The Calgary Board of Education (CBE) said it is no longer banning nut products at its schools because it cannot guarantee classrooms and common areas are free of all nut products.

In an email to LiveWire Calgary, a spokesperson for the CBE said the district is “nut aware” and it’s up to individual schools to decide whether or not to ban certain food items from their campuses.

Some schools, like Kenneth D. Taylor School, said keeping students and staff from allergens is a shared responsibility between students, parents and staff members.

There are still some schools like Queen Elizabeth Elementary School that have asked parents not to bring snacks and lunches containing peanuts, tree nuts and nut products.

“School staff, including lunch program staff, are informed and instructed in the correct procedures regarding anaphylactic responses. Prevention is the best approach for reducing the risk of a severe reaction. Schools ask for the cooperation of the school community in refraining from sending food containing the specific allergen to school. Schools may also put other procedures in place for snacks and the lunchroom to prevent exposure,” the spokesperson said.

Some schools have also placed the responsibility to prevent allergen exposure on the students. According to Rosemont School’s website, students who are allergic to nuts and other allergens are often taught by their parents not to share food and most carry epinephrine at all times. Some allergic children may also wear medic-alert bracelets, the school said.

Similar policies can be found at Simons Valley School, among others.

“These children need to understand the severity of their identified allergy and that they have to learn responsibility for it; but, like all small children responsibility evolves over time,” Rosemont School’s webpage reads.

What are other school boards doing?

Many school boards across Canada have also adopted “allergy aware” policies and dropping blanket nut product bans.

The Toronto District School Board does not ban specific foods, and it is up to individual schools to determine whether a ban on peanuts, tree nuts and nut products should be in place.

The Vancouver School Board said it cannot guarantee a nut-free environment because of hidden or accidentally introduced sources of exposure. Instead, it will educate students, staff and teachers to minimize the risk of exposure without depriving allergic children of peer interactions and placing “unreasonable restrictions” on other children’s activities.

Edmonton Public Schools also said it cannot guarantee a 100 per cent nut-free environment and allergen restrictions will be implemented on a classroom-by-classroom basis. The school board also said it strives to be “allergy aware” because teachers and staff cannot check each lunch and snack every day.

Commission Scolaire de Montreal, Quebec’s largest school board, lifted its ban on nut products in 2017 and aims to educate students, parents, teachers and staff about allergy risks instead.

What does the research say?

Many experts say there is little to no evidence that site-wide allergen-restricted zones or food prohibitions in child-care centres and schools are effective in avoiding allergens.

A 2021 study published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology found that deaths from anaphylaxis in childcare settings are rare. Most deaths from anaphylaxis occur at home and not schools, the researchers said.

The study also said while some children may feel safer in schools with allergen-restricted zones or food bans, it is challenging to monitor for allergens and expect perfect compliance among staff, teachers and students. Bans and restricted zones may lead to reduced vigilance among students and staff, and a higher risk of bullying and isolation for allergic students if they are forced to eat separately from their peers.

“We found no studies that estimated the risk of death from anaphylaxis in child care centers or schools. However, based on registries and death certificates, death from food-induced anaphylaxis is rare in any setting,” the study read.

A 2017 study published in Canadian Family Physician suggested that peanut-free policies do not accomplish the goal of preventing systemic reactions, saying there is no significant difference in the rates of accidental peanut exposure in schools that allow peanuts versus schools that prohibit them.

“Even in peanut-free schools there is some peanut exposure, which could partially explain the persistent risk despite policies that try to limit exposure. A study examining peanut-free guidelines found a reduction, but not an elimination, of peanut in lunches at schools with peanut-free policies,” researchers of the 2017 study wrote.

So what can be done?

The CBE said parents are responsible for informing the school of a student’s health needs or significant health concerns, the spokesperson said. Parents are also responsible for working with the principal to create a student health plan, which will help support the student.

Researchers involved with the 2021 Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology study said schools should have a stock of epinephrine injectors, like EpiPens, for students who need one. The researchers also recommended allergy training and action plans in schools and child-care settings, as well as requiring parents to provide updated allergy action plans.

Researchers of the 2017 Canadian Family Physician study said schools and parents need to encourage proper hand-washing, which is highly effective in preventing accidental allergen exposure. Schools should also have a no-food-sharing policy and eliminate all craft projects involving nuts and nut products.

“Studies have shown that hand-washing with all cleaning agents except alcohol-based hand sanitizer will completely remove peanut protein from hands. A school-wide policy of no food sharing would help prevent accidental ingestion of peanuts,” the study read.