Peanut butter probe expands; takes on new urgency

Yahoo ^ | January 16, 2008 | KATE BRUMBACK and RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR

[Arizona Carolyn]

Yes. I looked it up:

The peanut was introduced to China by Portuguese traders in the 1600s and another variety by American missionaries in the 1800s

and... yep... they are big exporter of peanuts... so after they killed our dogs with their poison shipments and people died last year from tainted food from Mexico will people wake up?

http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cache:5ufU-j15gwsJ:www.made-in-china.com/showroom/eastfoods/product-detailMeSJxEbKsnDr/China-Roasted-amp-Salted-Peanuts-01-.html+Peanuts+from+china&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=8&gl=us

[djwright]

I actually know someone who was a victim of this. He was down for 4 days.

[metmom]

ping

[EDINVA]

I’m sorry your daughter has that allergy, it’s got to be terrifying to live with.

I imagine there are labs working to get to the root of this rather new phenomenon. As recently as 10-15 years ago, every public school around here had pb&j sandwiches available for kids who forgot their lunches. Now, they’d sooner let a gun on the school campus than any product with nuts in it. All I can imagine is an interaction with some immunization not available to earlier generations. Hopefully, it’s resolved soon for the sake of your daughter and others.

[N3WBI3]

Honestly, if you have not heard the words ‘your kid has a peanut allergy’ you don’t understand. The problem at grade schools is kids are unsanitary little things.. They eat and then touch others so in grade schools these bans are totally reasonable (if there is a peanut allergic kid in the school).

A few differences between peanuts and other allergies:

1) The peanut protein also exist in the ‘dust’ given off of peanuts so, in effect, it is a food and an environment allergy. Also the peanut protein can last *months* in an open environment where as most food allergy proteins last a few hours.

2) The peanut allergy follows no sensible progression of severity. Its not like a shellfish, or milk allergy that starts out minor and 99% of the time takes *years* of real exposure to become a serious allergy.

My kid is three and has had exactly *two* exposures to peanuts after her allergy test. The second one sent her to the hospital. Doctors give a peanut allergic kid an epi-pen irregardless of the measured severity of the allergy for just this reason.

—

Like I said, in a HS a kid is old enough to know how to use their own epi-pen and to be self aware enough to avoid exposure. The same cant be said for a 5yo..