Peanut allergy and Chinese food archived

Thanks for your post. Hope all is well with boyfriend. Yes, go to the restaurant to vehemently express your feelings and concern for all with food allergies and suggest what management might do to correct the situation (change of menu, disclosures, printed warnings, etc.) I also would favor registering the incident with the local Board of Health. Enough documentation of the public's sensitivity to nut and other allergies might lead to protections for the benefit of all.

Thanks newcomb, he's much better now. We will register the incident. They lied to us last night and it could have been much more serious. I told them this is a common food allergy and not something they can mess around with but will be going there today with the ER papers to show them just how serious it is.

Our local disability group has found that an effective way to deal with incidents like this is to get the staff better educated: we either sit with the staff and do a 2-hr group advocacy session, or else ask the local business chamber to sponsor a workshop for local businesses that handle food and drink. Surprisingly, once we point out that people can a) sue and b) die as a result of misinformation business owners are really quick to sign up for the sessions.

Oftentimes staff just don't understand how minute the traces need to be to cause a reaction, how quick the reaction can be and how extreme/deadly the reaction can be. Not everyone understands that every form of an ingredient can cause the allergy to flare up, not just the specific 'peanut oil' you asked about. (You didn't say you asked about peanuts in any form, just about peanut oil).

Good luck with your complaint: be very clear about the action you want from them as acknowledgment of misinformation, and you should get it.

(PS: Remember I am in Australia, and I work as part-time as a coordinator of a cross-disability rights group that liaises with governments, business and community.)

It's possible that they didn't lie, but that the communication/English skills are not there. I've found that in Asian restaurants before, especially if the owner does not answer the phone.

I think that, in addition to registering the incident, talking to the owner and -providing education is an excellent idea.

Very scary. My son is also severely allergic to peanuts and tree nuts, so I completely understand.

What's the name of the restaurant?

GT - he called asking about peanut oil and they answered "no". The person answering obviously understood the question, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to respond.

I think he didn't connect the dots between peanut oil and peanut sauce, which is very, very stupid.

Sorry to hear about this wallflower, send all my best to your boyfriend, and I wish him a speedy recovery.
Perhaps a boycott of the restaurant is in order....

I'm not sure it was a language barrier honestly. They spoke rather well and were able to argue that he asked about peanut OIL and not SAUCE. I guess it could have just been a stupid mistake but I'm surprised that they're even taking the risk of cooking with peanut *sauce* when so many people are allergic to nuts. Most places seem to avoid it or at least give a warning stating that they do. They were pretty dodgy when I asked if there was anything with peanut in the dish or anything cooked with peanuts nearby. They only come forth about the peanut sauce after I raised my voice and told them his throat was closing up. There were also no apologies.

composer- The restuarant is Imperial 46 and it's located in Clifton. Avoid it if you're ever in the area!

monster- Thanks, I will. He's still sleeping off all the drugs they gave him last night, poor guy. I will be boycotting. Too bad this happened, it was one of my favorites in this area. :angry:

It's hard to make anything satay-style without peanuts. So if the menu has satay anything, there will be peanut sauce and peanuts on the premises.

We find (now I'm speaking personally) it's simpler to carry a card with all our dietary requirements written on it. Between David's allergies, my allergies, his diabetes, my gout and our keeping kosher it all gets complicated! We've broken the list down to a few most important things that will instantly rule out a place and we give a copy for the waitstaff to take to teh kitchen and double-check. Anytime anyone looks confused or smart-alecky, I simply offer to turn blue and noisily choke to death in front of their other guests. (Like your BF, I have a few allergies that will do that).

The other thing is that over here we encourage people with such severe reactions to ALWAYS carry an epi-pen on them and to train significant others in how to use the pen in case the allergic one can't reach it in time. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EpiPen

Thanks Joanne, the notecard of restrictions is a great idea. He's getting his epi-pen refilled this weekend. From now on if he's in doubt about something he's just going to stay away.

wallflower - Glad to hear it all worked out. So sorry you had to go through it in the first place!! It must have been incredibly scary.

I'm not sure it was a language barrier honestly. They spoke rather well and were able to argue that he asked about peanut OIL and not SAUCE.

That is so slimy. Did your BF mention his allergy or just ask about peanut oil?

He doesn't remember saying it was because of an allergy. I guess you can't assume people know why you're inquiring.

Slight aside: don't you just love it when the TV 'current affairs' shows decide to cover an issue like this, and drag out an expert who calmly assures everyone that mostly people grow out of the their allergies by their mid-20s?! Mine only really got started then!!

And the medical people who challenge you by asking 'and what happens when you are exposed to these so-called allergens?', as if daring you to come up with a false claim. 'Oh I can't really remember, it was over 20 years ago - I blew up three times my size, turned bright red, needed enough phenergan to put a horse to sleep, my GP didn't recognise me, my tongue swelled up so I couldn't breathe...I can't think what else.' Idiot. As if I'd try taking any of it now, after 20 years' avoidance...

I'm so glad your boy friend is feeling better. I agree with above poster. Unless you boy friend specifically said he was asking because he had a peanut allergy, the person speaking on the phone may not have thought to mention the peanut sauce in the food. It is so important for persons with severe food allergies to be very specific about what they can't eat and why, whether they are eating at a restaurant, social function, or a friend's home.

