Nuts Notice

This week a student had a serious allergic reaction to nuts which came from ingesting the crumbs from a classmate’s biscuits.  KGV has a nut-free canteen environment and we request parents minimise, or ideally exclude, any nut products from their children’s packed lunch.  It is estimated that about 1:100 suffer from peanut allergies, 1:200 from wider tree nuts, and at KGV we have about 20 people with a confirmed nut allergy – a significant number. Nut allergies can be very serious and therefore it is really important that we respect the rules and show consideration for our community. Our Canteen takes special precautions to ensure there are no nuts in the food we offer, but all at KGV must play their part:

• Nobody should share their lunch; there is a “no food sharing” or “no food trading” rule.
• Try to avoid having any nuts in any food you bring from home; think of your classmates and colleagues.
• Eat tidily – do not leave your nutty crumb debris on the table!
• Bake sales and other fund raising food sales must clearly label the food if any nuts, or peanut oil, was used or could have cross-contaminated the cooking.Best avoid such ingredients.
• Everyone should be washing their hands regularly, especially before and after food handling and eating.
• Note that liquid soap, bar soap, and sanitizing wipes effectively clean hands of potential allergens, but antibacterial sanitizing gels do not.

Further advice can be gained from www.parents.com, www.foodallergy.org, www.foodallergy.org/file/school-parent-guide.pdf