Just finished Week 1 of working in the kitchen at a local summer camp.  since my daughter and I have severe food allergies, me working in the kitchen is very helpful.  Last week, my daughter was the only one with a food allergy, so it was simple.  This week there are 3 children with Peanut allergies, a Gluten sensitivity, and an allergy to red dye.   The food we use in the dining hall comes from a food service vendor or local supermarkets.

Some tips that may be helpful to others, whether cooking for an entire camp or at home:

• ALWAYS read labels…ingredients can change from one box to the next, an allergen may be a hidden ingredient in a product, or processing procedures may have changed since the last time you purchased products.
• Be aware of cross contamination. Doesnt matter how safe a food is, if you contaminate it with protein from an allergen.  Some common examples of cross contamination are: using the same knife for both peanut butter and jelly (Peanut allergy), using same cutting board for eggs and lettuce (Egg allergy),  using same measuring cup for milk and water (Milk allergy).
• Handwashing is essential!!! Scrubbing hands before and after handling foods is essential to avcoid contaminating safe foods.  Even if you are wearing latex gloves, you still needs to folllow handwashing procedures or change to new gloves to avoid transfer of proteins.
• Identification: Having a way for the kitchen staff to identify the children with food allergies is important.  If a “safe” meal is cooked for a particular camper, getting it to the right child is extremely important!!!
• Procedure: A written policy on how to handle an allergic reaction is essential.  And, as with fire drills, a “health emergency” drill would be helpful for establishing procedures with all staff.

Remember, children with intolerances and food allergies can have a wonderful experience at camp just like all the other kids!!!