Food allergies belong to the most serious managerial challenges because they require designing and implementing special plans of action. According to the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), there are more than 160 products that cause food allergies. However, the most common allergens are soybeans, milk, peanuts, eggs, fish, tree nuts, wheat, and crustacean shellfish (1). This list was determined by Congress and published in the 2004 Food Allergen Labeling and Consumer Protection Act. The mentioned products lead to more than 90 percent of cases of food allergies and are ingredients in numerous dishes.
Even though the aforementioned list is made up of the most common allergens, there are other products that might be dangerous. Another widely used ingredient leading to allergic reactions is tomatoes (Veličković and Gavrović-Jankulović 11). They are often added to salads, sauces, pasta, soups, pizza, and more. Although the instances of being allergic to tomatoes are rare and do not exceed 1.5 percent of all cases (Boye and Godefroy 512), this product is popular in almost all cuisines of the world.
Managing a restaurant is a heavy responsibility because it requires having special plans for serving those suffering from food allergies. One example is a restaurant specializing in Mexican cuisine. It is common to tomatoes to Mexican dishes and sauces. Therefore, it is vital to guarantee customers’ safety. One Mexican dish that commonly includes tomatoes is chili con carne. Both chopped tomatoes and tomato purée or sauce are added to cook it (Maldonado).
When a person who is allergic to tomatoes decides to visit a Mexican restaurant and orders chili con carne, it is necessary to have a special plan of action to guarantee the customer’s safety. I would recommend mentioning that people suffering from a food allergy should notify a manager or a server (AllergyEats). It can be written on the first page of the menu, like a friendly reminder, in order to make a visit to a restaurant pleasant and improve the quality of service. When a guest, there are several steps that should be taken to ensure safety and avoid cross-contact. There are plans of action developed for servers, managers, and cooks.
The primary responsibility is put on the person who was notified of a food allergy, whether it was a manager or a server. Upon receiving an order, any information about an allergen should be put down. It is critical to ensure that the cook is familiar with the problem and does not add the mentioned product to the dish. Generally speaking, there are several requirements to follow.
Servers:
- Specify whether the customer is allergic to other ingredients in chili con carne besides tomatoes.
- Make this remark noticeable in the order, and inform cooks audibly as well.
- Once the dish is ready, ascertain that it was cooked without tomatoes before serving.
Managers:
- Remind the cook about the customer’s allergy.
- Make sure that the dish does not contain tomatoes before serving.
- Check out if the customer is satisfied with the dish.
Cooks:
- Keep the customer’s health concerns in mind.
- Do not add tomatoes and tomato sauce to the ordered dish; this can be done by falling back on some cooking tricks. For example, the sweet-sour taste of a tomato can be duplicated by vinegar with sugar or water, instead (Bittman 510). Even though it cannot fully substitute the flavor, this combination is good enough to make the dish tasty and safe.
Works Cited
AllergyEats. “AllergyEats Sponsors Dr. Michael Pistiner Presentation: Dining Out With Food Allergies.” Online video clip. YouTube. 2011. Web.
Bittman, Mark. How to Cook Everything Vegetarian: Simple Meatless Recipes for Great Food, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2007, Print.
Boye, Joyce I., and Samuel Benrejeb Godefroy. Allergen Management in Food Industry, Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2010, Print.
Maldonado, Jozi. Quick and Easy South Texas Favorites, Ashburn, Virginia: eBookIt, 2011. Google Books. Web.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. 2010. Web.
Veličković, Tanja, and Marija Gavrović-Jankulović. Food Allergens: Biochemistry and Molecular Nutrition, New York, New York: Springer, 2014. Print.