Source: The blog author
Why you may ask am I obsessed with undeclared allergens? It is decidedly NOT because I am insensitive to the very real dangers posed for those who actually have significant food allergies. Although that said, I honestly can’t remember ANYONE dying or coming close to getting anything more than a hive from a peanut butter sandwich when I was a child. (Feel free to come forth with anecdotal evidence if you dare!)
The reason, besides my childish amusement, is the EXTREME to which such matters have been taken. Yes, we are a country of slippery slopes and extremes. It seems that this concept is exemplified in the United States public school system where my eldest of 6 currently attends. I won’t name names <cough> Mainline <cough> but you know who you are.
An illustration if I may. My son, let’s call him Bram (just because) recently had a holiday party at school. Amazing in itself these days with the denial of all things non-atheistic (but I digress). At any rate, one of the “activities” was cookie decorating. Suffice it to say that said activity was called to an abrupt and alarming halt when it was discovered that one of the parents in attendance had brought M&M’s for decorating purposes. (Oh the horror!).
Wait, it gets better. It appears that the teachers were very concerned because one of the students in the class (Sometimes in the school is sufficient. No, I’m NOT kidding) had a severe food allergy.
Wait, it gets better. No, not to milk or chocolate but to nuts. Apparently M&M’s are processed in a facility which also processes tree nuts (Yes, peanut M&M’s).
Wait, it gets better. The parent who brought the offending allergen…the mother of the child with the allergy.
And with THAT, ladies and gentlemen (and I use the terms very loosely), so endeth the lesson. HAVE A SAFE, MERRY, HAPPY AND ALLERGEN FREE HOLIDAY!
~Posted by David Marc Schwadron, Esquire
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