Did you know that people can use food to threaten others? When it comes to food allergies, food CAN kill! Our guest in this episode has great advice on how to truly welcome everyone to your table AND avoid killing someone (or making them sick) with the food you serve.
Tracy Stuckrath is a food allergy and inclusivity expert who wants to ensure no one is offended or hurt with the food they are served by others. She provides strategy and training to organizations worldwide to establish best practices, increase efficiency, increase profit, mitigate risk, and improve customer experience.
Key points:
Event professionals need to be aware and prepare for guests with food allergies.
- Tracy strives to make the world healthier one event at a time.
- Food and beverage makes a big difference in an attendee's experience event. If you can't eat the food offered, your participation is hindered:
- feel hungry and not focused
- can be made to feel like "a problem"
- may have to leave event to get other food at their own expense
- Eating is included in the ADA which gives protections to people with food allergies
- events should include food allergies on registration materials
- ask "How can we support you in participating in this event?"
- ask about dietary restrictions and life threatening allergies
- ask about preferences
- need to label everything for the top 8 allergens at the least (Europe label for 14):
- crustacean:crab, shrimp, prawn (EU includes molluscan shellfish
- wheat (EU includes rye & barley)
- egg
- milk
- tree nuts
- peanuts (EU includes sesame and lupin)
- fish
- soy
- (EU includes celery, mustard, sulphur dioxide & sulfites)
People with food allergies can't "just get over it."
- Need to "eat of the same plate" and understand the experience
- Newly diagnosed people struggle to figure it out and need support and compassion
- If you are serving food, you have to respect the person who will eat it
- Listen to needs and ask non-defensive questions
- I want you to feel safe. How can I make you feel safe?
- Ask for clarification
- Take steps in the kitchen to avoid cross contamination. Explain what you do.
- You may need to give them a gift card to buy other food
- Understand airborne flour, for example, can be a problem.
- Read labels - ingredients change.
Three tips to overcome food bullying when serving food to others:
- ASK if people have dietary restrictions
- LABEL what you are serving
- CREATE a statement about being a food and beverage experience and encourage to be respectful of people's allergies
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