LET’S TAKE A WALK FOR FOOD ALLERGIES
August 26, 2006
“I can resist everything but temptation.” – Oscar Wilde
WITHOUT A LOTA REPETITION, y’all know that G and ‘Lil Emma both have serious allergies. G is extremely allergic to certain nuts, cilantro and a host of other foods. Emma is allergic to nuts. My good friend, Michael Floorwax, is extremely allergic to MSG. One out of 25 Americans is allergic to some type of food.
On the morning of September 9th, there will be a Walk for Food Allergy: Moving Toward A Cure at Clement Park in South Jeffco. The money raised will be one step forward in finding cures and promoting awareness for food allergies. The Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network (FAAN) is hosting walkathons all across the United States this fall. They are the nation’s leading nonprofit, patient advocacy organization providing information about food allergies. Get on their “alert” list. Read everything on their website. You need to protect yourself and your children. Here’s the link: http://www.foodallergy.org/Support/Walk/walk.html
If you ain’t convinced to participate, read this excerpt from a mother’s description of the effect of a son’s allergies on her and her family:
“No one understands this. It's not a visible handicap. And it's not an upset stomach. But not many people know how fragile our strong healthy happy little boy is. The world is a toxic place for him. Our sustenance can be his end. Every door handle has a remnant of something that could cause his little body to shut down. Every playground surface - each handholding friend - each hi-five - every table and chair and airplane seat. The air at a carnival carries nut proteins. It's like those allergic to the sun… the life-giving force. Explain that to the uninformed and without hurting your child's feelings. As mothers, our hearts bleed as we hold our children out of harm's distance while the other kids eat cake and ice cream at a party - together - laughing and having food fights. And as we tell them they can't participate in picnics. While they sit alone in the cafeteria at a "special" table. Because they've never tasted ice cream. And because if they ever decide to we must pray that we'll get them to the ER in time. And we need to live this way too... to keep our children safe from our hands and our plates. But you need to dream - and so a Walk. To make people aware and to spend our energy being proactive. Because there are a lot of confusing, long days.”
What can and should restaurants do to reduce the risk of contracting an allergic reaction while dining out?
- Be particularly aware of cross contamination. Train your staff in the risks and how to prevent them. Staff cannot wash their hands too often.
- Pay attention to customers who have allergies. Even better, ask every diner if they have any allergies. 4% of us do.
- Rather than me create something, I’d rather print what someone else has already created and knew what he or she was talking about. The following guidelines were extracted from Restaurants USA (no longer published):
Serving customers with allergies:
- Advise staff to pay close attention when a guest says he or she has a food allergy. Most allergy suffers are very knowledgeable about the foods they cannot eat. If you're not certain what food items an allergy encompasses, ask. For example, if a person asks whether an egg roll was fried in peanut oil, staff members should ask if the diner is allergic to all peanut products. In one incident at a Miami restaurant, a server assured
- Servers should be able to describe a menu item and its ingredients upon request. Staff members should know what ingredients are in an item or where to find the information. In some cases, it may be helpful to show guests product labels so that they can assess the situation for themselves.
If a server does not know whether a menu item is free of a potentially offending food substance, he or she should say so and refer the guest to a manager who has been designated to answer such questions.
Ideally, there should be a designated point person on staff during each shift who is prepared to answer questions about ingredients; however, if no one knows for certain whether an allergen is in an item, admit that and recommend ordering another item.”
Food Preparation:
- Train staff about potential allergens. Common allergens include eggs, fish, milk, peanuts, shellfish, tree nuts (including almonds, Brazil nuts, cashews, chestnuts, hazelnuts, hickory nuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios and walnuts) and wheat.
Avoid cross-contaminating foods with potentially allergenic foods. Food for allergy sufferers should be prepared and served without any contact with allergens. Train kitchen staff to use a prep table that has not been exposed to the allergen if at all possible and to clean their cooking utensils after working with potentially allergenic foods.
