Q: I’m a teacher and our middle school recently had an incident in which a small amount of nut butter got smeared on a desktop and that desk was later occupied by a student in my class with an allergy to hazelnuts. (That student had a minor skin reaction due to contact exposure.)
I would like to be sure that desktops get properly cleaned and to share some advice with our administration. What do allergy experts consider the most reliable method to clean allergenic foods off of surfaces?
Dr. Sharma: Contact exposure to a food allergen can cause localized skin reactions, and much less commonly systemic (or widespread) reactions.
These cases are usually triggered by direct skin contact with a food allergen, underscoring the importance of properly cleaning allergenic foods from desktops, tables and other surfaces in school settings.
A few studies have looked at peanut allergen and found it can persist on cafeteria tables and desktops. One compared cleaning methods to remove a teaspoon’s worth of peanut butter (which would be similar to a nut butter) from tabletops. The researchers found that using common cleansers, but not dishwashing liquid, effectively reduced peanut allergen to undetectable levels.
Soap Vs. Sanitizer in Cleaning Allergenic Foods
They also found that hand wipes and washing hands with soap and water successfully removed peanut residue from hands, while plain water and antibacterial hand sanitizer did not.
Another study found hand wipes effective in cleaning allergenic foods from surfaces, plastic toys and book covers. I hope these ideas will help at your school in relations to cleaning desktops and other surfaces.
Dr. Sharma is an allergist, clinical researcher and associate professor of pediatrics. He is Chief of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington D.C. and Director of the Food Allergy Program. Questions submitted will be considered for answer.
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