Living life with food allergies can have an impact on many areas of your life. Aside from the health implications from food allergies, social situations can also be strained when you have serious health consequences around certain foods. One area that's tricky for anyone with a food allergy, food intolerance or food-related autoimmune disorder is dining out at a restaurant.
Not only are you there hoping that you ask the staff the correct questions, but you're putting a lot of hope into them that they know how to safely handle your real food issues. Many people tend to avoid this situation all-together because for some people, it can be a matter of life or death.
A new guide developed from a collaboration between The Canadian Restaurant and Foodservices Association and Anaphylaxis Canada hopes to make dining out safer for customers while increasing the understanding of the restaurant owners and staff.
Food Allergies: A Guide for Restaurants outlines common allergies and intolerances and stresses the importance of managing risks of complications through obtaining thorough ingredient lists from suppliers. It also outlines the importance of avoiding substitutions that are not outlined in the menu and being aware of what cross-contamination is and how it plays into food safety.
Hopefully as the guide becomes available, more restaurants will make it a priority to understand the food they’re serving and how to better serve those with food allergies.
Photo credit: Unique Hotels Group/Flickr
Source: Globe and Mail / The Canadian Press
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