Train chefs so that they can prepare allergen-free versions of items upon request.
Never include a possible allergenic food as a "mystery ingredient."
- The trend toward "creative cookery" and the use of nontraditional ingredients--such as nuts in cheesecake--can increase the chance that customers will ingest offending foods. To avoid these problems, try to include such ingredients in the menu item's name or description.
Don't make casual product substitutions. For example, don't substitute peanut oil for canola oil. A regular customer with a food allergy will not think to ask whether a dish he or she has been enjoying for years has suddenly been altered.
Read labels carefully. It's not good enough to guess what ingredients are in a product. For example, a barbecue sauce may contain nuts, but many people might not think to check the label for this. Just because a product was safe last month or last year doesn't mean that it's safe today. Food manufacturers sometimes change ingredients.
Complex foods such as sauces, dressings and garnishes may cause an allergic reaction. Serve these items on the side to allergy sufferers.
Be aware that even a minuscule amount of food can set off a severe allergic reaction. For example, if a customer specifies that he or she is allergic to walnuts, it's not enough to simply scrape the nuts off the top of a piece of cake you are serving.
Emergency Procedures:
- People with a food allergy or food hypersensitivity experience an abnormal reaction in which the immune system overreacts to what is for most of people a harmless food substance. Chemicals are released in the body that cause affected skin areas to become red, itchy and swollen, blood vessels to widen, and internal muscles to contract.
Restaurant staff should know how to recognize the symptoms of an allergic reaction. Symptoms can include:
--itching in and around the mouth
--a tightening of the throat (airway blockage)
--wheezing and hoarseness
--shortness of breath
--appearance of hives
--swelling of the eyelids, lips, hands or feet
--nausea
--cramping or vomiting
--a sense of impending doom
--a drop in blood pressure
--a loss of consciousness
Symptoms may appear as soon as 1 to 15 minutes after consuming the food, but can also develop over a period of hours.
Most cases of allergic reactions to food are relatively mild, but a small percentage of individuals with food allergies have severe reactions that can be life-threatening.
Train staff members to call for emergency aid if they see a customer in distress. Have emergency numbers posted at all telephones for emergency service. Also post the name, street address and telephone number of your restaurant beside each telephone to ensure rapid response by the emergency squad.
For more info on allergies and the NRA, visit www.restaurant.org
What should I do when I eat in a restaurant?
- If you have several allergies, you can get a “food allergy buddy card” at http://www.foodallergybuddy.com from the National Restaurant Association. Both FAAN and NRA are committed to making your eating experience at home or in a restaurant, safer and more enjoyable.
- Read the menu carefully, Ask questions. If the W is unsure, have him check with the chef or ask for a manager.
- Use common sense. If you have serious allergies, call the restaurant in advance and talk to a manager about your allergies.
- If you’re allergic to MSG, be aware that all prepared soup mixes and salad dressings have MSG in them. Many restaurants prepare their own from scratch and these are generally safe. But you need to ask.
- If you’re allergic to nuts, note that you could have a reaction to peanut oils as well as nuts themselves.
- Be aware of the possibility of cross-contamination. If the cook makes a salad with nuts, and then makes one for you without washing his hands in between, guess what’s in your salad?
- If you have ever had an allergic reaction, get tested. Talk to your medical provider. You may not even be allergic to any food item, or you may be allergic to a variety of food items. Don’t go through life without knowing. You can experience a life-threatening reaction, or on the other hand, avoid eating foods that are perfectly safe for you.
If you have any interest at all, go to www.foodallergy.org and sign up for their alerts. Read their Information and pass it along.
I hope that this column provided information that is useful to you or someone close you. In either event, get out on September 9th and do something for those in need.
Cya.
In his real life Jay Fox is a CPA. He offers all kinds of good tax planning advice, financial calculators and the latest in tax news at his website: www.jayfoxcpa.com. He just writes this column for the money.