Food allergies nothing to sneeze at, chains say: nearly 10 million Americans suffer allergies to seafood and nuts

Nation's Restaurant News, Sept 20, 2004 by Erica Duecy

Food allergies are becoming a front-burner issue for restaurant chains, including several chains that recently have made changes to accommodate food-allergic diners as consumer awareness and media coverage of allergic reactions continue to grow.

At the same time, new labeling laws for retail food manufacturers have some officials wondering if restaurants are next in line for mandatory ingredient disclosures on menus.

"Restaurants are a virtual minefield for people with food allergies," said Mike Tringale, director of communications for the Washington, D.C.-based Asthma & Allergy Foundation of America. About 11 million Americans--or about one in 25 people--suffer from a food allergy, with 6.5 million allergic to seafood and 3 million allergic to peanuts or tree nuts, according to the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

While fine-dining restaurants long have catered to customers with food allergies, chains increasingly are creating and publicizing menu options for food-allergic customers.

Burger King currently is developing procedures for handling customers' food allergies and expects to roll out a staff-training program for food-allergy response within the next several months, according to a spokesman for the Miami franchisor. In addition, chains such as Burger King and McDonald's now prominently position food-allergy information on their Web sites.

Outback Steakhouse offers a gluten-free menu for people who are intolerant of wheat and other gluten-containing ingredients. The chain also has launched menu options for people with other types of food allergies.

At Levy Restaurants' upscale Bistro 110 in Chicago, executive chef-partner Dominique Tougne created a multipoint food-allergy response system that offers personalized service to customers. The restaurant, which serves about 700 people daily, typically has at least one customer per day with a food allergy.

Tougne developed the system after his 4-year-old son developed a life-threatening peanut allergy. Under the restaurant's procedure, when a diner mentions having a food allergy, the staff member alerts the floor manager. The manager then talks with the customer, finds out about the severity of the allergy and asks if the guest has emergency medication. The manager then communicates that information to the chef.

One cook at Bistro 110 is designated to make all food for allergic customers on surfaces that are free from cross-contamination. The cook then personally delivers the dish to the table to ensure that it has not been contaminated or switched inadvertently in coming from the kitchen.

Bistro 110 also prepares custom meals for its food-allergic customers with alternative ingredients, such as gluten-free pasta and gluten-free cookies, Tougne said.

Levy Restaurants, which has 91 restaurants and other foodservice operations, said it hopes to implement similar food-allergy response systems in its other restaurants.

Earlier this month NBC's "Today" show food editor Phil Lempert introduced the "Food Allergy Buddy" card, which is a free, personalized ingredient card that consumers can present to waiters and chefs, detailing their food allergies. The hope, Lempert said in a statement, is that chefs in a wide variety of restaurants will alter their recipes to avoid potentially deadly reactions.

"Most individuals have had an allergic reaction to a food that they thought was safe," he said. "The FAB card is a win-win for restaurants and patrons, as it helps people control the foods they consume and gives restaurants the opportunity to better service their clients' needs and create an environment that's safe, hopefully encouraging the patron to return."

On the legislative front, President George W. Bush signed a law last month that will require food manufacturers to identify, in common language, the presence of any of the eight major food allergens: milk, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, fish, shellfish, wheat and soy. The law, scheduled to take effect Jan. 1, 2006, is known as The Food Allergen and Consumer Protection Act, or FALCPA.

FALCPA will require food labels to indicate the presence of major food allergens used in spices, flavorings, additives, and colorings, which had previously been exempt from allergen labeling. The law also calls on the federal government to consider revising the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services' Food Code to provide allergen-free-preparation guidelines for restaurants and foodservice establishments.

While there currently is no pending legislation regarding mandatory menu labeling at restaurants, the National Restaurant Association is working to avoid the possibility of future legislative action by developing its own allergy training programs and guidelines, said Sheila Cohn, the NRA's senior manager of nutrition policy.

Anne Munoz-Furlong, chief executive and founder of the patient advocacy group Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, or FAAN, has seen frustrated members of her 26,000-member constituency move toward legislative discourse, she said. However, with proper staff training and education, Munoz-Furlong said, such a measure likely could be averted.