Are you planning a work meal with multiple allergies?

So I work at a school and we’re having an end-of-year barbecue. I usually brought my own food for something like this. It’s really hard for me to trust someone to cook barbecue with so much risk of cross contamination and mistakes.

I still don’t know if I’ll be up Monday night cooking sausages – LOL

But my colleagues encouraged me to ask the question. There has been something for me to eat at some previous events over the winter months, but it’s always a bit of a military procedure for me and the company providing the food.

Sometimes I wonder if it wouldn’t be easier to bring my own food.

Not to be included in what for others is a free meal.

This makes sense, because it eliminates all the worries. But listen to me. This adds to the already long list of instances where my needs cannot be met and I have not been included. I know it’s difficult but there are ways around it and if you try people with special needs can be accommodated.

Ask what can be done? Is the food safe?

I decided to ask and started with the person I spoke to last time.

1. Previous Contact – No, it wasn’t her this time.
2. She suggested speaking to the administrative team. Great call, I thought, and I was given two names.
3. One of these people said that was not their mandate.
4. The other said she also didn’t know why her name was given.
5. She told me to contact the kitchen manager and his assistant.
6. She pointed at him and said he could help me
7. I think I received an email saying he would contact me.
8. He didn’t contact me
9. I walked into the kitchen early one morning and he told me he was preparing the food and had no idea what was in the meat.
10. He looked through the salads; Greek salad with feta, couscous salad and tomato and onion salad. I was able to have the tomato salad before and thought it would go with a burger or sausage. Win Win. I decided not to push. I didn’t ask him if he could make me a special salad because I felt he already looked busy. I don’t like putting extra work on busy people when my life depends on it.
11. I then got sent to the CFO who told me he thought the burgers would be fine and would check. He came back later to confirm that the burgers were not safe, but that there would be ten gluten free burgers for those who were celiac or allergic like me.
12. He also told me that the kitchen manager was also considering putting feta in the tomato salad. So it’s fun for everyone! (quietly seeing the thing)
13. He suggested I check out the ingredients in Hellmans mayonnaise and what they buy. This isn’t always very helpful because the Hellmans make a lot of different mayonnaises. The Light version contains milk, the Normal version does not. If I can’t check the label, I won’t have Mayo.
14. I’m going to contact him again to just confirm the ingredients for the burgers – He’ll think I’m crazy but I’ve come across milk and cheese in burgers. It looks like it’s not that kind of burger, but that nagging voice won’t let me check. He also suggested I bring my own wheat-free rolls. Thesis I bought today. Thanks to Warburtons Gluten Free Soft Brioche Buns.
15. He also told me that one of the math teachers was supplying the sausages so I could check with her about it. I haven’t done it yet. This may be a bridge too far. I lost the will to live at this point. If I have time I’ll check with her but I might just grab my own sausages as there are only a few business days left until the BBQ as this took me literally weeks to go around houses to get the information.
16. I also spoke to the matron who has my allergen list on her spreadsheet.
17. The finance lady confirmed that my allergens were registered somewhere on SIMS where no one but her could find them.
18. I’m now sitting rocking in a dark room

I feel a little jaded by this whole experience. Because even after all of this, I’m still not 100% sure what’s going to happen that day.

How do companies provide safe food for staff with allergies?

It doesn’t run like a well-oiled machine at my employers.

Basically, unless someone asks for it, there won’t be any suitable food for them.

I’ve learned throughout my life that no one owes you anything in life, so take a chance and be prepared, especially when you have multiple serious and life-threatening allergies.

But this whole experience got me thinking, what if it was so hard for me to guarantee (sort of) that certain foods would be okay for me…and I’m still not 100% sure that grilling will be safe, free from contamination wheat cross. containing hamburgers, cheese, etc.

I can also take a roll of foil and insist that our gluten free burgers be cooked on it and then wrapped in it to keep it safe until we can get it back to eat!

What am I going to do at the school barbecue?

I can confirm that I will be having my own salad – I make a pretty mean salad, so it will be a delicious treat, and I love making it, along with my own special dressing to die for (not literally to die for, I hope ). I’ll also have some of my own mayonnaise and mustard.

I’ll also make a batch of sausages and maybe grab a jar of potato salad or rice as a special treat.

I will share a photo of my food at the picnic for you all to marvel at. But I would like to hear from companies that manage allergen information for their staff. Is this possible? I know there are teachers with nut allergies and also celiacs, but should we just take care of ourselves? Or does the employer have a duty to provide safe refreshments?

What is happening where you work? How easy is it to ensure your needs are met during social gatherings? I would like to hear your comments. Currently I can only eat hash browns (randomly available once a week) and jacket potatoes with baked beans. No one knows what’s in anything else when I ask.

It got me thinking about the school kids and how easy it is for them to get healthy food. I know the school is a nut-free school, but unfortunately a student had an anaphylactic reaction last week to traces of peanuts. I also know that the cashless system alerts the register if a child has allergies – but I’d like to see this in action and wonder if my own account is set up the same way.

I have been in this position for a year now, so it is time for me to address, sensitively and calmly, how it can be made easier at school for our students.
Watch this space!

Photo by Pam Menegakis on Unsplash

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