While studying the ABCs of food allergens, no lesson is as vitally important as anaphylaxis. Various sources attribute between 100 and 500 deaths annually in the United States caused by anaphylactic shock, or a strong, life-threatening immunological reaction to an allergen. One medical report in Canada tracking six children who died from anaphylaxis stated that four of the six fatal reactions occurred at school. It shouldn’t come as a surprise then, that school foodservice operators face special challenges when trying to protect the student body from potential food allergens.
The environment
The first important factor is the school environment itself. Any institutional kitchen poses a potential risk for cross-contamination. In school, add the chance of a child sharing a common table, encountering a smear of peanut butter or sharing a forbidden snack brought by a classmate and the potential for risk increases substantially. And when was the last time a food fight broke out in a corporate dining room? Despite best efforts, children are more likely than adults to ingest or touch a forbidden food.
Secondly, school foodservice programs must meet federally mandated standards for certain nutritional requirements. Food manufacturers working to comply with these requirements, while still designing foods to appeal to a younger palate, utilize creative methods of incorporating nutrient-rich ingredients into school formulations. However slight, any formulation change can cause potentially life-threatening reactions in a student allergic to a particular food.
Such was the case when a student allergic to legumes experienced an adverse reaction after eating cheese pizza from the cafeteria. The reason? The manufacturer had added dried navy beans to the crust to increase protein levels to meet the nutritional standards. The pizza label did list beans as an ingredient; however, foodservice operators did not expect that type of ingredient to be included in a pizza and never checked the label.
The most important tool for manufacturers, as well as school foodservice personnel, is the labels carried by all foods and beverages. As of Jan. 2006, FDA has required food labels to state if the products contain ingredients that contain protein derived from the eight major allergenic foods. Per the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act of 2004 (FALCPA), the presence of ingredients that contain protein derived from milk, eggs, fish, crustacean shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, or soybeans must be identified in plain English in the ingredient list or it must say “contains” followed by name of the source of the food allergen after or adjacent to the list of ingredients. For example, if a product contains casein, the label must use the term “milk” in addition to the term “casein.”
As illustrated, ingredients in standard food items can change without warning, so vigilance on the part of the school is required.
The allergenic culprits
The student’s reaction to navy beans is an example of cross-reactivity. When an individual develops an allergy to a particular food, allergists generally recommend that person avoid any foods within a similar group. For example, someone allergic to shrimp should generally avoid other shellfish, such as lobster, crab and the like.
