Pb Jar Caches And Nut Allergies

February 3, 2006

I just placed a cache that is in a Peanut Butter Jar (well washed)...on the web page I placed a warning for Nut Allergies. Has anyone come acrossed any difficulties/comments from those with allergies? Or is this bad etiquette on my part to use the PB jar?

Comments?

7.3k · February 3, 2006

I'd never even considered the allergy possibility. I have seen them used - they don't hold up well, either leaking from the lid or being chewed upon.

20.7k · February 3, 2006

I doubt that there would be much problem with allergies. By the time you've bleached the heck out of it to stop the critters from chewing it up, I doubt that there would be anything left to be allergic to.

3.9k · February 3, 2006

Putting a warning like that on it would make me wonder if it was cleaned out or not, is it a stash of airplane snack peanuts?

Washing out with a bit of bleach in any food container should take care of anything that could be harmful to cachers. The warning only adds confusion.

February 3, 2006

When I saw the title of the post, I thought by "Pb" you meant lead!

And I wondered why anyone would use a lead jar?!?!?

3k · February 3, 2006

I agree with at least washing it out with bleach. I'm no chemist, but isn't plastic a petroleum based product? I've used pb jars in the garage and even after having gas or solvents in them, they still smell like peanut butter. Sometimes even after a few years. I wonder if the peanut oil soaks into the plastic. Anyone else notice this?

February 3, 2006

Good call. I know some folks with peanut allergies and it is a serious affair.

This link may be of use to you.

http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/Press_relea.../05_08b_04.html

Personally, listing the notice about the used peanut jar could be prudent. I would list it.

Cheers!

4HoundsBrewingCo

1.5k · February 3, 2006

Don't nut allergies kick in if you eat the nuts? I'm not sure just handling a jar would cause a reaction. Any doctors out there that know?

February 3, 2006

Peanut allergies have become more prevalint over the past few years. I know when I was growing up I was one of the few with the allergy, and for me it is only if I actually eat them does it cause a problem (although I'm really wierd and can eat creamy PB, so whatever I'm allergic too is removed in the processing of mass market PB ) There are now children with such severe allergies that they can have a major reaction by sitting at a table where someone had peanuts earlier, so saftey is a factor.

Personally, I would not put up anything saying "warning, it's a used PB container in case you have allergies" because it just seems, as others have said, that you haven't washed it enough. However, I would post a note in the description just stating that "cache is in a camo'd Peanut Butter jar" or something to that effect. That would be enough that anyone with a severe allergy would see and avoid, but isn't worded so that everyone becomes alarmed.

Just my thoughts.

Celticwulf

February 3, 2006

Not a doctor, just a chemist.

Yes, the allergic reaction can occur through handling contaminated items. Usually this involved subsequent touching of the mucus membranes (eyes, nose, throat).

Plastic jars are generally made of PET. All you wanted to know about PET can be found here: http://www.napcor.com/

I have also noticed the smell in the jars staying there for long periods of time.

Hope that helps.

4HoundsBrewingCo

1k · February 3, 2006

Just make sure that the jar is still identifiable as a PB jar. Anyone with allergies that sensitive should decide for themself whether to take the risk.

But why not just use a different container?

February 3, 2006

Recently on CNN there was an article about a girl who died after kissing her boyfriend who had eaten a Peanut Butter snack. The attached link is from CBS.

Link

February 3, 2006

But why not just use a different container?

Because there are some hiding spots that a nice round container like a PB jar is perfect for?

Yeah, they may not be an ammo can, but getting an ammo can into a knothole is tricky sometimes

Celticwulf

3.2k · February 3, 2006

When I saw the title of the post, I thought by "Pb" you meant lead!

And I wondered why anyone would use a lead jar?!?!?

To keep Superman from being able to see inside. Nobody knows anything anymore

5k · February 3, 2006

a Peanut Butter Jar (well washed)

How well washed? Running it through the dishwasher, or scrubbing it with a foam pad likely isn't good enough. Animals will chew it up in no time.

As SBell suggested, scrub and soak the jar in bleach, and after that it might not smell enough to attract hungry critters.

Jamie

3.2k · February 3, 2006

a Peanut Butter Jar (well washed)

How well washed? Running it through the dishwasher, or scrubbing it with a foam pad likely isn't good enough. Animals will chew it up in no time.

As SBell suggested, scrub and soak the jar in bleach, and after that it might not smell enough to attract hungry critters.

Jamie

I put out a PB jar almost 2 years ago to the day and it has yet to get any chew marks. Don't remember doing anything special to it beyond a general washing.

2.1k · February 3, 2006

a Peanut Butter Jar (well washed)

How well washed? Running it through the dishwasher, or scrubbing it with a foam pad likely isn't good enough. Animals will chew it up in no time.

As SBell suggested, scrub and soak the jar in bleach, and after that it might not smell enough to attract hungry critters.

