additionally, there are a good many Indians from the region of Goa, long a Portuguese colony, who are also practicing Catholics. Many contemporary English Canadians have long resented the accommodation with Catholic schools, the more so as the Catholic population of Ontario has so dramatically grown in recent decades.

However, the parents of the children in question have not sued the York Catholic District School Board; rather, they have appealed to the Human Rights Commission.

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Re: School getting sued for failing to inspect kids lunches

mysteryman wrote:

So now its up to the school to inspect lunches?
Whats next?

Your quoted report says that such was done previously. And the board stopped the practice last year, because it was found to be inconsistent with other school.

And some more info from the Toronto Star, 08.12.07, page A8

Quote:

Cable noted schools already comply with "Sabrina's law," a requirement that Ontario schools have a formal plan for handling severe allergies.

York Catholic school board staff are trained twice a year to recognize anaphylactic shock and use an EpiPen, Cable said, and how to avoid crafts that use eggs.

Lunches may not be shared, baked goods are banned at school events and severely allergic children take buddies when they go to the washroom.

Info about "Sabrina's Law"

38:1 Bill 3, Sabrina's Law, 2005

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to me it's really quite simple :
people with peanut allergy (and perhaps some other allergies too) , can die VERY QUICKLY from even a minute exposure to peanuts . they don't have to eat them for setting off a bad reaction .

so we could either say : too bad if someone dies from exposure to allergens or try and make sure that we prevent exposure (i'm happy to say that i've NEVER liked peanut butter - why is it called BUTTER anyways ???)

the medical profession seems to have difficulty determining why there is such an increase in severe allergies . a neighbour - a retired bio-chemist(PH. D.) - has found some links in exposure to chemicals (particularly the nasty GENDER BENDERS in the older style dishwashing liquids) and allergies . while most of the GENDER BENDERS have been phased out , he has found traces in ground water supplies and lakes - that stuff seems to hang around for a long time .

i've noticed that many cereal and other products now carry the label :
PRODUCED IN A PEANUT-FREE FACILITY !
obviously manufacturers are realizing that some consumers will not buy a product that may contain some nasty surprises .

most of our hospitals now have fairly prominent signs telling people NOT to wear any kind of perfume if they wish to enter the hospital - which i think is a good idea . if people wash properly , there is no need to splash all kinds of stinky lotions over their bodies . even some men seem to think that they are more attractive if they splash a bottle of old spice on their bodies - YUCK !
hbg

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If you are at risk from peanut dust in the air, you are pretty much a walking time bomb.

I mean, would you be ever able to safely walk into an air conditioned building (how would you buy food and clothes?), or anywhere near where people eat (strong wind at a park? avoid downwind of those picnic'rs).

I do agree that if it's merely an allergy to eating something, then is up to the parents to teach their child not to share food with others. The school shouldn't be responsible for such, but they should of course have the allergy medications readily available.

There are other ways - the parents can come and eat with the child at lunchtime, or they can ask that the children eat with the staff...but none of that is perfect.

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Our daycare is a Peanut Free Facility. I don't think egg allergies carry the same risk as peanut allergies...there isn't dust. But I can see banning peanuts from public facilities.

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I'm always wondering about the peanut allergy - that's nearly unknown here.

But perhaps it's because peanut butter (still) is a fairly exotic food here. (?)

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walter wrote :

Quote:

I'm always wondering about the peanut allergy - that's nearly unknown here.

But perhaps it's because peanut butter (still) is a fairly exotic food here. (?)

even though i didn't grow up in canada , i know that a "peanut butter and jelly sandwich" is (and certainly was when we came to canada) about as common a food as a "mettwurst brot" (bread with summersausage) was when i was growing up in germany . things have changed of course , and even our local supermarket carries at least 5 or 6 different kinds of "salami" now .
when i grew up in northern germany , not many respectable delis would have carried "salami" - as it was claimed that it was made from DONKEY MEAT Shocked

- and no true hamburger would have wanted to try it !
as good hamburgers we would have nothing but a fine "mettwurst"(summer-sausage) made from pork and beef .

but the times , they are changing ! they even sell "pizzas" in hamburg (and canada) !!! wo'd have thunk ? Laughing

what's this world coming to ?
hbg

btw DR. OETKER'S (frozen) PIZZAS have become quite popular in canada , but many older canadians are wondering why a DOCTOR(physician) would make pizzas :wink:

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Well, seriously: I asked our neighbour, newly appointed chief physician of the regional children hospital about it.
According to latest figures, less than 0.5% of German children have peanut allergy, compared to more than 1% in the UK and more than 2% in the USA.

