Food Allergies in School Nutrition Services

What is a food allergy?

-Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

"Food allergies occur when the body's immune system reacts to certain proteins in food. Food allergic reactions vary in severity from mild symptoms involving hives and lip swelling to severe, life-threatening symptoms, often called anaphylaxis, that may involve fatal respiratory problems and shock."

What are the most common food allergies?

Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Milk, Sesame, Eggs, Fish, Soybeans, Shellfish, and Wheat.

-United States Department of Agricultiure (USDA)

"There is no known cure for food allergies. The best preventative strategy is to strictly avoid the foods that are allergens. And to ensure their safety, children with known food allergies must also have epinephrine available to them at all times to treat anaphylaxis. "

Allergies in schools:

The USDA Food and Nutrition Service, Office of Food Safety provides school nutrition professionals with training resources to better understand food allergies, identify reactions and respond to emergencies. These resources help school nutrition professionals communicate the importance of allergy management and response activities to the entire school environment.

The Food Allergy Book: What School Employees Need to Know (English and Spanish versions)

Written by NEA Healthy Futures, a nonprofit organization affiliated with the National Education Association.

School Nutrition Association,

Five Surprising Things You Didn’t Know About Food Allergies

There are nine foods that are responsible for 90% of food allergy reactions—milk, eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean shellfish, wheat, soy and sesame.
Almost a third of peanut allergies and nearly 90% of egg allergies resolve by 6 years of age, according to new research.
Research shows minimal risk from being near commonly allergenic foods, including peanut butter.
Most food allergies result from an immune response to a protein.
Banning peanuts does not reduce the use of emergency medication (epinephrine), according to researchers.

Food allergies are a growing food safety and public health concern that affect an estimated 8% of children in the United States. That’s 1 in 13 children, or about 2 students per classroom.

To protect those with food allergies and other food hypersensitivities, the FDA enforces regulations requiring companies to list ingredients on packaged foods and beverages. For certain foods or substances that cause allergies or other hypersensitivity reactions, there are more specific labeling requirements.

Five priority areas that should be addressed in each school’s or ECE program’s Food Allergy Management Prevention Plan:

Ensure the daily management of food allergies in individual children.
Prepare for food allergy emergencies.
Provide professional development on food allergies for staff members.
Educate children and family members about food allergies.
Create and maintain a healthy and safe educational environment.

COMMUNICATE food allergy management and policies to parents and families.

ENSURE that staff who are trained and delegated to administer epinephrine auto-injectors can get to them quickly and easily.

PLAN and PREPARE for field trips.

PRACTICE responding to food allergy emergencies with emergency response drills.

FDA Food Safety Modernization Act:

These guidelines, Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Schools and Early Care and Education Programs (hereafter called the Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies), were developed in response to Section 112 of the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act, which was enacted in 2011. This act is designed to improve food safety in the United States by shifting the focus from response to prevention.

Symptoms of food allergies typically appear from within a few minutes to a few hours after a person has eaten the food to which he or she is allergic. A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction is called anaphylaxis.

Symptoms of allergic reactions can include:

Hives
Flushed skin or rash
Tingling or itchy sensation in the mouth
Face, tongue, or lip swelling
Vomiting and/or diarrhea
Abdominal cramps
Coughing or wheezing
Dizziness and/or lightheadedness
Swelling of the throat and vocal cords
Difficulty breathing
Loss of consciousness

If your child has a food allergy, it is important to note on the health update whether this has required emergency treatment in the past. If your child requires a food substitution in the cafeteria, a physician’s order is required. There is a form called the Special Diet Order Form on the Buncombe County Schools School Nutrition website. Diet order forms can be found at www.buncombeschools.org/o/bcs/page/special-diet-form

All foods sold to students during the school day are under the scrutiny of USDA’s, National School Lunch Program Regulations that were created to promote high standards for all foods available to children. Buncombe County Schools strictly adheres to research-based nutrition regulations geared towards targeting nutrients deficient in the US American diet.

For more information regarding school meals, please contact the School Nutrition Office at 828-255-5932 or log on to the School Nutrition Services’ website: www.buncombeschools.org.

BCS Board Policies:

ADMINISTERING MEDICINES TO STUDENTS

Policy Code: 6125

STUDENT HEALTH SERVICES

Policy Code: 6120

Resources for Food Allergies in Schools:

CDC Healthy Schools. Food Allergies

https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/foodallergies/toolkit.htm

Voluntary Guidelines for Managing Food Allergies in Schools and Early Care and Education Programs. https://www.cdc.gov/healthyschools/foodallergies

Food Allergy Resource and Education (FARE).

https://www.foodallergy.org

Food Allergies in Schools Toolkit. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.