Jamie

I put out a PB jar almost 2 years ago to the day and it has yet to get any chew marks. Don't remember doing anything special to it beyond a general washing.

Ditto here. I've got a couple of peanut butter jars, hidden in dog parks that have yet to be chewed on. My one cache that *has* been chewed was a Tupperware container that someone put some 'slime' toy in (at least I'm assuming the slime attracted the critters).

1k · February 3, 2006

...
Because there are some hiding spots that a nice round container like a PB jar is perfect for? ...

So why not use a pickle jar, or a mayo jar?

February 3, 2006

...
Because there are some hiding spots that a nice round container like a PB jar is perfect for? ...

So why not use a pickle jar, or a mayo jar?

Pickle and mayo allergies!

duh :lol:

20.7k · February 3, 2006

A wide-mouth nalgene jar may serve you well.

February 3, 2006

Funny thing about peanut allergies:

My mom is really, really allergic to peanuts, but for some reason she can eat food fried in peanut oil. There's this place near their house called Doug's Fish Fry. It's the best fish fry you ever had, and everything is fried in 100% peanut oil. She can eat there, but give her a nibble of a cookie with peanuts in it, and she's in trouble!

February 3, 2006

I don't think (I hope not anyway) that very many people are into licking the inside of a cache container to even worry about an allergic reaction :wacko:

5k · February 3, 2006

I put out a PB jar almost 2 years ago to the day and it has yet to get any chew marks. Don't remember doing anything special to it beyond a general washing.

Hmmm... perhaps I am wrong. I have found a handful of caches which were housed in former food containers. a number of them had holes chewed in them. Maybe peanut butter is special.

Jamie

20.7k · February 3, 2006

Rodents hate nuts. :wacko:

9.4k · February 3, 2006

Just don't fill the container with DHMO. I've heard that stuff kills lots of people :wacko:

20.7k · February 3, 2006

It has also been shown to absolutely destroy logs and other cache contents.

1k · February 3, 2006

Funny thing about peanut allergies:
My mom is really, really allergic to peanuts, but for some reason she can eat food fried in peanut oil. There's this place near their house called Doug's Fish Fry. It's the best fish fry you ever had, and everything is fried in 100% peanut oil. She can eat there, but give her a nibble of a cookie with peanuts in it, and she's in trouble!

It's the proteins in peanuts that are allergenic, not the oil.

1k · February 3, 2006

Just don't fill the container with DHMO. I've heard that stuff kills lots of people

OK; I'll bite--what is DHMO?

20.7k · February 3, 2006

DHMO - The universal solvent, it disolves more substances than any other liquid. It can be quite dangerous.

Edited February 3, 2006 by sbell111

3.8k · February 3, 2006

Dihydrogen Monoxide. :lol: :wacko:

February 3, 2006

Dihydrogen Monoxide.

Ahhhhh.... H2O. :lol:

1k · February 3, 2006

Dihydrogen Monoxide.

Yeah, I know that stuff, and have cleaned it out of cache containers more than once.

February 3, 2006

As a parent of a child with a peanut allergy, I would appreciate those who place the cache to 1. bleach the jar; 2. to post on the website that the cache is a peanut butter jar and 3. maybe use another type of container.

Many caches are in remote area, and although we carry an epi-pen with us, one shot may not be enough. For some allergic people, ingesting even a trace amount (1/44000 of a peanut kernel) can be life-threatening.

We do try to stay away from those cache containers just to be on the safe side.

Thanks for bringing this to the attention of the cachers here.

February 3, 2006

I doubt that there would be much problem with allergies. By the time you've bleached the heck out of it to stop the critters from chewing it up, I doubt that there would be anything left to be allergic to.

I'm allergic to bleach :wacko:

20.7k · February 3, 2006

I'm allergic to bleach

:wacko: :lol:

February 3, 2006

I think the problem with the greater prevalence of allergies is due to the parents of children trying to isolate them from germs. Let the kid play in the dirt and eat it once or twice. You don't have to scrub everything and everyone with anti-bacterial soap. The presence of a low level of background germs allows one to build up a healthy immunity.

February 3, 2006

What about TBs that have been in a pb jar cache that HASN'T been cleaned out well? Schools don't allow any peanut products in the classrooms durning school hours. Some have banned other kids from bringing pb in their lunchboxes.

20.7k · February 3, 2006

Are you serious? My kid can't eat PB&J because somebody else is allergic?

That's just silly.

February 3, 2006

I doubt that there would be much problem with allergies. By the time you've bleached the heck out of it to stop the critters from chewing it up, I doubt that there would be anything left to be allergic to.

I'm allergic to bleach

Me too (seriously!)

Myself, I'm actually EXTREMELY allergic to rodents (odd allergy, no?) so I suppose if little critters take up residence or spend significant time in a cache container (by way of a hole, not as a trade item!! [ :lol: ]I would probably have a reaction.

