Know Before You Serve food allergy poster

Food allergies: It’s a Matter of Life or Death poster was created by the “Ask Before You Eat”  project.  Which was a collaboration of the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services in conjunction with the Rutgers University’s Department of Nutritional Sciences and Food Policy Institute, Rutgers Cooperative Research and Extension, and the New Jersey Restaurant Association.  This clear, bright and concise 8.5 x 11 poster is worthy of printing out and sharing with your favorite restaurants!

The fact sheet outlines three steps:
[ordered_list style=”decimal”]

1. Take Your Customer Requests Seriously
2. Check for Allergens Every Time
3. Stop Cross Contact

[/ordered_list] There is even mention of calling 911 and then staying with the customer until help arrives.  I really am impressed and printed a few off and will keep them in my car to during my travels to local restaurants.  I also found the Ask Before Your Eat website very user-friendly and simple.  The site seems to be maintained by the Food Policy Institute at Rutgers University.

The Ask Before You Eat website is a nice, right to the basics source of information about managing food allergies plus Fact Sheets that are downloadable in both English and Spanish:

• Eating Out With Food Allergies
• Parents: Creating an Action Plan for Child Care Providers
• Taking Care of a Child with Food Allergies
• Food Allergies – What Everyone Should Know
• Fact Sheet For Restaurateur’s

These fact sheets looked worthy of taking a few moments to check them out as potential educational tools, so I just had to share!  I’ll let you in on a secret, every time we eat out I say a little prayer to protect my kids.  Knowing a kitchen may have some training my help ease my worry.  Just last night, my son almost did not order at our local Olive Garden since he did not feel the waitress spoke enough English to understand his dairy, nut and sesame seed order.  She came back from the kitchen with exact details of how his food was going to be cooked and he then decided it was okay to order since she was offering good details.
Have you tried to educate restaurant staff before?  How did it turn out?  Can you offer any tips or stories to share with the rest of us?
Hope you are enjoying a fabulous Wednesday-Caroline
[fbshare type=”button”]