Food Allergies – It Pays to Take Them Seriously

Here are some fast facts about food allergies –

1.     Avoiding the allergen is the only known method of managing food allergies.

2.     Most allergies related to fatalities happen when eating out.

3.     Roughly 1 in 10 Australian infants develops a food allergy.

4.     Food allergy associated anaphylaxis has doubled in the last 10 years.

While any food can cause an allergic reaction, there are several known food categories which feature regularly amongst those which precipitate the distressing reactions. They include –

Peanuts      Tree Nuts      Eggs      Dairy      Fish      Sesame Seeds      Shellfish      Lupin    Soy      Wheat

The effects of allergic reactions range from mild to extreme and deaths have occurred. Common reactions include swelling of the tongue and throat, difficulty breathing, dizziness leading to collapse, wheeziness, persistent cough, hoarse voice, vomiting, hives, facial swelling, and tingling sensations around the lips and mouth. The level of irritation accompanying each of these range from insignificant discomfort to catastrophic.

Consequently, Chefs and Restaurant Managers need to keep their staff aware of the ingredients they are serving in all their meals. This is absolutely essential and includes all front of house and back of house staff. This involves food safety label training on a regular basis so the message remains a priority for all staff.

A large part of this food safety training will involve two critical elements –

·      Clear and Accurate Food Safety Labels. A large selection of pre-printed labels exist to assist Chefs and Restaurant Managers. They cover all the major food allergens mentioned above. This means staff simply need to remove the relevant food safety label from a roll and apply it to the food’s container. This speeds up kitchen processes while allowing for efficient and safe outcomes.

·      Safe Food Handling Procedures. Modern professional kitchens carry hundreds of ingredients that need to be processed without delay. Yet maintaining effective allergy control measures cannot be compromised. The solution to this is having multiple colour-coded knives and chopping boards on hand that are designated for various ingredients or a set of purple allergen free utensils.  This prevents the cross-contamination that can occur when using the same implements for many applications.

Food allergies are a fact of life that must be addressed by modern professional kitchens. Photographs of distressed patrons on social media accompanied by fury-laden comments can destroy a restaurant’s reputation in minutes. Adopting proper food safety procedures accompanied by a preventative mindset is by far the best course of action.