‘Often I just don’t eat’: Food allergies a challenge when Joel dines out

Waitstaff should be trained in food allergy like they are in the responsible service of alcohol, advocates say, amid concern a lack of education is leaving diners with allergies vulnerable to serious harm.

Peak patient body Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia is receiving an increasing number of reports of anaphylaxis at large events, particularly weddings and functions at restaurants.

A 17-year-old boy died after apparently suffering an anaphylaxis reaction following a school sports celebration at a restaurant on Sydney’s north shore earlier this month.

Debra Azzopardi and her son Blake, 21, who has life-threatening food anaphylaxis.Credit: Jason South

The boy’s death is being investigated by the coroner. There is no suggestion that his meal at the restaurant contributed to his death.

More than four million Australians live with a food allergy, and recent studies have shown an increase in anaphylaxis cases presenting to hospital emergency departments.

There were 11,594 such presentations in 2019-20, a 51 per cent increase from 2015-16.

Maria Said, CEO of Allergy & Anaphylaxis Australia, said food allergy training should be a mandatory part of hospitality work nationally, similar to a Responsible Service of Alcohol (RSA) qualification.

In NSW, hospitality businesses must have a food safety supervisor on staff who is trained in food allergy. However, this is not a requirement in other states.

The National Allergy Council has a one-hour online free course for hospitality staff, called “All About Allergens”, as well as specific training for cooks, and people serving food in particular settings such as schools, hospitals and children’s camps.

About 163,000 Australians have undertaken the courses since they were launched in 2021.

“People doing the RSA take it upon themselves as a prerequisite to do their job. Why not give your staff an hour of leave to do the training, to keep customers safe,” argued Said.

“We don’t want near misses and fatalities to be what it takes for the industry to take this seriously.”

People who live with allergies and anaphylaxis say there needs to be better awareness about allergens at food service businesses, particularly among waitstaff.

Shaela Templeton, who has lived with anaphylaxis to egg since she was a baby, ordered a salmon poke bowl at a cafe last month, which waitstaff said did not contain egg.

“When the meal came out, it had a white sauce on it,” the Sunshine Coast 26-year-old recalled.

“And I thought it looked a bit suss because I’ve never really seen a white sauce like that, that doesn’t have mayonnaise in it.”

She spoke to a second staff member who told her the sauce was “made in house”, and did not contain egg.

“I only had a tiny bit, but I started feeling off and then started vomiting,” Templeton said, adding that she later phoned the restaurant to ask them to please not offer the mayonnaise-drizzled meal as an egg-free option.

She said restaurants had become better at catering to her allergies over the past 10 years, but there were “definitely places still not up to scratch”.

Debra Azzopardi, a former hospitality industry worker from Melbourne’s south-east, admits she knew little about food allergy and cross-contamination before her now adult sons were diagnosed with life-threatening allergies.

Joel, now 21, had his first anaphylaxis reaction to egg aged five, while his younger brother Blake, 18, has severe allergies to all nuts, shellfish and dairy.

“I let them know my allergies, and I’ll put it down if it’s a function and they ask, but often I just don’t eat,” said Joel, adding that he often settles for a bowl of chips when out and about.

Blake said he more commonly has reactions while eating out, recently attending hospital after eating at a pizza restaurant, which he suspects is due to cross-contamination in the kitchen.

While some people who live with an allergy would like to see allergens listed on menus, Said believed this could create problems – for example, if a fill-in chef put their own spin on the dish – and it was best to have a conversation between waitstaff and the diner.

Ideally, because it can be uncomfortable for a person with a food allergy to advocate for themselves at a restaurant, she said this would happen by the waitstaff asking: “Any allergies?”

“We don’t expect food services to provide a guarantee, but we do expect that they do what they can to reduce risk,” she said.

“People who have an allergy also need to be reasonable. For example, if you have a fish allergy, don’t go to a seafood restaurant. And try to order a simple meal, check ingredients beforehand and, if you can avoid it, don’t arrive at a busy time.”

Federal Assistant Health Minister Ged Kearney, who is on leave, passed questions about the viability of mandatory allergy training for food service workers to a spokesperson for the Department of Health and Aged Care.

The spokesperson said the government acknowledged that daily life, including dining out, could be stressful and challenging for people with food allergies and their families.

They said the government had committed $26.9 million over four years in 2022-23 for allergic disease and anaphylaxis.

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