Gaps in UK restaurant staff's knowledge of food allergy

A structured telephone survey of 90 restaurants in Brighton, UK, aimed to assess staff knowledge of food allergy and determine how comfortable they felt providing safe meals to food allergic customers. Responses indicate there is no association between a restaurant worker's knowledge of food allergy and their confidence in being able to provide a safe meal to a food allergic customer.

Of the 162 restaurants that were contacted, 56% agreed to participate in the survey. Positions of those responding included seven owners, 48 managers, 20 waiters and 15 chefs.

In the kitchens of a third of responding restaurants, the common food allergens were reportedly not separated from other foods, with one in five staff members believing that an allergic customer could consume a small amount of allergen without adverse effects. Similarly, responses indicated staff thought allergic individuals could safely consume a meal from which an allergen had been removed, such as a pre-prepared desert with the nuts picked off. A significant proportion of respondents believed an individual experiencing a reaction should drink water to dilute the allergen, while some believed cooking food prevents it causing allergy. Over 10% of those responding were unaware food allergy could cause death.

Despite only 33% of respondents reporting they had had food allergy training, 81% reported confidence in providing a safe meal for food-allergic customers.

Reference: Bailey et al. 2011. Clinical and Experimental Allergy. Vol. 41(5) pp. 713-717. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2222.2011.03748.x.