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The role of peanut-free school policies in the protection of children with peanut allergy

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Abstract

Peanut allergy that affects 1.4–4.5% of North American children, has increased in prevalence in the past 20 years, is often diagnosed early in life, and outgrown in fewer than 20–32% of children by age 6. Recent self-reported data suggest that over 50% of peanut allergic individuals have had a severe reaction. Because food (and peanut in particular) is a ubiquitous part of school attendance, this raises the potential for reactions to accidental peanut ingestion at school. Accordingly, there is increasing interest in creating policy to protect peanut allergic children in the school environment—sometimes as a ban on peanut-containing items either in the classroom, the lunchroom, or even in the entire facility. We review the evidence for, and against, peanut bans in schools.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada

    Elissa M. Abrams

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy and Immunology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada

    Elissa M. Abrams

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Section of Allergy and Immunology, Children’s Hospital Colorado, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine, 13123 East 16th Avenue, Anschutz Medical Campus, Box 518, Denver, CO, USA

    Matthew Greenhawt

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  1. Elissa M. Abrams
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Correspondence to Matthew Greenhawt.

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Abrams, E.M., Greenhawt, M. The role of peanut-free school policies in the protection of children with peanut allergy. J Public Health Pol 41, 206–213 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1057/s41271-019-00216-y

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