Nut-Free birthday cake?

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Permalink Reply by Chellsey Lewis on August 10, 2011 at 4:35pm

My son has nut allergies and I use vegetable oil. I am not sure why it says it has peanuts? I would ask the mom if the child tolerates vegetable oil..

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Permalink Reply by Marilyn Arseneau on August 10, 2011 at 4:49pm

Yeah, the oil I have  oil is a store-brand generic, and I was surprised to see the nutty disclaimer! I guess you can't be too careful...thanks for the input!

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Permalink Reply by Chellsey Lewis on August 10, 2011 at 5:08pm

No thank you now I need to check my labelss more often and more accurately!

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Permalink Reply by suziq auzzi on August 16, 2011 at 12:03am

Perhaps they also "do" peanut oil at their factory as well - sharing machinery is a source of contamination. Vegetables blends may contain a proportion of peanut oil.

The problem with preparing food for allergic customers is not just the ingredients that you use, but the actual location as well. Contamination is the major source of problems when it comes to "allergic" food preparation especially in the case of systemic anaphylaxis [deathly allergic].

As peanuts are legumes, is she also reactive to other legumes such as soy, peas, beans and lentils? Peanut allergy, unfortunately, tend to pair up with tree-nut allergy - are they a problem as well?

Do you have peanut-butter in your kitchen? do you bake or decorate using peanut butter? then consider your utensils.. wood and plastic absorb .. cracks, crevasses, scratches and nicks can contain particles .. Do you cook Asian or use asian cooking products? Some Indian products also use peanut.

 

Things to think about ..

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Marilyn Arseneau on August 16, 2011 at 9:06am

Hi,

   Thanks so much for the thought-provoking info. I did a bit of cyber-sleuthing and have just touched the tip of the iceberg regarding my knowledge of nut allergies! (I'm an old hippie, and these things were virtually non-existent  when I was a kid).

    In the end, the mom got so nervous when she found out I had peanut butter in the fridge that she went to a specialty bakery. It would have been a fun cake to make, but I'm glad she made that decision!

   It must be so hard for the families of kids who are that severely allergic. My friend's daughter was that way as a toddler, but she outgrew or was able to manage it eventually. Thank God, because mom was a basket case for a number of years.

suziq auzzi said:

Perhaps they also "do" peanut oil at their factory as well - sharing machinery is a source of contamination. Vegetables blends may contain a proportion of peanut oil.

The problem with preparing food for allergic customers is not just the ingredients that you use, but the actual location as well. Contamination is the major source of problems when it comes to "allergic" food preparation especially in the case of systemic anaphylaxis [deathly allergic].

As peanuts are legumes, is she also reactive to other legumes such as soy, peas, beans and lentils? Peanut allergy, unfortunately, tend to pair up with tree-nut allergy - are they a problem as well?

Do you have peanut-butter in your kitchen? do you bake or decorate using peanut butter? then consider your utensils.. wood and plastic absorb .. cracks, crevasses, scratches and nicks can contain particles .. Do you cook Asian or use asian cooking products? Some Indian products also use peanut.

 

Things to think about ..

 

 

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Permalink Reply by Dawn Becker on August 16, 2011 at 1:00pm

I turn down any job like this.  It's just not worth the risk.  There are bakeries who specialize in this and that's where they need to shop.  It is a deathly risk - much too high for me.

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Permalink Reply by Marilyn Arseneau on August 16, 2011 at 8:39pm

I agree. I've been baking cakes for years and have never had this issue before...I'll follow your lead and turn any such projects away. Thanks for the input!

Dawn Becker said:

I turn down any job like this.  It's just not worth the risk.  There are bakeries who specialize in this and that's where they need to shop.  It is a deathly risk - much too high for me.

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Permalink Reply by Hope Brady on August 17, 2011 at 6:05pm

If you are using a home kitchen that uses peanut butter or nuts, you cannot say your cake is nut free as it may contain traces  of nuts.  Our health board says that if  you want something to be 100% peanut free you have to use a separate kitchen that has never seen a nut.  Since he is Deathly Allergic I would turn the cake down since I do them from home and I only have one kitchen.  You can never be to careful with serious allergies.

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