It seems that not only is peanut butter nutritious but it is a hearty beast that likes to stick to surfaces and not let go! A study, “Persistance of peanut allergen on a table surface”, published earlier this year in Canada in the Journal of Asthma, Allergy and Clinical Immunology took a closer look at peanut allergy and peanut butter on surfaces. Their goal was to answer parent questions regarding the importance of cleaning eating and food preparation surfaces if peanut butter has been cross contaminated on a surface. Acknowledging the life threatening nature of a peanut allergy, the researchers concluded that yes, peanut butter that was smeared on a surface was still detectable after 110 and there was degradation! It was still there!
image courtesy of Criminalatt via Freedigitalphotos.net
Cleaning to the Rescue! Researchers also discovered that peanut butter can easily be removed! There’s the good news for those with a peanut allergy! The bottom line is that peanut butter is sticky stuff that doesn’t go away. It’s safe to say that most adults know better than to lick a table or touch a table top and then pick their nose or wiggle loose teeth with their fingers. It’s also safe to say that young children don’t know any better! Hence, if children with life threatening peanut allergies are eating in the same area or off of the same surfaces where peanut butter is being consumed, then washing surfaces it crucial! Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE) has nice downloadable PDF about CLEANING METHODS, which details a study that compared the use of liquid hand soap, bar soap wipes and liquid hand sanitizers and their effectiveness in removing peanut allergens from typical school surfaces (desks, water fountains, etc). The moral of this study is that parents are not crazy when they ask for accommodations for children with a peanut allergy who will be active in the same area where peanut butter is eaten. The risk of peanut butter being stuck on a surface is real and securing good and effective protocol for cleaning in simply important.
One of the hardest things I find about managing both life threatening food allergies and asthma is talking to others. I hate to be the one that might be perceived as demanding, pushing or for asking too much. What I now know, fourteen years later, is that honest, clear information presented with kindness works!..