Watch Out For Open Containers

We had an excellent discussion about ice cream's safety last week. Thank you to everyone who contributed to that. One comment stuck out in particular because it went beyond the ice cream. Ann from Tampa Mom mentioned the dangers of open containers away from home and our inability to know what is lurking that we can't see. Here is what she said:

Some other general thoughts about eating ice cream: If the ice cream is not from your house, do NOT eat from a previously open container. This is important in restaurants, too. Ghirardelli's Ice Cream Parlor was happy to provide an ingredient listing of everything in their restaurant (it's in a huge binder) and they opened a new container of ice cream and used a new scooper. This is becoming standard operating procedure in many eateries.

I could talk about this for much, much longer! I can't stress how important the no-previously-open-container rule is for condiments, too. Do NOT eat jam or jelly from an open container from anywhere. Many, MANY people dip their PB knife into the jelly.

I felt this was worth highlighting today because I know I have so many readers new to the peanut allergy life. Even though we have lived this life a while, my husband even commented on the wisdom in this comment, particularly about the jelly.

We never allow Tyler to eat ice cream at a store because of what the scooper was dipped in last and what residue could be left behind. During graduate school, I worked in an ice cream store one summer. I never even heard the term "cross contamination" back then so no one was taking any precautions. We sometimes rinsed those dippers in between dips. Sadly, I doubt much has changed in the last 9 years.

However, Ann's comment about an ice cream she feels is safe (by the way, another reader told me Ghirardelli's has good labeling practices), asking for a fresh container and a throughly scrubbed scooper might well be in some people's comfort levels. We don't have Ghirardelli's here but I might even consider it if I felt they understood and were taking all precautions.

Another thing she mentions is "safe" ice cream at someone else's house. If you are like me and deem a few store bought ones "safe," you should still avoid an open container at friends' or family's house simply because they might have used the same dipper for "safe" ice cream right after they dipped in a nut ice cream.

The same goes for any open container, like she said, where peanuts could be hiding. I've never been a jelly fan so I never ate that on my peanut butter sandwiches. My husband, who lived on them before we married, said he never used a separate knife. I would assume most people do not. You could take this further, really. Where do you think someone could use the same knife, spoon, etc after getting something with nuts?

I don't want those of you new to PA to become overly paranoid about eating at another person's house, but it is vital to think through issues like these before visiting. Call ahead and get the menu, throughly think through each aspect of what could happen in the kitchen, and take some "safe" substitutes as you deem necessary.