Allergic diners in danger, says expert

By Noella Pio Kivlehan

Diners' health is being endangered because restaurant staff don't always know what ingredients meals contain, according to a leading expert.

Professor Alan Malcolm, director of the Norwich-based Institute of Food Research, said that people with allergies can be given the wrong information because of staff ignorance. He believes it happens because the chain from waiter to chef to supplier is so long.

Professor Malcolm said that hotels and restaurants had to ensure that both waiters and chefs were better informed, although he did not advocate putting ingredients on a menu.

"It would clearly detract from the romance and excitement of a meal to provide such information either on the menu or in a way which intruded, possibly unnecessarily," he said.

He has now asked the newly created Food Standards Agency to examine the problem. He added: "There is no legislation forcing caterers to say what is in a meal, but something has to be done about it. The same thing would not be allowed in a supermarket."

In one recent case, a 17-year-old girl had an allergic reaction to eggs after the waiter who checked with the chef in the kitchen assured her the meal was egg-free. The girl had a lucky escape because she was on her guard and didn't have to use the adrenaline she carried with her in case of an emergency.

Professor Malcolm was speaking at the Good Housekeeping magazine conference A Taste of the Future, held at BAFTA in London.