Why Risk It

In watching some videos on Anaphylaxis Canada's YouTube account, we came across the Why Risk It website for youth and young adults dealing with allergies.  One page of interest was the dining out page with the statistics on what American food service personnel thought about allergies; we're not sure if it's comparable in Canada but what a shock!  The statistics that jumped out at us the most were:

• 24% thought allergic individuals could safely consume a small amount of an allergen
• 25% thought that removing an allergen from a finished food (e.g. taking nuts off) was enough to provide a safe meal

That's a quarter of the people that could potentially touch your food!  While we recognize that it does take additional time and work to take care of restaurant patrons with allergies, we shudder to think of what the alternative could be.  What a good reminder for us to speak up and eat safe.

Also, be sure to check out the Why Risk It blog; there are lots of entries from others who have suffered from allergies.