SAUGUS – The School Department may be putting the kibosh not on parties, but on homemade treats and outside food brought in to liven up the parties.Superintendent Keith Manville said school physician Dr. Alain Chaoui has recommended a ban on homemade treats simply because the number of students with food allergies is so high.When treats such as brownies are brought in for a birthday celebration, Manville said the school nurse is asked to certify that they are OK for everyone, which he said is problematic because the nurse can’t know for sure what’s in the baked goods.”So Dr. Chaoui recommends that food not be brought in because it’s putting us at risk,” he said.Manville said since middle school students and high school students usually know what they can and cannot eat, the issue is focused primarily on the elementary level.Oaklandvale School Principal Kathleen Stanton admits the whole issue really puts the elementary schools “out on a limb.”Stanton said the number of food allergies is almost stymieing and goes far beyond peanuts to milk, eggs and wheat.Stanton said on occasions like Halloween or Valentine’s Day, a line often forms for the nurse to examine each dessert that comes in. She said even when a parent brings the dessert in, it is still difficult to determine exactly where it came from and if it’s allergy free.As Manville said, the parent may not have included peanuts or peanut oil in a recipe but they might have inadvertently cut the brownies with a knife that had been used to cut a peanut butter sandwich.”You can’t say no celebrations, no parties, we’re an elementary school after all,” Stanton said.To lessen the risk of putting children with food allergies in harm’s way, Stanton said the principals are looking at a couple of options, including Hoodsie ice cream cups, which are fine.”Not generic Hoodsies, but the real ones,” she added.Smart Food popcorn is also on the list of foods cleared for pretty much everyone or, Stanton said, parents don’t have to bring in a snack for a birthday or holiday party at all.”Instead of baked goods they could bring in a grab bag with a pencil and an eraser in it for every child,” Stanton said.Stanton said a third option might be to have food provided by the cafeteria. That, she explained, would give them greatest control and they would know nothing would slip by.”When I first started, you never gave a peanut allergy a thought and now you have kids that if it’s in the same room or in the air they’re in trouble,” she said. “We really do have to limit food from the outside.”While the elementary principals are trying to work out a solution on their own, School Committee member Christine Wilson would like the Policy Subcommittee to get in the mix as well. She said changing the way the schools handle food contributions is definitely an issue for the policy committee, though the principals’ input would be most welcome.