Peanut Contamination

1. Peanut Contamination By NXT GENERATION BUILDERS

2. Nicholas Maltbie Is a 13-year–old 8th grader who plays the piano. He loves to be on the computer and read books. He has a very outgoing personality and is a very original guy. Dawson Hall Is a 13-year-old 8th grader. He is involved in some activities outside of Robotics, like playing soccer and acting in the school musical. He is very creative, and enjoys writing and watching TV. Ish Shalash Is a 13-year-old 8th grader. Outside of robotics, he does Karate and plays other sports. He also enjoys building with Legos. He is a very honest and trustworthy person. Nicholas Driggs Is a 12-year-old 7th grader. He is an easy-going kid who loves to build with Legos, do puzzles and play video games. He plays the clarinet in the school band and also plays the ukulele . Zachary Driggs Is a 14-year-old 8th grader. He is a pretty quiet kid who loves to read, build with Legos and play video games. He is also a percussionist in the school band. Team Photo goes here Joey Riesenberg Is a 12-year-old 7th grader who plays spring baseball and 3 different instruments: guitar, trumpet, and tuba. He also likes to watch TV and play his Xbox. He can build, destroy, and fix just about anything. Nicholas Hesselgesser Is a 12-year-old 7th grader. In addition to robotics, he participates in Boy Scouts and enjoys playing golf. He also plays the piano and is a percussionist in the school band. He is an AWESOME team mate. Christian Sasser Is a 13-year-old 8th grader. He plays basketball, baseball, and also plays the French Horn in the school band. In his spare time, he enjoys hunting, fishing, building various things, and riding motorbikes

3. Our Problem Our research project was on how peanut protein can cross-contaminate other foods and surfaces, creating health hazards to people with allergies. How can peanuts can contaminate other foods? The residue of the proteins in peanuts is left behind on surfaces when manufacturing, cooking, and eating foods containing peanut products. How can we find out if tables are contaminated by peanut proteins? By testing surfaces for residue. Do our schools and restaurants have specific ways for keeping customers and students safe from cross-contamination? Yes, during our research we found out that some do. What can we do to help make sure these kinds of places are safe for everyone? Find out what cleans the residue the best, share what we learned, and give suggestions to help keep people safe when they eat. Our Research

4. Restaurant Interviews What kind of cleaning methods do you have, and how do you prevent cross-contamination when making food? Both First Watch and Chick-Fil-A follow the requirements set by the health department for regular cleaning and sanitizing. They also prepare different foods in separate areas so cross-contamination is minimized. First Watch will actually prepare a food sensitive customer’s meal using new utensils and dishes in a separate area of the kitchen Does your restaurant consider customer allergies when making food? At First Watch, when a customer mentions sensitivities to certain foods, the staff does whatever the customer needs to make sure they are safe. Chick-Fil-A doesn’t have special procedures because they use peanut oil, but they do inform customer’s by printing a peanut oil warning on their menus; What kind of oil do you use when preparing food for the customers? First Watch uses Pam cooking spray when preparing foods. It is a vegetable spray. They don’t fry foods in a large fryer like many restaurants. Chick-Fil-A uses Peanut Oil to fry their chicken, and vegetable oil for their fries. Does your restaurant have a peanut-free section or a peanut-free menu? First Watch has an Allergen menu which details what products each dish contains. Chick-Fil-A does not have a peanut-free menu, but it provides Table Toppers, which are disposable placemats that actually stick to the table with a tape.

