Last week, my boys school was doing a fundraiser for a family battling leukemia. They were asking for donations of cookies (which they provided a recipe to be used) to be sold at a local event. They specificed that they only wanted that recipe to be used as it was "nut free".

It got me thinking about where is the line drawn on "nut free"?
For example, I buy some supplies (like icing sugar, chocolate, candy melts) in bulk from the Bulk Barn on occasion. Although these items do not contain nuts, I have no idea if they have come into contact with nuts at some point in time. Who's to say that someone didn't scoop out their peanut butter chips and then use the same scoop for their chocolate chips? Some of my Wilton colours (bought before I found Americolor) are labelled that they may contain "traces of nuts".

My question is how do you clarify this issue? I can make something that doesn't have actual nuts in it...but that doesn't make it "nut free". I would love to send in treats with my boys, but because of the "nut free" policy at the school, I haven't been doing so. Am I overthinking this? Am I missing something?

how nut free something needs to be is up to the allergy suferer. some people can tolerate/ not react to the traces, but some people will react to any nut residue at all, whether its on the food or someones hand.
i dont understand why the school only let you donate cookies made from one recipe - there are 100s of recipes without nuts. and lots of ingredients arent guarenteed nut free, so it doesnt matter what recipe you might have used, you could still have triggered a reaction. it all suggests they themselves are a bit naive about what their policy actually means.
i would talk to your school in more detail. usually policies like this refer to actual nuts, not ingredients that may contain traces... but i suppose it depends on whether the policy is due to known allergy problems at the scool, or a reaction to cases else where.
xx

thanks brincess_b. I know there is 1 boy that was in my son's class last year that is severely allergic...he carries an epi-pen with him everywhere and he does not eat anything anywhere other than what his parents provide for him.

I thought it was strange as well that they provided a recipe to be used to ensure it was nut-free, but they really didn't ensure anything other than the cookie didn't contain any actual nuts.

It think you're right though, it is worth making a call to the school to find out what there actual policy is....whether it is "actual nut free" or "traces of nut free".