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walter wrote :

Quote:

Well, seriously: I asked our neighbour, newly appointed chief physician of the regional children hospital about it.
According to latest figures, less than 0.5% of German children have peanut allergy, compared to more than 1% in the UK and more than 2% in the USA.

it would be interesting to know if there has been an INCREASE in peanut allergies - in north-america and germany as well .
while german children have only a .5 % chance of being allergic to peanuts , i can't remember ever hearing about peanut allergy while growing up in germany (there may well have been some children with such allergy) .
my unscientific point of view is that there has been an increase in allergies in general .
perhaps miller can help us out here .

as i stated earlier , there are now many products containing the PEANUT FREE label . this labelling has just started very recently (this year ?) .
label used by NESTLE :

http://www.nestle.ca/NR/rdonlyres/88572545-E11B-420E-B260-25C09B140631/0/PeanutFrLogo_June07jpg.jpg

from the MAYO CLINIC :

Quote:

Peanut allergy affects approximately 1.5 million people in the United States. As the most common cause of life-threatening allergic reactions (anaphylaxis), peanut allergies account for 80 percent of fatal or near-fatal allergic reactions each year. You can reduce your risk of having an allergic reaction to peanuts by knowing as much as you can about peanut allergy and how to avoid peanut-containing products.

If you have any reaction to peanuts, tell your doctor about it, no matter how mild the reaction may have been. Tests can help diagnose peanut allergy, so you can take steps to avoid future and potentially worse reactions.

complete article :
MAYO CLINIC

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I seem to recall reading somewhere that peanuts are especially bad for containing herbicide and pesticide residue. The article claimed peanut farmers were not big on crop rotation and of course one crop only means soil nutrient depletion means more use of fertilizer and weed killer. It went on to suggest that peanut allergies are more prevalent in direct relation to the amount of chemicals now used to grow them. I have no idea how true this is, but the article was alarming enough that I no longer buy anything but peanut butter made from organically grown peanuts.

As far as school lunches go, simply not allowing children to share lunches would not go far enough if a child had a severe peanut allergy. Peanut butter is sticky and residue on hands can be transferred to doorknobs, water fountain handles etc. One school my sons attended banned peanut butter from the entire building after one student (with half a peanut butter sandwich) chased another (with a severe allergy) threatening to harm him after a disagreement. (They were very young -- @ 7 years old -- and the sandwich-wielding child wasn't trying to kill the allergic one, but had heard enough about the dangers to know it would seriously freak him out -- which it did!)

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Vikor wrote:

Quote:

If you are at risk from peanut dust in the air, you are pretty much a walking time bomb.

That's what I was thinking-scary- it's surprising they still serve nuts as snacks on flights. But I guess you're no more of a walking time bomb than someone who's allergic to bee stings who walks outside in the summertime.
Vikor wrote:

Quote:

I do agree that if it's merely an allergy to eating something, then is up to the parents to teach their child not to share food with others. The school shouldn't be responsible for such, but they should of course have theallergy medications readily available.

The school is not a hospital or pharmacy or other type of medical dispensary.
I think it's the parents' responsibility to give the school the necessary information and medication to be used in event of an emergency.
And even then, if it were my child, s/he'd have an epi pen on his or her person, and if the allergies were this severe, I doubt I'd let him or her go anywhere without me until they'd been trained how to recognize the symptoms and exactly what to do. If this meant they didn't go to school at five and had to wait until they were seven- so be it....
I say this, not because I'm sympathetic to the school moreso than to the child with the allergies, but I've worked in enough schools to know that in busy times, during a crisis- things don't always fall together how they should- the school nurse might not be in her office...the key to the meds might be in her pocket...you know- things happen....and in situations like this- time is of the essence.
I guess I just believe in self-reliance in terms of life and death issues- and I'd certainly encourage and teach my child to be prepared to help or save his or her own life, in case someone else didn't happen to be available.

