Carrington College found themselves in a tricky situation last week, after a resident allergic to peanuts unknowingly consumed a biscuit containing nuts. The student ate said sweet treat with faith in the fact that Carrington kitchen had become nut free. Yikes.
A student associated with Carrington told Critic Te Ārohi that the nut situation was “just an unfortunate mistake.” He reported that “one of Carrington’s chefs thought it was a good idea to put nuts in these cookies that were given out after dinner, despite Carrington kitchen being a nut free zone.” A nice end of week treat, for some maybe.
Concerning the issue, a University of Otago spokesperson told Critic, “I can confirm there was an incident on March 14 where a resident at Carrington College – a dedicated nut-free college – consumed food made by our caterers which included nuts and subsequently suffered an allergic reaction.” Apparently “the student became aware they were undergoing a reaction while eating the food and quickly self-treated using an EpiPen.”
A member of kitchen staff at the college, Callum, told Critic he had “no idea that it occurred.” Yet he did suggest that “the college only went nut free recently,” which may have led to the mix-up. The University is currently investigating the incident “to prevent such incidents from happening in the future.”
After the event occurred, college staff were immediately on the scene, “assisting the resident to access all support necessary.” In the aftermath, “Carrington College has apologised to the resident and their whanau and will continue to provide support.” Following this, they stated they are “dedicated to creating a safe and inclusive environment for all our students and are committed to implementing any necessary measures.”
The only question Critic is left with is whether the cookies are good or not. Too soon?