Stanford starts peanut-sensitive facility for food allergy sufferers

(U-WIRE) STANFORD, Calif. — Most students enjoy a peanut butter and jelly sandwich as a lunch on-the-go or late-night treat. But for some, this treat can be deadly. Stanford University Dining has transformed Ricker dining hall into a peanut-sensitive facility in response.

For most students, the dining hall is a harmless place where their greatest concern is choosing turkey casserole over pizza for dinner. For those afflicted with food allergies, however, the dining hall can be a dangerous — and potentially deadly — environment. Stanford Dining is on the cutting edge of dealing with such issues. Ricker dining hall has been a peanut-sensitive facility since fall 2002. It is the first of its kind at any university in the country. Several schools, including Harvard University and Cornell University, have contacted Nadeem Siddiqui, executive director of Stanford Dining, requesting information about starting similar programs.

The peanut-sensitive facility was developed when one student came to Stanford four years ago and realized he could not eat safely in any of the dining halls, due to a severe peanut allergy.

This student, who asked to remain anonymous for privacy reasons, has been living with a severe peanut allergy since age 4. As a result, he has spent most of his adolescence avoiding cafeteria facilities to prevent an allergic reaction. Doctors told him that if he consumed any peanut products, including peanut butter and peanut oil, he could go into anaphylactic shock.

"I'm cautious enough that I have never had a serious problem with my allergy," the student says. "But if I were to ingest just a small bit of a peanut, I would probably stop breathing."

Nearly three million Americans, or 1.1 percent of the population, suffer from peanut allergies. According to the student's mother, who also wished to remain anonymous, people have died from as little peanut butter exposure as a speck on a knife. She also said that it is estimated that 125-200 people die each year from exposure to peanut products.

— Kristin Moritz