Fwiw my ds age 12 has been receiving for almost 5 years in different churches without any issue. At one time he was anaphylactic to dairy egg and nuts. He's kicked the dairy. Think I'd be more concerned with bread being made in someone's home than in a communion wafer. Ds always takes communion in his hand too.

I've not paid close enough attention, but I think it's handled by the priest, then divvied up by the EM, then distributed by 1 of 4 EMs. Since it's like reaching into a bowl of candy, the wipe would only work if we were first in line... Which would not happen because they all receive first and then those unable to go up are "delivered to".

And our parish is huge. We don't always have the same priest or EMs at mass. Heck, there have been times when the priest asks for any EMs present to come forward to help out...

Thanks for you input Mac.... I thought you'd have some thoughts ❤️

I'm PA/TNA and my kids are allergic to dairy & egg.  DD will be making her 1st holy communion in April.  DS is 10 and has been receiving for almost 3 years.  We only take the host and recieve in the hand (food allergies were a great way for my very old school parents to accept not receiving on the tongue ).  Neither of us has ever had a problem.  Some Churches have th EMs  used hand sanitizer first but not all. 

Yeah, I'm sure the Host will be fine.

But XC--well, I worry about this every stinkin week, as you will soon. So I can empathize. And my DH bakes the communion bread (we are Protestant). But other people handle it in preparation. And I know many of them are not as careful as I am.

I do know our minister uses hand sanitizer after the service starts. He is aware that it doesn't get rid of peanut protein 100%, but it helps a bit after shaking hands with congregants before the service. He does try to wash his hands before communion. And at least with our bread, since it's by intinction, DS can grab what the minister has touched when breaking the bread.

In your situation, it really should only be the EM who handles the wafer that you have to worry about, right?  I would keep pushing on this. Offer a wet one packet?

It's a special time. It's a shame that food allergies come into play here, too.

M will be receiving in the spring.I've been dreading this for years, from a food allergy perspective. He came home from CCD this evening with a list of requirements/expectations for the big day and those leading up to it.

I haven't contacted the supplier yet, but I'm quite certain the host itself will be safe. My concern is cross contamination from the Eucharistic minister's hands.

I know different churches do it in slightly different ways, but our church has 2-4 lines (depending on how crowded mass is. Each EM or the priest has a chalice full of host. If one runs out, they take from the one next to them. Each member of the congregation that is receiving communion has the choice to have it placed on their tongue or into their hand. You then move to the next EM for wine.

Right off the bat, I'm nixing the wine. Just. No.
What do some of you do to ensure the host is safe?
I'm not a EM- is it standard practice to clean hands just before distributing communion?

I'm going to call our religious education director, but I'd like to see if anyone has suggestions or risks I hadn't thought of before I do so. Our CCD leader has spoken with her and has gotten the "unless they're allergic to wheat, there won't be a problem" line.