The allergy epidemic

By Savannah Coombe, second year Liberal Arts student

A huge amount of recent media and public attention has been given to allergies and food intolerances in the UK. Recent incidents at Pret a Manger have propelled the issue to the forefront of the news, but cases like the two unfortunate deaths linked to the major food chain have been happening for years.

Most restaurants and food establishments have had issues with customer allergies and many of these have been severe and, in some cases, fatal. Most incidents are kept hush-hush in order not to damage the reputation of the business, but this is to the detriment of allergy awareness standards around the country.

Having a peanut allergy my (and a less severe, but much weirder aubergine allergy) I am no stranger to the discussion. I’ve carried around an EpiPen for the last 3 years after being hospitalised for eating chocolate cake with peanut butter hidden in the icing. I didn’t blame the person who gave it to me, most people don’t even think to ask.

Photo by Kelly Sikkema / Unsplash

This was why I was impressed when at the start of first year I was called into the office of the Head Chef at my catered Hall to discuss my allergy. He explained that he was meeting with all students who had notified the Hall of their allergies to make sure they were handled properly. I left feeling reassured that the issue would be taken seriously.

Halfway through second term however I was eating lunch in the dining hall, took a bite of my walnut crumble, a dish I had eaten there before without any issue, and immediately realised it contained peanuts. I spoke to the catering staff who in turn spoke to the Chef running the kitchen that day. He explained that they had run out of the usual nut mix and so had bulked up the crumble with crushed peanuts. This had not been stated on the allergy information available for the dish.

Fortunately, I was fine as I had taken the powerful antihistamines that I had been given to prevent anaphylaxis (a serious and potentially fatal allergic reaction).

The staff on duty that day were extremely concerned and checked in to make sure I was okay. They were not aware that there were peanuts in the dish. I found out that the Head Chef I spoke to at the start of the year had left the Hall and, while they still had information for some people, record of my allergies had been lost. The staff pointed out a list they had on the back wall that had all known students with allergies and added my name to the bottom. I had no other issues throughout the rest of the year.

In this incident or any case of an allergic reaction in my life do I feel the staff were really at fault. There is simply a lack of awareness regarding the severity of allergies in the UK. Catering for those with allergies should be a priority of those in the food industry. It is up to lawmakers and creators of company policy to ensure the proper education and training of staff and to put procedures in place that minimise the likelihood of incidents.

Allergy procedure needs to be seen as a life-threatening issue because, well, it is.

Featured Image: Unsplash/Tom Hermans

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