h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In recent times, I have seen numerous news articles about the responsibility that restaurants, etc have to their clients. Specifically reguarding allergy concerns.

Over the recent 15 to 20 years, so many personal concerns have become 'known' and talked about. Lactose intolerance, allergies to any number of nuts, flavour enhancers, gluten, and on and on.

The question: do you feel that every source of meals should be obligated to advertise every conceivable allergy concern on their menus? Or otherwise post such informations.

Hmmm...


I don't have any food issues, other than I stopped eating pork, so my unthinking lizard brain reaction is not at all. For example, I want to think that because a few people may be so allergic to peanuts that no one else can in the building can have them.

But if I had someone in my family with such an allergy, I'm sure I'd feel differently.

But, should businesses be required to anticipate every food issue people can have? That doesn't seem reasonable.


There are many issues where I end up feeling that some middle ground is probably where the proper answer lies. Finding that compromise point is the tricky bit.

It's the kind of thing that governments, after proper scientific research, should inform businesses about and legislate appropriately.

My opinion is simple - and based on knowing people with severe allergies to such things as crustaceans or peanut products:

If you are sufficiently informed to know that you are that one in eighty that suffers this or that, it is YOUR responsibility to inquire before requesting a dish.

The modern acceptance that everything in the world is someone else's fault is plain wrong minded.

I think there is a middle ground too - the important thing is that if businesses are made aware that some people have specific requirements, the businesses can take action to help. That then means that people with requirements can go out for a meal if they want to, and the businesses that cater for the people get more custom too.

I don't have food allergies, but I do appreciate knowing on the menu if a dish contains chilli, for example, so I can not order it - a number of times I have been surprised to receive a fiercely spicy dish because nobody thought to mention the peppers that were in it, and I had no way of knowing that eg a cottage pie would be likely to contain peppers...

It is similar to wheelchair access - if a place can't guarantee the food is free of peanuts, for example, or is up a flight of stairs with no lift, then if they tell people on their website it helps customers to make an informed decision. Alternatively they might be able to tell people that eg there is level access to part of the restaurant and there are two nut free dishes on the menu, so customers can decide if they would be happy with that.

When you buy anything in a shop or store you ask questions about it.

A restaurant is simply a shop that sells food, ultimately it is the customer's responsibility to ask questions relating to any allergy.

There are may burdens on traders this is a simple task for the customer, the responsibility of the restaurant is if asked, to provide correct information.

Waiters and waitresses are often young people with very little experience and who most probably won't have been briefed.

We were out for a meal with my daughter-in-law, who was pregnant at the time. She asked if the cheese was unpasteurised - (not recommended for pregnant women). It took 5 or 6 explanations until the waitress understood the question. She then went to the kitchen to ask the cook. He said he didn't know, and he'd thrown away the packaging.

Everyone knows people with intolerances, disabilities and allergies these days. It should be common sense to provide the information. As everyone has been saying, the restaurant or shop doesn't need to change their ways, just to inform people so that they can make their own decisions.

And how do you inform the clients? Reprint every menu so that each item can be tagged with or without gluten, non dairy, No sharing of oils between seafoods and others, salt free, ... the number of considerations can be endless.

Back to my earlier point: if you know that you have a concern - ask about that consideration. Make you own informed decision about what you choose to eat.

Most menus ought to be reprinted anyway. They're usually full of spelling and apostrophe mistakes.

There's a cafe down the road from me with a fab typo. It is a transport cafe type place and on the breakfast menu it has 'Bubble and Squid'. At least, I'm pretty sure that it's a typo. Perhaps I need to go and do some research in the morning......

And full allergy advice should be simple for the likes of McDonalds, Ask, Prezzo etc, but a nightmare for locals like The Hitchin Kitchen (the purveyor of the squid), The Hatters Cafe and The Four Leaf Clover....... And we need more of these and less of the chains.

PP.

Not necessarily their obligation, legally to advertise, but certainly their obligation to know. in the same way we have to assume, as consummers that the information printed on packets and suchlike of food we buy, from shops , is accurate, we ahve to know that we can obtain accurate and correct information from any provider of food, be it a big chain food restaurant, or a small local cafe; is this plain salad and steak cooked with, or in the vacinity of peanuts, is a valad question to expect a reasonably accurate answer too, but simularly its a valad expetation to expect customers with particular conserns to take adaquate measures themselves, like asking, as its not necessarily unreasonable for a restaurant to fry sa a steak in groundnut/peanut oil, but if one happened to be alergic to it, then of course that is a different matter, its all about clarity and transparacency of information given by the food provider, exactly the same as it is for a food provider selling us food prepacked in the supermarket, I'd have thought. these laws arn't necessarily there for the convenience of customers, they ar ethere to preserve the life of some customers wo have real food allergys. The 'trend' to everyone having glutin intollerance though, is another matter. that is merely a fad for the 99% of people who don't have any such intollerance, who maybr ejust process g glutin proteins badly.. I'd not expect everywhere I visit to have a Intramuscular injection of hydrocortisone to hand, so I carry one, heck, emergency services don't even carry it as standard Joint responsibility I guess therfore is the key, and knowledge on both partys parts and behalf, mutually to the extent needed to forfill each parties necessary contribution to the clarity of hat which is being provided in terms of precooked food.