Starving people in Africa don't have peanut allergies, nor are they lactose intolerant...

And you know that for a fact because you are absolutely sure the starvation got them before anything else or do you know that for a fact for some other reason. Neither I nor any members of my family have food allergies exmaple but I feel that your post does a major disservice to those who have allergies. I hope you're blessed with good health and no diseases that starving people in Africa have not been reported getting. Sheesh.

Actually I remember reading once, a long time ago, that many people in Africa keep goats instead of cows precisely because cows' milk cannot be easily digested by many families.

Many Asians lack the enzymes to properly digest lactose.

Now, my dairy intolerance isn't to lactose, as it happens - it's another constituent in milk.

So perhaps blanket assumptions about developed nations' lifestyles and the prevalence of yuppie fake diseases can be left to other speculative threads, and not placed on one dealing with a real situation about a very real and frightening public health issue... OK?

(and thanks for the support, Wendy)

This website actually indicates an estimation of quite a substantial cohort of people with peanut allergies in Africa, so exmaple, your assumptions may be wrong...

http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/p/peanut_allergies/stats-country.htm

Posted By: wallflowerHe doesn't remember saying it was because of an allergy. I guess you can't assume people know why you're inquiring.

Unfortunately you are correct. Someone with an allergy is constantly thinking in terms of contamination. Someone without an allergy won't always be so diligent and might not make the connection. The proper phrasing (you have to spell it out clearly) would have been "I have a life threatening peanut allergy, do any of the ingredients in this food contain peanuts or peanut products?" I would also speak with the manager (as Joanne suggested earlier) to enlighten them to the dangers of peanut allergies.

WTF? Did they think you were asking because you wanted the recipe?

Thank you for everybody's well wishes for my boyfriend. He's doing much better today, we even stopped into Bunny's for some peanut free delicious food. :bigsmile:

Well, I called Imperial 46 today and asked to speak with the manager. He was very apologetic and concerned. I told him how necessary it is to have a warning on the menu and to inform his employees of the dangers of food allergies. He said he will get right on it and offered to refund my money for the dinner. When he asked if there was anything else he could do I said that when we receive the hospital bill we would forward it to him. He was eager to accomodate and told me to contact him with any other questions or comments. The conversation went very well and stayed positive throughout. I'm glad I waited until today to call him.. last night I was far too stressed to maturely handle the situation. All in all things turned out well. Thank God nothing worse happened and hopefully we'll help keep this from happening to someone else!

jb- :rolling:

It's nice to hear that the owner seems genuinely concerned, and that your boyfriend is okay,
Hope to see you both (most likely at bunny's) soon.

I'm glad your BF is,ok and I'm sorry the employee's inability to connect the dots had such a serious result, but (there's always a but, right?) when does personal responsibility kick in here. I can see being unable to idemtify peanut oil, but peanut sauce actually smells and looks like peanuts. Plus, the woks/etc are used for many dishes, so if he is that allergic, wouldn't there be a cross contamination risk, even if nuts weren't' in that specific dish? The few people I know with severe food allergies (and vegans), rarely eat out for this exact reason.

wallflower, given that isn't the first time the subject has come up on the board it could be a neat bit of community networking and a PR boost for the restaurant: the local health authorities and/or environmental health inspectors could do the staff awareness training, a few kids/parents/first aiders could add personal accounts and there could be a local media note o say 'wow! look at this positive step taken to prevent major harm at all levels of the community!'.

Over here that would be Area Health Service for specialist advice; town's environmental health inspectors for contamination guidelines and food safety hints; support groups and First Aid trainers for the personal accounts. Target audience is, say, all food establishments in the business district, or all eateries in a given neighbourhood. Justification is how it affects families, singles, couples and business entertaining: potentially a lot of dollars if not done right.

new- Perhaps there are different types of peanut sauce because this one was not easily identifiable. As for the smell, my boyfriend was concerned so he called to ask but since he's often been wrong about thinking his food smells like nuts, he took their word for it. I don't want to turn this into a debate, the situation is over and done with. Luckily nothing worse happened and something positive (the employees awareness) has come from it. He doesn't want his food allergies to take over his life but will be more careful from now on and like I said, when it doubt he won't touch it again.

joanne- That is a nice idea. When I get in touch with the manager again I'll suggest it to him. I want him to know that his actions are appreciated.

Posted By: exmapleStarving people in Africa don't have peanut allergies, nor are they lactose intolerant...

Some well fed people in the US have peanut allergies, and some of us are lactose intolerant.

Are we clear about that now?

Although I empathize with Wallflower, I don't think the restaurant was at all at fault. Do they need to ask each and every customer if they have a peanut allergy? Do they need to disclose they use sugar to diabetics? How about people who can't have gluten...does the restaurant tell them there's gluten in the noodles? Where does it end? When does the responsibility lie on us? If they posted a sign, would a caller see it when they called? I think if one has a peanut allergy, or any allergy or disease that prevents them from eating certain things, he/she should inquire about what's in the food they are about to eat.

The suggestion of registering this with the BOH or a boycott is beyond ludicrous.

One possible solution to this problem would be to have restaurants list all ingredients on their meus in much the same way packaged food is now required to have ingredient labeling. Of course, there is no guarantee that a customer purchaing said food would think to check the labeling for ingredients said customer was severely allergic to but at least the information would be out there.