(sidenote: I once was standing near the open end of an open semi trailer. The scent of rodents was very strong, and I actually had a readtion! What a weenie!)

But, as I am allergic to the natural world, I come prepared. I have my inhaler, benedryl, eye drops, epi pen (well, I had one. Gotta get a new one) and a cell phone.

Food allergies can be nasty. I've got a strawberry allergy. Thankfully, no one is hiding caches in those little strawberry baskets.

Bec

February 3, 2006

As a Girl Scout leader, nut allergies are part of our training...all the other allerigies are just in the first-aid trainings, but the nut ones are so serious that it's crossed overinto outdoor skill training...very scary stuff. I guess the deal is that even smelling pb can send someone with a sever allergy into anaphyllactic (not spelled right) shock which is basically instant death. That's a worst-case scenario, but it has happened.

I hadn't thought about well-soaked then washed jars, though. Between my daughter and myself, we have two. PB is a primary source of protein in my house.

February 4, 2006

Are you serious? My kid can't eat PB&J because somebody else is allergic?

That's just silly.

If your kid is sitting next to an alergic kid at lunch who gets a good whiff of your kids PB&J sandwich guess what? It's possible that

His throat swells up, he cant brethe and he dies in front of your kid.

Now how silly do you think that is.

20.7k · February 4, 2006

I'm sorry. I still don't think that outlawing PB&J is the answer. Incidently, I just took a few minutes to search our local school's rules and it appears that they have not taken this measure.

February 4, 2006

The Bethel Park School District, as well as many others in the county (we're locally districted in Pennsylvania) only prohibits peanut products in the classrooms themselves. Others in the area have adopted the not pb in lunches rule just this year. I wonder how long it will last.

February 4, 2006

I think the problem with the greater prevalence of allergies is due to the parents of children trying to isolate them from germs. Let the kid play in the dirt and eat it once or twice. You don't have to scrub everything and everyone with anti-bacterial soap. The presence of a low level of background germs allows one to build up a healthy immunity.

there's actually a growing theory (with some valid scientific data, but not nearly enough to "prove" it ever) linking the peanut allergies with the development of honey nut cheerios and other similar foods.

When honey nut cheerios were first developed, they were produced in the same facility as regular cheerios (which many parents of toddlers are known to rely on as a wonderful snack food). this ended up giving the children exposure to nut products at too young of an age, and many developed allergies. since then, they've moved the production of honey nut cheerios to separate facilities, to minimize the potential impact. (logic as follows - we might never know of honey nut cheerios contributed or not, but why take the chance? sort of like there is 0 scientific evidence for caffeine causing birth defects, but since there's the possibility that it might, why risk it?) the thing is, some people will feed 1-year-olds peanut-butter...

all we really know for sure is that the vast majority of peanut (and all nut) allergies are due to being exposed to nuts at too young of an age. and that there was a tremendous spike in the number of nut allergy cases soon after honey nut cheerios entered the US marketplace. (and that a similar spike was not seen in other countries where the product was not for sale). however, it is also quite possible that we a) are simply better at identifying cases, or b ) have a 3rd factor that we haven't identified.

edit: to remove it's conversion to smileys

Edited February 4, 2006 by Beffums

3.9k · February 4, 2006

As interesting as this thread has been, it is becoming less and less about geocaching.

3.9k · February 4, 2006

That's actually pretty interesting. Never saw a warning for peanut allergies on a cache before. Personally, I'm more allergic to lamppost micros. Can someone please warn me about those? :wacko:

February 4, 2006

What about the TBs? Since we know that any TB has the potential of having been in a pb jar cache which has the potential of still carrying pb particles and touches the insides of other ammo can caches...

February 4, 2006

Are you serious? My kid can't eat PB&J because somebody else is allergic?

That's just silly.

A couple of years ago, my daughter brought home a letter from school that asked parents not to put anything chocolate in children's lunches due to twins in her class having chocolate allergies. :wacko:

1k · February 4, 2006

I think the problem with the greater prevalence of allergies is due to the parents of children trying to isolate them from germs. Let the kid play in the dirt and eat it once or twice. You don't have to scrub everything and everyone with anti-bacterial soap. The presence of a low level of background germs allows one to build up a healthy immunity.

An allergy is not due to lack of a healthy immune system. In fact, the immune system is very effective, but predisposed to react to certain proteins. Letting kids eat dirt will not make them less likely to have allergic reactions.

1k · February 4, 2006

I'm sorry. I still don't think that outlawing PB&J is the answer. Incidently, I just took a few minutes to search our local school's rules and it appears that they have not taken this measure.

Parents are usually not asked to avoid sending certain foods to school unless there is a child enrolled who is known to have a serious allergy. Nobody is outlawing PB&J, but if you knew your kids had a classmate who could die from exposure to a microscopic trace of peanuts, don't you think you could find something else to put in your kid's lunch?

Pb Jar Caches And Nut Allergies

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