|
|
|
|
August 2007 — Although fatal reactions are very rare, people can die from food allergy and it is a serious food safety issue, said Allergy New Zealand’s Sara-Jane Murison. Research shows that inadequate education about allergies exists at all levels, including medical, patient, school and restaurant, she said. “A research paper looking at fatal reactions found that only eight of the 31 deaths studied occurred at home –the others occurred in restaurants, malls, homes of others, at schools or on school trips. A similar investigation had been carried out several years before, and the hope with the new research was to find that the gaps previously identified in allergy education had been addressed. Unfortunately they haven’t.” The food-allergic consumer needs to learn how to avoid allergens and to learn how to manage and assess risk, which includes learning how to read labels correctly, to prepare food at home, and to eat out safely. “But it’s naïve to expect to be able to eat out and be 100 per cent safe if either you or your child is severely allergic. It is a risk, so you need to know how to manage and assess risk,” she said. “Make sure family and friends know how to recognise and treat a reaction, and carry your medication at all times.” Risks include lack of knowledge about the source and incorrect labelling of ingredients, cross contamination during handling and preparation of food, and a general lack of understanding of the potentially life-threatening nature of food allergy. “Allergy is often misunderstood, as it’s a term that’s bandied about to include a wide range of conditions, including food intolerances,” Sara-Jane said. There is also a lack of current regulatory emphasis on controlling risks to food-allergic people. “Eating out is a shared responsibility between customers and food businesses,” she added. “It is important that food allergic consumers know how to explain their allergies carefully to senior staff and/or the chef. It is also important that allergic consumers start to report reactions, Sara-Jane added. “The only way to show how widespread and serious the problem of allergic reactions caused by eating out in restaurants is is for people to report these reactions to the appropriate authority.” Ideally, in the future, hospitality courses will make food allergy and allergen management education a part of their curriculum, and restaurants and other places serving food will incorporate allergen control into their food safety plans. |