Ban on peanut butter substitute ‘short-sighted’

The decision to ban a product that looks like peanut butter, but is actually safe for those with deadly peanut allergies, has been called “very short sighted thinking” by a prominent allergist. In fact, Dr. Bruce Mazer of the McGill University Health Centre does not think institutions should ban peanuts except perhaps those with “highly tactile environments like day cares/pre-school.”

Many Canadian schools ban peanuts in order to protect students who have life-threatening allergies. It’s estimated about one in 50 Canadian children is allergic to peanuts, and about one to two per cent of these can have severe or life-threatening reactions.

A school district in the eastern province of Newfoundland and Labrador has prohibited peanuts and has gone one step further banning a safe, soy-based product called Wowbutter, saying it doesn’t have enough staff to supervise what exactly is in students’ lunches.

Peanut butter prohibitions and a false sense of security

Mazer and several of his colleagues oppose the bans on peanuts and Wowbutter. “Our studies have shown that accidental reactions to peanuts are more common in ‘peanut free’ schools (than peanut tolerant schools) and adding restrictions on products that are peanut free although look like peanut is likely a redundant restriction.”

Children must learn to protect themselves

The principle is that, as children get older it is important that they learn to control their own environment and not rely on school policies. Doctors also suggest that eliminating safe substances is not the way to teach children to be more careful.

The ban on peanuts makes little sense when one considers that children may have life-threatening allergies to many foods which are not banned. For example studies indicate there are more fish allergies in the eastern Maritime Provinces than anywhere else in Canada. They may be just as deadly and triggered by just the odor of fish, whereas the smell of peanuts cannot trigger a life-threatening allergy.