Better allergy training needed for restaurant staff

By Katrina RoeTuesday 1 Oct 2013Hope MorningsHealth and WellbeingReading Time: 2 minutes

Dining out with allergies is always tricky, but it’s made much harder when restaurant staff don’t take those allergies seriously.

Eight year old Robert Surace, who has a dairy allergy, nearly died after he was served a frozen dessert at a wedding reception.

“They made numerous mistakes from the start, even though we told them prior to attending,” Robert’s mum Sandra says.   Robert was firstly served a pasta with parmesan cheese and then a meat dish with gravy, of which the ingredients could not be identified.  Later, the waiter produced a frozen dessert and said, ‘This is for Robert.  It’s a diary-free treat’.   When Sandra asked, ‘Are you sure?’ he replied, ‘I guarantee Ma’am.  This is a diary-free treat prepared by the chef.’  That dessert turned out to be vanilla ice cream, and Robert went into life-threatening anaphylaxis from which he is still recovering. 

Sandra Surace believes the incident would never have occurred if the restaurant staff had had even a basic understanding of food allergies.

“I would love to see mandatory training in allergy and anaphylaxis awareness and knowledge”, Sandra says.  “People working  in restaurants, cafes and any food outlet need to make sure when a person with an allergy walks in and they disclose that information, that they understand what that’s about.  Mandatory training alongside food handling should be included.” 

However, the restaurant and catering industry are reluctant to come on board.  Chief Executive of Restaurant and Catering Australia, Mr John Hart says, “Our only responsibility is to serve customers the food they order.”

In Robert’s case, that did not happen.  Thankfully for Robert, the venue was literally around the corner from a hospital and his life was saved by the timely work of hospital staff. However, five months later he is still coping with both the psychological and physical effects of that day.

Sandra says it’s important for allergy sufferers to speak to the chef before eating out and ‘if in doubt, leave it out.’

The catering company was fined $55,000 for the life-threatening mistake.

Audio – Sandra Surace explains why better allergy and anaphylaxis training is needed in the hospitality industry