There has been growing discourse in recent years about the handling of allergies in the food industry. Iâve had food allergies almost my whole life, and while itâs thankfully not life-threatening for me, the ignorance and dismissal towards people with allergies is something Iâve experienced and seen others experience too. While Iâm not surprised at the lack of allergy education when I was growing up in the 2010s, how does it compare to today? Â
Growing up with food allergies
Ever since I was around seven years old, Iâve had a mild allergy to nuts. This means allergic reactions are non-fatal for me, and I donât get triggered by traces of the allergen or cross contamination. While I always appreciate when my allergies are taken seriously, itâs always been quite difficult to convince people theyâre not as severe as they assume.
I remember one instance in primary school when I made Rice Krispie chocolate cupcakes with my class one year. Eager to eat my cookery masterpiece, my teachers told me I couldnât have it because the Rice Krispies box said it may contain traces of nuts. Despite telling them that I donât have reactions to traces, they still refused and told me to wait until I got home. So, I sat there feeling quite left out (and really craving the cupcakes), just quietly watching everyone else eat. If my teachers had been educated on the severity spectrum of allergies, perhaps what I and other children ate wouldnât have been so unnecessarily policed.
Today, I find myself in similar situations, trying to convince apprehensive restaurant staff that I can eat their food safely. Some restaurants with rightfully cautious attitudes towards allergies will â with good intentions â overestimate the severity of my allergy. Theyâll insist on taking precautions with my meal to reduce contamination, making me wait so much longer to eat than everyone else. Or theyâll borderline refuse serving me some menu items I want because of their close contact with nuts in the kitchen, making me super uncomfortable as my friends or family watch me try to reason with them. While this is a crucial precaution for people with severe allergies, this can make ordering food such an awkward hassle for me.
Misleading Menus
The FSA found that âone in 20 adults in the UK has a confirmed food allergy and nearly a third have food sensitivitiesâ. Although this means that allergies affect millions of people, they have not always been handled with care. After Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died of an allergic reaction in 2016, Natashaâs Law came into effect in 2021. This law enforced harsher requirements for thorough ingredient lists on pre-packaged items. This law is excellent for takeaway lunches in packages, but what about food cooked or made to order?
While I find that restaurants can be quite overprotective when it comes to allergies, Iâve found that cafĂ©s tend to be the opposite. As most cafĂ©s tend to only have menu boards, it means they are not corrected or replaced very often. This means the outdated descriptions or pictures on their menus and limited information (due to the size constraints) can cause people with allergies unnecessary complications. When I ordered an ice cream from a (very fancy) chain, I told the staff member I had a nut allergy, and then I ordered a stracciatella which had allergen labels stating that it had no nuts. After I ordered, she then offered me chocolate sauce and a chocolate coin on top, which was not on the menu board. My friend encouraged me to get the extras, so I â being a lover of chocolate â said yes. After eating, I then had an allergic reaction. I thought that there must have been nuts blended in the chocolate coin that the staff member either didnât know about or didnât tell me about.
Improving allergen safety
Whether itâs the staff who needed to be better trained or misinforming menus, I have had many more experiences like this. When looking at the statistics, it seems like many others can also relate: âA third of allergy sufferers state that they have experienced an allergic reaction while eating at a restaurantâ. This figure is shocking and proves that not enough is being done to ensure people can dine safely in the UK.
Ever since the death of Owen Carey in 2017 from anaphylactic shock after eating at a restaurant, his family have been campaigning to get Owenâs Law passed. This law would require restaurants and cafĂ©s to state the 14 major allergens on every dish on their main menu to prevent any questions over the contents of the food. A law like this would make people with allergies feel much more at ease and more confident to treat themselves to a meal out every so often like everyone else and improve food safety standards.
While improving allergy handling in restaurants is crucial, it may also be helpful for us to consider introducing a better education on allergies to the general public. I still have friends, family, colleagues and neighbours who, without a second thought, gift me or provide me food with nuts in them. Some apologise immediately and solemnly swear to never bring nuts near me again (bit over the top, but appreciated) and others will stare blankly, forgetting that food allergies actually exist. Clearly, food allergies are still at the back of many peopleâs minds, so perhaps a bigger effort is needed in schools and workplaces to educate everyone about allergies to help improve awareness.