[Charles H. (The_r0nin)]

The plain M&M’s, she explained, could be contaminated if made at the candy factory in a vat that previously contained M &M’s with peanuts.

Give me a break! This is ludicrous! There is NO way that the trace amounts of peanuts from a vat surface, having been mixed and diluted in another vat full of chocolate could be enough to cause a reaction. You could coat the surface of the vat with strichnine or arsenic and not have enough molecules per volume to harm anyone.

Her statement is sheer idiocy. It almost borders on Munchausen-by-proxy. I guess doing all of that really makes mom feel like she's needed...

[bigfootbob]

"The plain M&M’s, she explained, could be contaminated if made at the candy factory in a vat that previously contained M &M’s with peanuts."

Read the package of a Three Musketeer bar. It states on the label it was manufactured at a plant that uses peanuts.

I used to work at a food manufacturer that made just add water pancake, pizza crust, muffin, and various batter mixes. It is possible to have cross contamination. It happened mostly in the mixer and tote containers.

Our hardest product to completely clean from the production line was the blueberry muffin mix. I took an entire shift to clean. We ran a bulk mix to flush after the cleaning and I could still smell and taste the blueberries on the first batch of the next product we would manufacture. Peanuts may pose problems.

When I was in school in the '70's a kid had a problem with bee stings. He carried a preloaded injection pen with a steroid for emergencies. No special tables no mandatory bee free areas. People are nuts.

[F.J. Mitchell]

For a sight that is partial to elephants, it is shocking to discover how many jackasses are hanging out here..

[Ichneumon]

Give me a break! This is ludicrous! There is NO way that the trace amounts of peanuts from a vat surface, having been mixed and diluted in another vat full of chocolate could be enough to cause a reaction.

Actually, it could. Tests have shown that *wiped* countertops that have previously been used to prepare countertops still contain enough contamination to cause problems for sensitive individuals if their food is subsequently prepared there.

Likewise for kisses from people who have consumed nuts within the last few *hours*.

One man had a severe reaction to a donut that had been fried in the same oil that earlier had been used to fry a peanut-flavored donut.

You could coat the surface of the vat with strichnine or arsenic and not have enough molecules per volume to harm anyone.

Maybe, maybe not (in any case I'm sure you could not get the FDA to approve such facilities), but allergic reactions are different from direct poisonings. Most poisons require enough material to directly damage the body's mechanisms. Allergic reactions, on the other hand, are due to a "chain-reaction" effect, where the body's own reaction to the trigger generates larger effects, which then cause even larger effects, etc. It's more like an avalanche than an invasion. And just as a gigantic avalanche can be set off by a single footstep on the wrong part of an unstable snowpack, very small amounts off the allergen can be the trigger for a cascading sequence of bodily reactions which lead to major systemic distress (and/or death).

[Junior]

It almost borders on Munchausen-by-proxy. I guess doing all of that really makes mom feel like she's needed...

That's it! You hit the nail on the head.

[wsack]

The problem with M&M's is that there is always the possibility that a peanut M&M can get in the bag with plain M&M's. They are manufactured in the same plant so there is nothing preventing this from happening by chance. Yes this is a small chance, but just think of the number of M&M's manufactured in any one day. Even a small probability becomes a certainty when you package millions of these. Eating one misplaced M&M can kill a person, believe it or not.

I admit I previously had the same attitude about food allergies. But my 4 year old daughter has been diagnosed with a severe peanut allergy and now I must carry an Epi-Pen and carefully watch what I and other people may give her.

[Chancellor Palpatine]

There is NO way that the trace amounts of peanuts from a vat surface, having been mixed and diluted in another vat full of chocolate could be enough to cause a reaction. You could coat the surface of the vat with strichnine or arsenic and not have enough molecules per volume to harm anyone.

So I take it that you work in a scientific endeavor that studies allergens, or are you just talking out of your ass?

[At _War_With_Liberals]

"Her statement is sheer idiocy. It almost borders on Munchausen-by-proxy. I guess doing all of that really makes mom feel like she's needed..."

Food whackos are a little bit easier to tolerate than environmentalist whackos.

[ShadowDancer]

Give me a break! This is ludicrous! There is NO way that the trace amounts of peanuts from a vat surface, having been mixed and diluted in another vat full of chocolate could be enough to cause a reaction.

Back your statement up.

[Iris7]

I am sure you have been reminded enough on this thread of Mark Twain's famous statement, freely rendered, that it is not what people don't know that hurts them, but what they do know that ain't so.

I find it best to not have opinions or advance hypotheses on subjects where I do not have adequate special knowledge except, of course, under press of circumstances. Not that I can maintain my own standards very well, of course!!!

[Ann Archy]

You do NOT know of which you speak.....my friend's child went into anaphalactic shock just by handling the bread of his first PB sandwich.

I thought the peanut allergy thing was HYPED until my friend's son had it. She ate a lot of peanut butter sandwiches when she was pregnant and he punched and kicked, but she thought it was "happy movements".

[Tall_Texan]

Second-hand peanuts. The ruse worked once.