The Food Allergy Institute stickers have a QR code that takes people to foodallergyinstitute.com to learn more about food allergies. (Image courtesy of the Food Allergy Institute)
According to the Food and Drug Administration, common dishes contain about 160 ingredients that can cause an allergic reaction in people, from wheat and dairy to common allergy triggers like peanuts and shellfish. The Food Allergy Institute of Long Beach has launched an initiative called the Food Allergy League, a program that aims to literally make restaurants safer places for people with food allergies.
“Approximately 33 million people suffer from severe food allergies,” says Sean Conley, public affairs specialist at the Food Allergy Institute, “and of those, about 11 million are children.”
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 6 percent of adults and about 8 percent of children in the United States (1 in 13) suffer from food allergies, and the “big nine” are milk, eggs, fish, shellfish, tree nuts, peanuts, wheat, soy, and sesame.
Founded by Dr. Inderpal Randhawa, the nonprofit has created a training program to help restaurants and their employees learn more about food allergy issues, from harmful ingredients to the proper use of EpiPens. Upon completion of the program, eateries can place stickers in their windows stating that they are food allergy-friendly. The program will initially be implemented in restaurants in Long Beach and Orange County, but the coalition hopes to expand it across Southern California.
“What we came up with is a sticker that says ‘Food Allergy Friendly Restaurant,’ to show potential customers that this is a place that’s Food Allergy Institute certified,” Conley said.
To get the sticker, restaurants can ask their staff to attend food allergy education with the Food Allergy Institute. The free course can be taken on-site at the restaurant or virtually at the institute’s Long Beach headquarters. The sticker comes with a three-tiered rating system: tier 1 is basic knowledge about food allergies (e.g., signs of anaphylaxis and signs of choking), tier 2 is more complex, such as whether the restaurant offers a food allergy-friendly menu, and tier 3 is more detailed, such as whether the restaurant has an allergy-friendly section.
So far, only one restaurant, Thai District in Long Beach, is set to receive the stickers: The restaurant is currently completing training on administering EpiPens and serving allergy-free menu items. Apu Cafe in Long Beach also plans to join the program.
Unlike the Health Department ratings posted in restaurant windows, which require restaurants to post grades of A, B or C for sanitation and food safety based on unannounced visits by the Health Department, the Food Allergy League program is voluntary.
“This particular program doesn’t require legislation,” Conley said, “we just think it’s a good idea to educate restaurants that want to take a step forward to make their restaurants safe for people with food allergies.”
