Although some Ball State University students might be allergic to peanuts, Chick-Fil-A in the Atrium cooks some of its products with peanut oil.
But Director of Dining Elizabeth Poore said no students have complained about the food because most students with food allergies come to the Dining office and ask about the content of food themselves.
"Most food allergy students come and see me personally," she said. "We do a lot of one-on-one counseling"
A sign near the Chick-Fil-A stand warns students that products are cooked with the oil, so they are aware of possible allergic reactions before eating the food.
According to the Chick-Fil-A Web site, peanut oil has been used since the 1960s. In 1999, the food chain began labeling its foil bags and Chick-Fil-A Nuggets boxes to inform customers of the oil.
The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting the intake of saturated and trans fatty acids, and according to the Chick-Fil-A Web site, peanut oil has no trans fat, no cholesterol, is low in saturated fat and has a good balance of healthy unsaturated fats.
The Web site also says oils derived from foods that can cause allergies, such as peanut oil, are not usually allergenic. Most commercial oils such as peanut oil are highly refined, or hot solvent extracted, which removes protein from the product.
Because of this, the peanut oil Chick-Fil-A uses is less likely to cause an allergic reaction, according to the Web site.
Poore said students with food allergies made appointments with Dining so none of the students would get an allergic reaction.
A lot of the food Dining makes is from scratch or uses processed ingredients, she said.
Most of the time, students are allergic to dairy, fish, shellfish, wheat, soy, tree nuts and peanuts, she said.
Poore said about eight students came to her in the academic school year to discuss food because they had food allergies.
Junior business major Nick Thornburg said he didn't see any problem with peanut oil for the average person.
He also said the oil didn't matter because it wouldn't affect the taste of the chicken for him.
"Oil is oil," he said.
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