I’m not sure when this happened but lately at every restaurant you go to you see these little signs plastered all over the place and on the menus.
They read “Before placing your order, please inform your server if a person in your party has a food allergy”
I understand the premise and importance, but really, if you have a food allergy wouldn’t you say something anyway? Do the people that have the food allergies need to be reminded that they have the food allergies? I mean if you eat a handful of peanuts and your lips blow up like a balloon one time wouldn’t you make sure to ask for something when you go to a restaurant that doesn’t have peanuts from there on out???? You need a sign right up in your grill telling you to make sure to inform your server? At what point do people take responsibility for themselves?
Is this not right up there with smokers suing cigarette manufacturers after 30 years of smoking cigarettes because they got lung cancer?
Is this not right up the fat bastards who sue Mcdonalds because they stuffed down Big Macs every day for 10 years and are now obese?
Why must we clutter every single restaurant with these signs?
Good Morning Gloucester 
I am not a lawyer, but I think the sign is an attempt to free the restaurant from any responsibility should the customer have a reaction to the food they ate. Food allergies are a big deal for many people. Some can’t eat wheat, dairy, gluten, etc. Others are so allergic or sensitive that they can’t eat ANY TRACE of those products. For example, if a chef or cook prepares a PB&J for a customer or makes some dish with peanut sauce, and then later on uses the same utensils to prepare a hot dog and fries for a kid with a severe peanut allergy…..guess what will happen? Telling the server up front, “Hey, my kid is very allergic to peanuts. Can you just make sure that when you prepare his meal that you don’t let any peanut product touch his food?”
I can tell you some real horror stories, having experienced this firsthand with one of my own kids. Not fun, and it makes you paranoid whenever you go out to eat.
Nate
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I get that Nate and I am sympathetic to people with food allergies but shouldn’t it be more about training restaurants on food safety than writing down reminders all over the place? Should we have post it notes plastered all over the place reminding us to tie our shoe laces and not step on cracks in the sidewalk and not forget to brush?
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I think the sign is more to protect the restaurant than the customer. After that incident a few years ago when the lady spilled hot coffee on her lap at a McDs drive-thru and won a multi-million dollar lawsuit, just about all fast food joints began putting “Use extreme caution. This beverage is extremely hot!” on the outside of the cups. That was purely to protect the company from another lawsuit if something similar happened. I’m sure the sign above came as a result of a restaurant being sued because someone had an adverse reaction to something they ate due to an allergy.
Yes, you would think and hope that a reasonable person would alert the server or chef that they have an allergy. Not everyone is reasonable or thoughtful, and sometimes they just forget. We’re not as smart as we think we are!
Nate
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It’s like when the Simpsons used the Flanders vacation home, every single thing including each well of the ice tray had a post-it note on it saying what to do or not do with it.
I’m with you Joey, it’s time for America to grow some balls.
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Food allergies are really scary – I know from personal experience.
If I eat peanuts I stop breathing, if I eat too much gluten I blow up like a balloon, if I consume msg my head feel like it is blasting in to space… all this and more are very frightening experiences. Understanding this – I avoid many foods, and make it a point to ask a server if msg is used in the preparation.
Some folks, however – still need reminding with signs, and it is for the safety of both the patron and the establishment… Too many chemicals have become the norm.
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Hi there: I agree with you since I am severely allergic to peanuts, any nuts and all seafood, almost dying once was enough for me. I the signs are there because some foods are made with peanut oil, or some sauce that people who are allergic would not realize that it is in a recipe. I always tell and read every ingredient and alway double check …. but people need to take responsibility for themselves from what they eat to how they act. Happy Holidays
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On the general responsibility point, I couldn’t agree with you more. This country has been overtaken by a culture that believes it is entitled to everything and that any misfortune in life (allergies, obesity, addictions, accidents, illness, death, etc.) must be blamed on someone else, and that someone else must pay. Nothing is made in America any more because the cost of making things here has become prohibitive in part due to the liability exposure created by a population that won’t use its God given common sense or take responsibility for their own actions. Look at the ridiculous packaging that requires the use of dangerous tools to break through when we buy a product – not to mention what it does to our environment. We have become so politically correct, that no one dares speak out anymore, so I’m glad you did. It put me over the edge the day I saw a billboard in Boston advertising a new website called “whocanIsue.com”. That’s what we have turned into, and it is a very sad state.
