1) Unbelievable - I would venture a guess that most home kitchens are cleaner and more sanitary than the kitchens in bakeries and restaurants.

2) How rediculous!!! I agree with Steve. I've worked as a waitress and have witnessed first hand how unsanitary restaurants can be. Food dropped on the floor & put back on plates and workers handwashing...don't even get me started.

There are a number of schools in our area that are "peanut free zones" because of the fear that a child with an allergy might come "in contact" with peanuts. What ever happened to teaching your child not to eat foods they allergic to? It's a crazy world we live in.

3) I keep wondering where all the peanut allergies came from. Kids lived on peanut butter when I was growing up. I'm sure we got fed peanuts in food at school. I don't argue that there weren't peanut allergies then but now they seem to be rampant. Have we sanitized ourselves into creating more allergies and issues by limiting what mothers eat when nursing or feed to their kids by a certain age or did the world of food go nuts (literally!) and create the problem with chemicals used or poor quality food in our processed food? It makes me wonder how we all got so sensitive to everything. That peach recipe I shared has raw eggs in it. No one even thought that was odd years ago. Now, it looks dangerous and I would hesitate feeding it to a group unless I used pasteurized eggs or egg product. It's insane.

4) In the state of Missouri, there are no home-baked goods because all food service employees are required to have a hepatitis shot. Personally, I am happy about the store bought only rule. If you've ever watched my mother-in-law bake, I'm happy that I don't have to eat her spit. She is constantly licking her fingers when she bakes and cooks.

As far as allergies go, some kids have such severe allergies that it can be as simple as touching a trash can where a peanut butter sandwich was thrown away to send them into anaphylactic shock. Unfortunately, allergies are on the rise, and it is the world we live in. As a teacher, I certainly don't want to be the one that gives the epi shot. (I had one on my classroom for the past 2 years, too.)

5) Mom, I'm surprised that, as a nurse who has worked with children, you'd be so flippant on the subject of peanut allergies. As Jenn said, even being *near* peanut butter can send kids into anaphylaxis.

6) I do think thigs have gotten a little out of control but I also took care of a child back in the 80's in intensive care from eating one peanut. More allergies or just the increase in the population? I don't know the answer but I believe that all this processed food is the source of many of our nation's health problems.

7) Sorry Jenn and Scott, but I'm going to have to agree somewhat with Leslie here.

While pregnant, I didn't limit myself to ANYTHING! I ate what I wanted to eat, as long as I could fit it into my 2000-calorie per day diet, and believe me, if anyone could make a small Brownie-Batter Blizzard from DQ work into that diet, it was me!! I've also not limited my children when it comes to food; they've had milk products from six months of age (whole milk started on their 1st birthdays with cake and ice cream) and fresh fruit--including all berries--as soon as they could sit up in the high chair...no teeth necessary. And since their father is a "nut" nut, we offered them peanuts, cashews, etc. as soon as they had the teeth to chew them. Also, The Momma (me) is crazy about shellfish, so yep, they've had that, too!

Now don't get me wrong, I'm sure that there are many children/folks that would honestly be allergic to many of the aforementioned food items; however, I feel that limiting kids from an early age causes problems, as well. For example, my sister-in-law completely limited her children from milk products and many citrus fruits because her husband's family had horrible allergies. Now, her oldest son was supplemented with Ensure and was given plenty of juices to compensate, and you can imagine how she felt when the child was four and a half years old recovering in an outpatient room after having six of his top front teeth pulled due to decay. Her youngest, who is two years old, has "had" multitudes of allergies from milk products to citrus fruits to water--yes, WATER! He went the first 18 months of his life only having a bath every 5-7 days, poor thing. Now, all of those allergies have seemed to disappear, but not without consequences: A) he doesn't speak much (sees a therapist) and B) he is not even on the growth charts for his age bracket--he was wearing an 18-month swim trunk at his 2nd birthday party that came down to his ankles! Oh and I should also mention that they both had colic until they were 3-6 months of age. Now, are all these issues caused from limiting them from certain foods? I don't know, but maybe.

