12 million Americans with food allergies could use a little help from restaurants

By Natasha Austin

November 8, 2007 | In my handbag you will find a four-and-half inch needle full of .03 mg of Epinephrine, more commonly known as an EpiPen. This needle goes everywhere with me. You will find one in my medicine cabinet and one in the glove compartment of my car. Every time my husband and I dine out it is a necessity. With every bite I take or every new item I try, I take the risk of eating something that can send me into a hyperventilating allergic reaction.

With the risk constantly surrounding me, eating at a food establishment is very dangerous. It really bothers me when professionals in the food industry do not take my condition seriously. This condition does not just affect me; according to the Food Allergy & Anaphylaxis Network, 12 million Americans suffer from food allergies. With such staggering numbers the food industry should be more knowledgeable on the subject and more accommodating to those of us with this condition.

I first learned I was allergic to tree nuts when my grandmother fed me a brazil nut at age two. I don't remember much of the reaction, but I remember my tongue swelling up, my throat itching, and my lungs tightening up. Had I not been taken to the hospital so quickly I could have gone into shock and suffocated. My childhood was marred by the constant threat of eating something that could kill me. I rarely ate treats brought by other kids to school, and eating cookies or cakes at birthday parties was limited to those who were aware of my condition.

Sometimes it is the smallest cross-contamination that can cause a reaction. I once had a boss who loved to eat cashews. Often he would eat cashews in his office and promptly bring me papers covered with the nut residue. Several times I had to explain my situation, but to no avail: I would inevitably end up with hives, itching all day and the always attractive puffy red eyes.

I have learned to cope with my situation finding out what I can and can't eat. I have learned to carefully inspect every label and ingredient list before eating any packaged item. Several popular items are off limits to me because they have been produced in a facility that processes tree nuts. Being smart and reading labels is an important part of keeping me safe.

Beyond the labels and ingredients lurks a bigger culprit not so easily detected, food establishments. While a menu tells you what you are ordering, it does not go into great detail about every ingredient used in the dish. The most unsuspecting dishes often contain nuts that I can not eat.

Several years ago after graduating from high school I took a senior trip to New York with some friends. One night while eating at a popular tourist destination this truth hit home, way too hard! I was careful to confirm with the waitress that my salad did not contained nuts, but I failed to check twice before I dove right into my neighbor's brownie that was laced with the deadly substance. Such stupidity on my part left me foaming at the mouth while an ambulance was summoned.

Since my trip to New York I have been more careful and cautious about what I order and what I eat. Those close to me may even say I have become obsessive about it, but even my obsessions cannot protect me from an uninformed wait staff.

A few months ago my husband took me a very nice steak house in our area for our anniversary. As a self-proclaimed vfood snobv I was very excited to have a reservation, as I had heard great things about the place. While over looking the menu I had narrowed my choices down to the pork chops or the grilled salmon. I promptly asked the waitress to tell me about the preparation of both dishes. She did not seem extremely knowledgeable about either, but they seemed harmless so I ordered the salmon.

When my plate arrived I stared down at sautéed green beans with poison staring back at me: chopped nuts. Before she left I asked the waitress if she could please identify them for me.

"I think they are pistachios," she said.

"YOU THINK!" I thought, "how about that, why don't you just THINK about it, because it s only my life on the line!"

"Ma'am," I said in the nicest tone possible, "these are not pistachios, pistachios are usually green. I am highly allergic to nuts, and there was no mention of them on the menu. Please go back to the kitchen and find out before I have a reaction right here in front of you."

Looking back, I agree I may have been slightly abrasive, but this is my life on the plate in front of me, and this waitress didn't even bother to make sure she what nuts they were. The nuts turned out to be pecans, which surprisingly I can eat, but what if they had been something else? What if they had been hazelnuts? The restaurant would have been liable, and there would be the waitress that said she "thought they were pistachios."

In this guessing game of my so-called eating life "thinking" or "guessing" is not enough. I understand those living free of food allergies may not be so concerned with the problem, but if you work in the food industry it is your duty to be meticulous. If you are a restaurant owner or manager, educate your staff on food allergies, and articulate the importance of knowing the menu and food items used. Having a knowledgeable wait staff can make all the difference for the 12 million of us that are allergic to food items. I will continuously return to a restaurant that puts my needs first.

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