Peanut ban-sure. Peanut substitute ban? REALLY??

[Jessica]

I can't see this going over well. People already are on edge about being told they can't send peanut butter and other peanutty things to school so the ideal solution was for them to use sunbutter and soy butter. Now even those aren't ok? I get why they're saying this. I understand the dilemma. But it seems like if they could just tell them to include a note or label on the food telling what's in it that would be enough? This article is about a school in Canada, btw.

http://www.lfpress.com/news/london/2011/10/07/18798201.html

[krasota]

Sounds like a perfect market for single serve pouches of substitute spreads.  A clearly labelled pouch of whatever butter would pass muster, no?  Wasteful, of course.

[SilverLining]

Jessica, I do know of an elementary school with a peanut/nut ban and they don't like substitutes being sent in either.  They feel there's a risk of a student thinking they have a substitute, and it turns out it's real pb.  So, soy or sunbutter, the student eats at the office and washes up before rejoining the rest of the students.

When I was hoping to get my son to eat peabutter I spoke to the principal before sending it in.  At first she said no problem....then after thinking about it, she said she'd really prefer I not send it in.  She didn't ban it, but didn't want it in the lunchroom. 

Much like the school in the article.  It's not being banned.

[AllergyMum]

That's just silly. Adding a posted note should be fine.

[Susan]

Our principal asked about alternatives and this was an area that I told her to consider.  I wouldn't make an argument for or against because I want to see how she sorts it out.  I simply gave her both sides of the equation.

[twinturbo]

Our school doesn't allow it either. The teachers didn't want to waste time figuring out the substitutes from the real stuff. What can I say... it's their policy not ours.

[ajasfolks2]

Perhaps they need a "PB-substitute" table in cafeteria too?

Just playing devil's (or somebody's) advocate here.   

[Arkadia]

makes sense, if you are banning one. My older son has consistently refused to take it to school. He doesn't want to confuse people or be a stumbling block for folks who are voluntarily accommodating him or anyone else.

It's just not worth it. <shrug> People misconstrue things all the time, without asking questions, and really, who wants to go into a disseration on the merits of Sunbutter on the lunchbreak at age 16? Like people who can enjoy peanutbutter at home, it's where he saves his Sunbutter for. It's not like he wants to eat it morning noon and night.

[Carefulmom]

I agree with Ark.  I foolishly sent dd to school with a soy butter and jelly sandwich during kindergarten.  The staff had had it drummed into their heads that dd can`t be near anything peanut.  About a week into kindergarten one of other kids shreaked " ________ has peanut butter!".  The staff panicked, took it away, ran for the epi and then when the noise had stopped, dd said it was soy butter.  Never again have I done that.  The way I view it is that if I want them to keep my child safe, it is my job not to do anything confusing.  There is also the issue of someone switching the soy butter sandwich for a pb sandwich as a joke.  That would be life threatening for dd.  And also there will be those who think it is pb, but don`t say anything.  That gets into the issue of mixed messages.  If child cannot be near pb, then why are they eating it?  Not everyone is going to ask, they may just wonder.

[Jessica]

I agree but we (collectively, if you endorse bans) are already asking the non-allergy people to give up something they usually don't want to give up. Some are saying for people to use soy or sun butter for their non-allergic kids' school lunches to keep the allergic kids safe. So now they are taking yet another thing away that some people may use for their non-allergic kids. People can't only be pushed so far and many of them consider a peanut ban to be pushing enough. To limit yet another item, one that much of the allergic community actually recommends them to use instead, seems like it could cause more problems.

I'm glad I don't have to worry about this (we homeschool) but it seems like taking more options away from people who are already resisting the restrictions isn't going to go over well.

[Arkadia]

I agree but we (collectively, if you endorse bans) are already asking the non-allergy people to give up something they usually don't want to give up. Some are saying for people to use soy or sun butter for their non-allergic kids' school lunches to keep the allergic kids safe. So now they are taking yet another thing away that some people may use for their non-allergic kids. People can't only be pushed so far and many of them consider a peanut ban to be pushing enough. To limit yet another item, one that much of the allergic community actually recommends them to use instead, seems like it could cause more problems.

Well, that's the problem with bans. It's a steep slippery slope. <shrug> I've never been a proponent of them.

[YouKnowWho]

Shrug, it seems like you are getting mad at the folks that are working their hardest to keep your kids safe. 

If you want peanut butter banned, do you really want the alternatives out there - how hard would it be for a parent to slap a post-it note on a peanut butter sandwhich that says "soy nut butter" because she didn't believe your child was that allergic?  Do you want the lunchroom lady diagnosing your safe sandwhich with hands and nose (even though many allergic folks here have been freaked out by the smell, taste and texture of the alternative butters for being so close to peanut butter).

How many times have we heard, "Oh but my child only eats peanut butter" and you think "Wow, and to think my child has survived all of these years without it".  I send in safe food everyday for my kids (and not the butter alternatives) and yet they survive (and eat it all).

[Jessica]

Shrug, I'm not mad at anyone. We homeschool so I am the one keeping my kids safe and we don't have to deal with any of this. I just thought it was interesting. 

[ajasfolks2]

Along the lines of this topic, supposedly Smuckers is testing SUNBUTTER uncrustables . . .

they are being put into some schools in USA.

Anybody happen to be in one of those schools?

[Arkadia]

Along the lines of this topic, supposedly Smuckers is testing SUNBUTTER uncrustables . . .

they are being put into some schools in USA.

Anybody happen to be in one of those schools?

ah, so they finally figured out how to turn a decent alternative into a pile of lard crap.