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Sheila Cohn, a registered dietician who is NRA's director of nutrition policy, says operators can take certain basic steps to help an allergic diner feel more welcome in a restaurant:
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Know the most common allergens (See list, below).
Keep in mind that menu items include numerous ingredients.
Eliminate opportunities for cross-contamination - fry potatoes in a different oil than you do seafood, for example.
If a guest announces that he or she is allergic to certain items, the manager or another point person should be informed; that staff member can then talk about menu choices and ensure that the allergic person's meal is properly prepared and served separately from other meals to avoid cross-contamination.
If questioned, reveal all the ingredients on menu items. "There should be no such thing as a 'secret sauce'" Cohn says. If you don't know for certain whether something has been made with an offending food, be honest about it.
If, despite your efforts, someone has an allergic reaction, call 911.
NRA, in partnership with the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, sells a Food Allergy Training Guide.
It consists of a video and manual with training for both front- and back-of-house staff along with a food allergy poster in English and Spanish.
Earlier this year, NRA teamed with Phil Lempert, food editor at NBC's "Today" show, to publicize the Food Allergy Budding Dining Card program.
It provides food-allergic consumers a free, personalized ingredient card that can be presented to a restaurant's staff to alert them about troublesome ingredients.
The upside of going the extra mile for customers with food allergies: loyalty. "A lot of people (with allergies), once they find a restaurant where they're comfortable eating, will go there once a week," Cohn says.
Most Common Food Allergens
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milk
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eggs
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peanuts
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tree nuts
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fish
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shellfish
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soy
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wheat
Allergies to Vegetable Oils
Allergenic individuals react to protein fractions of oilseeds rather than refined oils. What that means is. . .
Crude oil from various oilseeds may contain trace amounts of protein; however after the refining, bleaching, and deodorizing process no detectable protein remains.
According to the Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act (FALCPA) any food product that contains protein derived from any of the eight major food allergens are considered a food allergen with the exception of any highly refined oil derived from any of the eight major allergen group or any ingredient derived from such highly refined oil.
Oil supplies from the process commonly known, as Cold Press may not remove all traces of protein and should not be consumed by persons with allergies to oilseed proteins.
All Ventura foodservice oil products and pan sprays are manufactured using refined oils (refined, bleached and deodorized) and are therefore not considered allergenic.
So in a “nutshell” – feel good about frying that turkey in Food Services of America’s Signature Peanut Oil.
Food For Thought Archive
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