School officials in Craig are staying very tight-lipped about why students at Craig Middle School ate packing peanuts during a science class and had to be treated at a hospital last week.
“We are working with parents now,” said Moffat County School District Re-1 Superintendent Joe Petrone. “The matter is under review.”
Three people were taken to Memorial Hospital in Craig on Nov. 3 and treated in the emergency room for ingesting packing peanuts, according to the Craig Daily Press. None were hospitalized.
Petrone would not say why students were eating packing peanuts while at school or if it was part of a science class activity. He also would not say how many students were involved or if teachers were aware that the foam peanuts were being eaten or if they played any role in the packing peanut ingestion.
Petrone would only say that district administrators were meeting with parents on Thursday to “discuss the situation.”
Packing peanuts were originally made of a chemically-based polystyrene foam, but some newer peanuts are made of a more environmentally-friendly ‘biofoam.’ That foam often is derived from sorghum or corn starch and is considered non-toxic.
Nancy Lofholm: 970-256-1957 or nlofholm@denverpost.com