5. First Watch Chick-Fil-A Table Topper to use as a clean mat for eating on Schools Some Lakota schools have “Peanut-free Zones”, which are tables only for kids with allergies to peanuts. No foods with any kind of nuts can be eaten at those tables. Special menu to show what foods may contain peanuts

6. Scientific Information What is fluorescence? A process that produces light using light energy. It refers to the immediate release of light that occurs within a fraction of a second after molecules are “excited”, causing them to appear to glow. Why does peanut butter fluoresce? The oils in peanut butter cause the fluorescence. The oils contain phosphors that absorb radiation from ultraviolet light and then emit the absorbed radiation as visible light. How does an ultraviolet black light bulb work? A black light gives off very little light that can be seen by the human eye. Light in the visible spectrum ranges from red, orange and yellow, to violet. The human eye can’t detect light beyond the violet light, which is why it is called ULTRAVIOLET light. A black light is similar to a standard fluorescent light used in many homes and businesses. The inside of the bulb is ultraviolet light and the outside has phosphors. A black light uses only one phosphor and the glass of the bulb is replaced by Wood’s glass. This special type of glass is treated with nickel oxide and blocks almost all light that humans can see. What are some safety concerns when working with UV light? UV lights contain a small amount of mercury and argon gas. The primary safety concerns about ultraviolet light relate to the glass itself being broken, and the mercury being released from a broken light. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), has established guidelines for cleaning up broken UV bulbs and has outlined the proper disposal procedures concerning UV lights. As long as we follow the procedures established by the EPA, ultraviolet lights, including black lights, can be safely used.

7. How easy is it to clean up peanut butter? Our Test Procedure • Step 1: Contaminate a clean table with peanut butter. Clean it up with the treatments shown below until no peanut butter is visible in room light. • Step 2: Test for traces of peanut butter using black light. • Step 3: Record the data on paper for 3 trials using different people to apply, clean and rank the stains. • Step 5: If the traces of peanut residue are found after cleaning, thoroughly clean the table before the next trial. Our Test • Suspend 2-40W black lights close to the table to provide strong fluorescence response • Test 5 cleaning methods • 1. No cleaning (control) • 2. Dry paper towel • 3. Fantastikspray cleaner with a paper towel • 4. Dawn dish detergent diluted with water • and a paper towel • 5. Water only with a paper towel

8. Our Rankings after 5 runs Trial 2: 4 - Dawn and water 5 - Plain water & paper towel 2 - Dry paper towel 3 - Fantastik Spray 1 - Nothing (no cleaning) Trial 3: 4 - Dawn and water 5 - Plain water & paper towel 3 - Fantastik Spray 2 - Dry paper towel 1 - Nothing (no cleaning) Trial 1: 4 - Dawn and water 3 - Fantastik Spray 2 - Dry paper towel 5 - Plain water & paper towel 1 - Nothing (no cleaning) Dawn ranked #1 in every trial for cleaning! Plain water and a paper towel ranked number 2 most often, followed closely by Fantastik spray and a paper towel. A dry paper towel alone was not very effective. Our Conclusions • Dawn detergent in water with a paper towel had the edge due to its grease cutting ability • Other treatments appeared to clean well in regular light, but showed traces of peanut butter left behind under UV light

9. Photos of results from Peanut butter cleaning experiment

10. Our Team’s Solution to help prevent cross-contamination • Recommend Dawn and water to remove all traces of peanut butter and avoid contamination! • In cafeteria and restaurant settings, recommend “Peanut-Free Zones” when possible to protect students and customers. Our school now has one! • Continue to share our information with other schools and restaurants to spread the awareness of the contamination potential. • Make schools aware that there are test kits available to purchase that are very sensitive for detection of allergens, including peanut proteins (Neogen Reveal 3-D Allergen Test Kits – Peanut)

11. Bibliography • http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/peanut-allergy/DS00710/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all • http://www.peanut-institute.org/eating-well/allergy/ • http://www.webmd.com/allergies/tc/peanut-allergy-overview • http://www.wisegeek.com/what-causes-a-peanut-allergy.htm • http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fluorescence • http://www.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp.htm/printable • http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/corporate/newsroom/storyideas/compactfluorescentlamps/mercury/ • http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/hazard/tsd/pcbs/pubs/ballasts.htm People Who Helped Our Research First Watch: Dana- a server who graduated from the Culinary Art Institute of Cincinnati with a degree in Culinary Arts. Chick-Fil-A: Katie