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Again, I completely sympathize with those suffering with afflictions such as allergies, I just feel that if someone has had a horrible reaction in the past, you would think they would remember on their own accord the fact that may want to investigate or alert the server without needing signs plastered everywhere at every restaurant they walk in to. .
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Funny thing about those stiff plastic packages, they have caused more harm than good. I read an article not too long ago about the numerous injuries that have occurred as a result of people trying to open them – serious eye gouges, deep lacerations on the hands and fingers, people cutting their hands with scissors or sharp knives trying to open them, etc. Scary! It is too bad that we live in such a litigious society. It is now sue or be sued…..
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The signs are a part of an extremely important food allergy safety law that was recently passed. Those signs raise awareness for both the server and the patron. Sorry it’s so annoying to you, but try leaving the house and eating out with a 6 year old whose peanut allergy is so deadly if she even touches peanuts she’ll go into anaphylactic shock. As a parent its absolutely terrifying and restaurants are finally being proactive about it. Until you live each day wondering if today is the day that your child is exposed to a goddamn peanut quit your whining and find something productive to do.
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Here’s the question Abby. You know your child has a horrible peanut allergy obviously. Do you really need to be reminded to inform the server?
It’s touched a nerve with you and you constantly think about it so why the need for the signs?
Do you feel the same way about the warnings about hot coffee?
I’m not trying to be funny about it, it just seems rather obvious that you would know to alert your server without the need for every restaurant to place the signs at every table and redo all the menus.
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As a restaurant owner and a mother of a child who is allergic to nuts, I feel it is first my responsibility, if there is ANY question about what is in something, she doesn’t eat it…importantly, it is the restaurant’s responsibility to know what is in their food, whether they make it themselves or purchase from another vendor, to not only protect themselves from liability, but to protect their customers…if our servers don’t know, they ask the kitchen, yet even then, sometimes, I find myself in the walk in fridge, checking out the ingredients on a three gallon jar of olives to be sure there isn’t even a smidget of something like soy oil in it, because a customer wants olives but they are allergic to soy….things like that….and there is nothing wrong with saying, “you know what? I’m not sure, so I would rather not serve that to you, here are some other suggestions I am sure about.” It’s about education and communication, all around, for everyone…
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I agree w/ Abby! Those signs have nothing to do w/ personal responsibility, and everything to do w/ lawyers & insurance. People w/ allergies don’t need a sign to remind them. If that is your argument, then the same could be said of speed limit signs, merge signs, or the occupancy limit sign for a restaurant…etc…etc. Do you really need a sign to tell you not to drive over 55? Lawyers & insurance companies tell us that we have to post a “no tresspassing” sign on private property if we want to protect ourselves from an idiot coming on your property. And then after they hurt themselves on your property, the lawyers will still find a way to sue you.
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I have a food allergy and absolutely agree that it’s my responsibility to make sure the food I eat is safe for me. When I go into a restaurant– any restaurant– I tell them of my allergy and ask that the food I order be checked for safety.
In most cases, the serving staff and kitchen staff are extraordinarily accommodating. Alchemy and Tucker’s Family Diner are both examples of restaurants that go out of there way to serve me a delicious meal that is safe for me.
However, it is not uncommon for a waiter to roll their eyes at me and act as if I’m causing a huge problem for them. I have had waiters tell me they are unable to confirm that I am able to eat an item on their menu. I have also had waiters lie to me about the item– resulting in a reaction from food I was told is safe. This has happened in both inexpensive and extremely expensive restaurants.
The signs and notations in the menus asking me to notify the staff of my allergy tells me that I am welcome in that restaurant.
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The staff at those restaurants ought to be fired on the spot if you ask and they roll their eyes at you. The manager ought to be alerted as well. That’s just crazy, especially them lying about it.
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