"Beyond A Peanut " Flash Cards
Product Review of Educational Cards for Kids with Nut Allergies
Mar 15, 2008
In an effort to advance the cause of education about peanut and tree nut allergies, Dina Clifford, in conjunction with Food Allergy Initiative of New York, has developed a set of informational peanut and nut allergy flash cards. The laminated set of 4 x 6 cards, titled “Beyond a Peanut”, reviews strategies for keeping nut-allergic kids safe, and highlights hidden dangers facing peanut and tree nut allergy sufferers. Ms. Clifford, mother of two highly nut allergic children, designed this set of cards to provide a handy reference for kids, parents, and friends of allergic children, to help answer questions that arise when confronted with new food and activity choices.
For a child with a peanut and tree nut allergy, the world can be a scary place. That’s because one of life’s basic requirements – food - can be potentially fatal. Imagine a life where you can never be completely sure if your next meal will be your last meal? For highly allergic individuals, accidental ingestion of even a small trace of a peanut or a tree nut is catastrophic. That’s the reality.
Although this scenario may seem overly dramatic, consider this: it is estimated that 150-200 people per year die in the U.S. from food related anaphylaxis. For nut-allergic individuals, the only way to avoid joining these tragic statistics is to completely avoid ingesting peanuts and tree nuts. To this end, education is the key. By raising awareness and staying vigilant, parents and other caregivers can better keep children safe.
A review of the “Beyond a Peanut” card set provides a comprehensive list of preventative techniques for allergy sufferers. The cards stress careful examination of food labels as a key for avoiding unsafe foods. They also provide information on common sources of accidental nut exposure, such as bulk foods, Asian foods, and baked goods. The cards are color coded: green for foods and situations that are usually safe, red for foods and situations that are usually unsafe and blue for general tips and tricks for avoiding accidental nut exposure. The cards stress the danger of cross-contamination of nut free foods by dirty kitchen utensils, or unwashed hands. Also highlighted are non-food products that often contain traces of nuts, such as hand lotions and dog treats that most people might not realize are unsafe for a nut allergic person. Finally, the cards list several companies that specialize in nut free products for kids with allergies.
The cards are available through the Beyond A Peanut website, www.beyondapeanut.com, for $13.99 per set. The cards are filled with useful information and tips, and are recommended to anyone with a nut allergic child. The price is certainly right, for a potentially life-saving product.
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