8) I have to agree with Jenn and Scott - when it comes to the school or food for public consumption. I think that your own kids are different because you "know" what they are or are not allergic to. Fact is - some kids are allergic to nuts and just the presence of the nuts can make them very sick. I don't have an issue with schools being a nut free zone - sure it is a PITA when it comes to packing a lunch but I would rather it be that way then discover that a 5 year old innocently shared his PB&J sandwich with another 5 year old that just did not understand what it would do to him and cannot comprehend the idea that there is something they cannot have.

9) Angi, I wasn't dismissing the entire argument in one fell swoop. I think it's fine to not limit your children. I just happen to think it's better to be on the safe side when giving foods to others. If you want to feed your children everything under the sun, fine. But would you want to be responsible for the death of a child that isn't yours?

I work with 15-19 year-olds who haven't figured out what is and isn't acceptable for them to eat, drink, etc. yet. I'm wary of giving a 5 year old the benefit of the doubt.

10) Haha... I love the photo in your blog. That is so funny. DEATH TO THE COOKIES.
They are trying to put us out of work.

11) I agree, Betsy. I know the argument has strayed to allergies and I still think that is important and good to discuss--so I'm not dismissing the sidetrack! I am of the same mind as Scott on feeding others. I'm VERY careful to use the safest and freshest of ingredients. Would I eat raw eggs in any dish--absolutely. Would I feed that same dish to a group--no. I don't put treats with raw eggs or raw egg-whites in them in a common area. I'm careful to make sure anyone who wants to know what is in the baked item knows exactly what is in there--even to the point of giving them the recipe--I don't keep recipes secret.

I would feel HORRIBLE if I made anyone even mildly sick--much less dangerously ill. But, I can't say I've ever heard of a food-poisoning by a person--only by a restaurant. And I've never left my eggs cracked in a dish for hours beside a hot stove like some places making breakfast. I'd trust my raw eggs over some of theirs cooked. Salmonella is dangerous in raw eggs but the danger is one in 20,000 and the incidents of it are all at the restaurant level. I'm happy that public schools are careful and I appreciate people who handle food having their shots but that doesn't keep them from spitting in the food (apparently there is safety in hepatitis free spit) or mishandling it to make my child sick.

I also agree that most 5 year olds aren't food aware and could be tempted but hopefully knowing the proximity of a peanut could make me very sick would make me want to avoid it. When I was a kid, if I got very sick from eating something, I tended to dislike it. To this day I still shudder when someone mentions potato soup. I know it tastes good and I know I can eat it and will enjoy it but when I had my tonsils out they gave me ether (yes, I'm that old!) and I got violently sick from the ether and couldn't eat food most of the stay in the hospital. And what do I remember them trying to feed me? Potato soup. I wouldn't even try it until I was an adult and the memory is so strong I shudder when I hear someone say those two words to this day.

Getting a stomach-ache from eating too many green apples won't deter me from doing it again, but being violently sick on potato soup did the trick. It just confuses me why the rate of peanut allergies is so high. Did the peanuts change over the years? Is it the soil or the chemicals used that have built up over the years that increased it? I'm sure there were kids allergic to peanuts and having to avoid them when I was growing up but I don't remember ever hearing about it like now. Yes, the media blows everything up more now so maybe that is it but it is amazing how many people I hear talking on the street and on the bus about all the allergies their kids have. It keeps me wondering why kids are so much more allergic to the world--other than the obvious that the world is what is altered, not the food/air/grass/water that we currently are exposed to. If my grandmother added spit to her famous pound cakes--I guess I got my dose and didn't suffer from it. :)

I'm glad you like my protest sign about home-baking being banned and food being wasted. At the most, let me as the contestant take it home with me and suffer the consequences if it makes me sick. But to watch tons of food be wasted to honor some odd law that is based on concern more than fact is a waste. And to deny people the joy of entering food contests and bringing home ribbons for a cake or pie at the fair--it makes me sad. More and more traditions being lost for some odd notion more than a real threat.

12) Thankfully, the health police have not ruined our small town traditions here. On Labor Day, our little community will have a pie contest with some of the best pies ever tasted and all of them baked in home kitchens. The best part will come when all pies are auctioned off to the highest bidder. You wouldn't believe it, but some of them bring well over $100.

13) I'd believe it! And I think it is great. Hopefully the small towns will outlast the health police. If someone wants to take such good care of my health--get all the smokers to stop smoking up my world. :)

What happens to the $$ for the pies?