The Issue of Allergens on the Menu

Filed in archive Food Allergies , Living with Allergies on August 30, 2007

Those of us who have or live with people with food allergies know how tricky it can be when we go dining out. It's an anxiety-ridden experience: Is the food safe? Is the food prepared correctly? What about trace ingredients? Is the place safe? It's more tedious, but if we want to live as normal as possible we also have to take simple pleasures like dining out with friends and family every now and then. It just takes planning, resourcefulness, and well, a plan B, to get through the meal without too much worrying.

According to a study of 58 restaurants conducted last year, only about half had a plan in place for how to provide a safe meal, and 25 percent of servers, chefs, and managers surveyed incorrectly believed that it was safe for people to eat small amounts of foods to which they are allergic. Quite scary, isn't it?

Considering this, it is indeed a milestone that in Massachusetts, after more than two years battling state lawmakers, the Massachusetts Restaurant Association has agreed to take what could be the industry's most aggressive steps toward accommodating people with food allergies.

These initiatives, which legislators hope will become law in the coming weeks, include placing warnings on menus that advise customers with food allergies to inform waiters, adding a video about food allergies to the training program for state-certified food managers, and posting signs near food handlers that explain the most common food allergies and ways to avoid contaminating food, such as using new utensils and separate fryers.

How would it be like in practice? Here's how Blue Ginger chef-owner Ming Tsai manages it in his restaurant on Wellesley:

When a customer with a food allergy asks about a dish, the server checks the restaurant's ''Food Bible," a binder that contains every menu item with every ingredient and highlights any food allergens. Then the server asks Tsai or the manager whether the dish can be made safely.

The server prints out a meal ticket with red type indicating that this is a food allergy meal and highlights the ticket with a marker. Tsai or the manager on duty initials the ticket, which stays next to the plate until it is served.

Sounds like a good plan. It's more tedious yes, and we just can hope that more restaurant owners would consider taking similar precautionary stems.