Food allergy policies questioned

QUEBEC DEFENDS LACK OF PROVINCIAL FRAMEWORK FOR SCHOOL POLICIES

Quebec should consider a province-wide framework on how schools manage food allergies rather than leaving it up to individual school boards, allergy experts said Wednesday.

The government was forced to defend its lack of provincial protocol this week after a Montreal school board announced it wouldn’t tell parents what to pack in their kids’ lunches.

In a memo to parents, the Commission scolaire de Montreal said school staff will not confiscate any food brought to school as it is up to parents to decide what their children eat.

The memo said students will be required to wash their hands before and after meals and are prohibited from sharing food.

“School staff are present during lunch hour and know the children who have allergies,” the memo stated. “They have at their disposal many strategies to intervene in order to protect children with severe allergies while respecting everyone’s lunches.”

The memo made headlines across the province and highlighted how Quebec is one of the only provinces without legislation or clear policy on how schools manage students’ food allergies.

David Fischer, president of the Canadian Society of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, said school food policy is a “thorny and controversial topic.”

But he added a provincewide approach is useful.

“Anything that is mandatory and regimented can help,” Fischer said.

There is a consensus among academics and other experts on how schools can reduce and treat serious allergic reactions, called anaphylaxis, but it doesn’t include “banning” foods, he explained.