Chartwells reacts to food allergies
Chartwells, Compass Group's school meals subsidiary, has become the first contract caterer to work with the Anaphylaxis Campaign to reduce the dangers of potentially fatal food allergies.
From this month, staff are to be made aware of the significance of food allergies, which can induce anaphylactic shock and death. They will be trained to explain concisely the ingredients of dishes when asked and to handle cases of shock.
In addition, they will be discouraged from using peanut and pine kernel oils, which can prove a "hidden" cause of allergic reaction, and will be given advice on the potential dangers posed by other basic foodstuffs.
A spokeswoman for Chartwells said the initiative could be spread throughout the Compass Group.
David Reading, chairman of the Anaphylaxis Campaign, said it was vital that caterers understood the significance of food allergies.
"People at risk from allergens spend their whole lives avoiding foods that could put them into shock. Anything that lessens that risk is to be welcomed," he said.
Nuts, particularly peanuts, are a prime cause of anaphylactic shock. In the past 20 months, the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries & Food (MAFF) estimates that 10 otherwise healthy people have died from accidentally eating nuts.
The Anaphylaxis Campaign was founded a year ago and now has 1,700 members. Mr Reading said 85% of those had some sort of allergy to peanuts, with the remainder being allergic to a variety of foodstuffs ranging from sesame and poppy seeds to dairy products, fish and eggs.
Mr Reading's own daughter, Sarah, died in 1993 at the age of 17 after eating a lemon meringue pie with a light peanut dusting (Caterer, 7 April 1994). He stressed that restaurant staff in general needed to be made much more aware of the potential problems.
"Waiting staff don't always have the full information about ingredients. They may say there are no nuts in a dish, but that could be followed by a frantic rush to the hospital," said Mr Reading.
MAFF has also produced a leaflet called Nuts can be vital for some people, giving relevant advice.
