Northwestern University has announced that it will be making its Saturday game against Minnesota completely peanut-free. Northwestern is the first college team to ban peanuts entirely from their game.
The university is not only banning all peanut products but also power-washing the stadium to remove any traces of nuts, reports the Chicago Tribune.
Raoul Wolf, chief of the Pediatric Allergy and Immunology Section at University of Chicago Medicine, said that there are nearly five in 1,000 Americans that suffer from peanut allergies. He said, “If you can smell the peanuts, there’s enough protein in the air to cause a bad reaction. For the most sensitive patients, it’s not a risk worth taking.”
No word yet on plans for creating a beer-free zone, or a gluten-free county.