Peanut allergies causing a peanut ban at restaurants- whats next?

Question

I know it's not that big of a deal but I just bought a hot fudge sundae at McDonalds and asked for a bag of peanuts with it and they said they no longer carry them because of people that have peanut allergies. The bags are individually wrapped! What does that have to do with people with peanut allergies?

Are they going to have to ban wheat and gluten next because some people may be allergic to those? It really doesn't make sense.

Could people with peanut allergies really be affected by individually wrapped bags of peanuts?

Answer 1

I was on an airplane and had bought a bag a trail mix with nuts, and a passenger complained because their child was allergic to nuts.  So they took them away from me.

Some people are extremely allergic and just being near them can cause a severe reaction.  I wouldn't think Mcd's would stop giving nuts, they had them last time I was there!  

I think they are fine if the package is sealed, but if it's open, it depends on the person.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, yes they could.  It could kill them.  Wheat, wheat gluten and dairy products don't generally cause the kinds of problems nuts do.  No one knows why nut allergies in particular are so severe.  But, if one is severely allergic, coming in contact with them (and you can't avoid getting peanut residue on the outside of packages of peanuts) could cause a terrible out of control immune response called anaphylaxis.  As you can imagine, the idea of someone touching the outside of a  seemingly harmless-looking empty bag on their table, and then dying of anaphylactic shock in the restaurant, wouldn't be a pleasant experience for anyone involved.  No, we can't make the world safe for everyone in it.  But the sacrifice in this case doesn't seem like a lot.  I like nuts on my sundaes, too.  But I also wouldn't want someone hospitalized so that I can enjoy them.

Answer 3

I totally agree with Alba My grand daughter is allergic to nuts and nearly died  she went into anaphylactic shock and it took some time for her to recover Very scary all she had was 1 bite of a p butter cookie It seems to be more prevalent these days  I think it is the type of protein in the nut