Quote:

There are other ways - the parents can come and eat with the child at lunchtime, or they can ask that the children eat with the staff...but none of that is perfect.

I was thinking this too-there are just too many variables the other way- having faith that everyone would follow the rules and that a five or six year old child wouldn't be tempted to test the limits if someone didn't.

I was allergic to bee stings as a child - went into anaphylactic shock and had to carry an epi pen for a while. As far as I know, my school wasn't even aware of my allergy- but I knew what I had to do if I got stung. I outgrew my allergy- one day, years later I got stung, the epi pen was in the glove compartment of my car and I was out in a boat on a lake, but nothing happened...I was interested to see if that could be true of peanut allergies...this is an interesting and pretty comprehensive article: http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm

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joefromchicago wrote:

DrewDad wrote:
Moreover, lots of food allergies are caused by the parents; feeding peanuts to a baby can cause the sensitivity.

That may be so, but we don't usually punish children for the faults of their parents.

Who said anything about punishing the children? Your logic seems a bit twisty, there.

My point was that the burden should be on the parents, no the school.

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From a previous discussion on the increase in the number of folks with peanut allergies....

JPB wrote:

J_B wrote:
I recently heard that peanut allergy has the fastest growing allergy incidence in America. I wonder why that is?

Is it vain to quote oneself?

Here's what I found. The prevalence of peanut allergies increased two-fold between 1997 - 2002 among children. The rate of increase was not significantly different in adults but was significant in children.

Quote:
Although the rate of peanut allergy, tree nut allergy, or both was not significantly different from 1997 to 2002 among adults, the rate increased from 0.6% to 1.2% among children, primarily as a result of an increase in reported allergy to peanut (0.4% in 1997 [12 of 2998] to 0.8% [26 of 3127] in 2002).198

2. The second article is by Kagan, et al, entitled Prevalence of peanut allergy in primary-school children in Montral, Canada. The prevalence of peanut allergy was estimated by administering questionnaires re peanut allergy to children in kindergarten through grade 3 in randomly selected schools. The respondants were stratified as follows: (1) peanut tolerant, (2) never-rarely ingest peanut, (3) convincing history of peanut allergy, and (4) uncertain history of peanut allergy. Groups 2, 3, and 4 underwent peanut skin prick tests (SPTs), and if the responses were positive in groups 2 or 4, measurement of peanut-specific IgE were undertaken. Children in group 3 with a positiv SPT response were considered allergic to peanut without further testing. Children in groups 2 and 4 with peanut-specific IgE levels of less than 15kU/l underwent oral peanut challenges. http://www.allerg.qc.ca/peanutallergy.htm#increase

Quote:
Researchers believe there are several reasons for increased rates of peanut allergy in children:

* The increased allergenicity of peanuts when roasted.
* Children eating peanuts when their immune systems are immature.
* The use of topical ointments containing peanut and the use of soy formulas.
http://www.allergypreventioncenter.com/articles/peanut.html

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As to the topic issue -- I think the restrictions on what kids can have in their lunch bags is excessive. If some kids are so allergic that they can't be in the same room then they could be allowed to eat in a separate room (classroom, nurse's office, etc.)

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Tai Chi wrote:

As far as school lunches go, simply not allowing children to share lunches would not go far enough if a child had a severe peanut allergy. Peanut butter is sticky and residue on hands can be transferred to doorknobs, water fountain handles etc.

Not all substances are as sticky/oily/difficult to remove as peanut butter, but it could become an issue as small children are notoriously careless about hand washing -- especially AFTER eating.

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School getting sued for failing to inspect kids lunches

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