Student Health & Wellness
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Dear Parents and Guardians,
RE: MEDICAL DANGER – ANAPHYLAXIS
This letter is to inform you that there are students in our school with life threatening allergies to a variety of food products including all nuts, dairy products, shellfish, and a variety of other food items. Some students have such a high sensitivity to these allergens that even a trace amount from a known product or a food product/item that has come in contact with the allergen source (cross-contamination) and is ingested can result in a life threatening anaphylactic reaction. The most serious reaction being respiratory difficulties, blockage of the airways which, if not medicated immediately, can lead to death.
THE LAW: AN ACT TO PROTECT ANAPHYLACTIC PUPILS
Sabrina’s Law, An Act to Protect Anaphylactic Pupils received royal assent in June 2005 making it law for each school in Ontario to provide an anaphylaxis management plan that will reduce the risk of exposure to anaphylactic causative agents (e.g. peanuts, nuts, milk, shellfish, etc.) in the classroom and common school areas.
AVOIDANCE AND PREVENTION
Our school anaphylaxis plan conforms to the Halton District School Board’s anaphylaxis policy. The plan is designed to ensure that students at risk are identified, strategies are in place to minimize the potential for accidental exposure and staff and key volunteers are trained to respond in an emergency situation.
To provide the minimized allergen environment required by the legislation, we need the support and cooperation of you, the parents/guardians and the school community. Students are asked to bring lunches and snacks free of peanuts and tree nuts and products that may contain peanuts/ tree nuts such as donuts, granola bars, etc. We ask you to read food labels, checking of peanut/nut ingredients prior to sending them to school. If your child eats peanut butter at home before school, please ensure his/her hands are washed thoroughly before attending school. Truly, this is a life saving measure.
If there is a child with other life-threatening allergies in the class, the teacher will let parents know which products to avoid sending into the classroom.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
We realize this request may require added planning and effort on your part when packaging your child’s lunch and snacks, however, we wish to express our sincere appreciation for your support and cooperation.
NUT ALLERGEN INGREDIENT CHECKLIST
The following is partial list of ingredients on the labels that will inform you if peanut protein could be in the product and therefore not to be sent to school:
- Arachis Oil, cold pressed peanut oil;
- Goober nuts, goober peanuts, goober peas;
- Hydrolyzed peanut protein, hydrolyzed plant protein, sweet lupine flour;
- Nu-nuts, beer nuts, ground nuts, mandolina nuts, mixed nuts, nuts, peanuts;
- Peanut butter, peanut flour, peanut meal, peanut oil, peanut protein
The following is a partial list of ingredients on the labels that will inform you if tree nut protein could be in the product and, therefore, not to be sent to school:
- Almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, filberts/hazelnuts, hickory nuts, macadamia nut, pecans, pine nuts, pinon, pignolias, pistachios, shea nuts, walnuts
- Mixed nuts, nut butters, nut oils, nut paste, chocolate nut spreads, mandelonas marzipan, nu-nuts, nut meats.
Commercial food products may contain trace amounts of peanut/tree nuts from equipment used during processing or touching another product containing nuts (e.g. donuts, cookies and other baked goods from local doughnut shops). Preparing your child’s lunch with a utensil used for peanut products (peanut butter or chocolate nut spreads) or on the same cutting board or counter-top could also carry trace amounts. These small amounts have been known to cause a life threatening anaphylactic reaction.
If you have doubts about what is in a product or do not know what the ingredients word means, do not send the product to school.
We thank you for your cooperation and support in safeguarding our children.