Consequences of poor allergen controls

The consequences of poor allergen control can be tragic for individuals, their families and friends. There have been a number of high-profile cases where people who have allergies have lost their lives because the food they consumed was not correctly labelled, or in some cases was prepared or served by people with little or no training or knowledge of allergens and failed to provide the correct information. Some examples of these tragedies include a young man who died after eating a chicken burger; the menu did not mention that it had been marinated in buttermilk. In another case, a restaurant owner cut corners, used cheap ingredients, employed cheap illegal untrained workers and this resulted in the death of a man with a peanut allergy and the restaurant owner receiving a six-year prison sentence. One of the most high profile cases in recent years, occurred because the law did not adequately protect people with allergies. Prior to the change in the law, non-pre-packed fresh food made on the premises did not need to be individually labelled with allergen ingredient information. A young lady unknowingly consumed sesame that had been baked into the dough.