Allergens not listed and you have an allergic reaction: what can you do?
You’re enjoying a lovely pasta at your favorite restaurant when suddenly you panic. Where is that itching coming from? Why am I getting so hot? And why on earth can’t I breathe anymore?! Yep, you’ve had an allergic reaction. With a bit of bad luck, a trip to the hospital is waiting for you as dessert. But there was nothing about allergens on the menu… So the restaurant is in the wrong. What can you do?
FavorFlav’s Wieke recently made a (quite rightly) passionate plea: restaurants could do a much better job of dealing with allergies. In other words, simply list the allergens clearly alongside the dishes on the menu. That is safer for guests, and as a restaurant you protect yourself against unpleasant situations. I was thinking about this recently too. In most restaurants, only the name of the dish is listed, at most accompanied by a few of the most important ingredients.
But what if there are traces of peanuts in it after all? Or the dish was prepared with cow’s milk? The guest won’t know if you don’t put it on the menu. And then a pleasant evening can suddenly turn into an outright nightmare.
What should the restaurant do?
Right, it’s clear that we would like to see things done differently. Yet things still go wrong far too often. Radar investigated what you, as a guest, are entitled to. So, if you eat something from a business but nothing or too little was stated about allergens. Is it a packaged product? Then the label must always contain information about allergens. For example, that the product contains traces of gluten, or that the product is made from nuts. At a restaurant, things are slightly different. In that case, information about allergens must be provided in writing or verbally. So it must be listed on a menu or sign, or the staff must tell you. In the latter case, it must also be stated somewhere in writing that you should ask the staff about the allergens.
Shake hands or claim damages
Radar spoke to lawyer Oscar Hijink of Hijink law firm. He advises trying to resolve the matter with the restaurant itself in the first instance. That’s the path of least resistance; often you and the restaurant can reach a solution together. Was your allergic reaction very serious and are you ready for a fight? Do you want compensation for the suffering inflicted on you? Then you can engage a lawyer or personal injury specialist. But don’t be mistaken. That really is a path with resistance.
Prove it
You have to provide evidence that your allergic reaction was caused by eating at the restaurant. Do you immediately get that massive bout of itching or a constricted throat? Then your evidence is fairly strong. “But,” lawyer Hijink tells Radar, “if the reaction occurs a day later, for example, it is difficult to link it back.” In addition, you must be able to demonstrate that you stated which allergens you must not consume. And well… That is rather difficult to prove afterwards. It could easily turn into a very unpleasant game of he-said-she-said.
The best tip? If there is nothing about allergens on the menu, ask the staff about it just to be safe. And let’s hope restaurants soon start scratching their heads and making changes too. Or that they start scratching because of a massive itching attack. Then they’ll find out for themselves how awful it is to have an allergy.
Also read:
- You don’t have an allergy, you’re just a complainer
- Fruit allergy? Try these tips
- 19x allergy-proof desserts
Source: Radar/AVROTROS
