Hi, Friends --

A question came up at my son's summer camp yesterday which I need to 
deal with tomorrow (Wednesday).  Although the allergen in question is 
peanuts, I think the policy would apply regardless of allergen, 
provided the reaction is severe.  I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts.

One child in my son's group (6-12 year olds, I think) has a severe 
peanut allergy.  We've been duly asked to not bring in peanut products.

I sent in a Luna bar for my son's afternoon snack.  The bar contains no 
peanuts in the ingredient list, but at the bottom of the list it says 
it may contain traces of peanuts (among other things).  Clearly a 
potential cross-contamination issue.  In consequence of this, my son 
was made to sit in isolation while he ate his snack and then to wash 
his hands and face with soap before rejoining the group.  (He couldn't 
sit with a non-allergic child because none of the kids are allowed to 
know who the allergic child is.)

My questions:

If your child has a severe allergy, is it okay to sit near a child 
who's eating something like a Luna bar with its cross-contamination 
risk?  Does that provide an unacceptable risk to your severely allergic 
child?  Or do other foods also contain an (unlabelled) similar risk?  
(I'm thinking of products that don't yet have the allergen listing on 
the package, foods removed from their packaging, or foods made at home 
that get cross-contaminated, ie from a siblings' pb&j sandwich)?

Is it reasonable to isolate a child who's eating the risky food?  Is 
that worth the preservation of the allergic child's privacy?

If your child has a severe allergy like this, how valuable is it to you 
and your child to keep the allergy secret?

FInally, if I have to abide by the camp policy (and I will if it makes 
medical sense), can any recommend an afternoon snack with the following 
properties:

Allergnically free of milk protein, red dye #40, shellfish and, of 
course, peanuts!
Non-perishable (since the ice-pack will have lost its cool by then).
Contains protein.
Is plausibly attractive to an 8-year old boy.

Thanks for your thoughts!
--Beth Kevles
  Eating without Casein website
  http://web.mit.edu/kevles/www/nomilk.html
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