We’re all going on a summer holiday (and allergies won’t stop us): Supporting customers with food sensitivities
Good weather has finally arrived and the 2024 summer holiday season is in full swing.
As UK and overseas hospitality venues fill up, a new factsheet from disability inclusion charity, Business Disability Forum guides businesses that serve or sell food on the steps to take to safeguard customers and employees who have food sensitivities.
The complex human immune system protects us from harmful toxins. Most of the time it works well, and we are oblivious to it. But like other complex systems, it can develop glitches and that is when allergies, food intolerances, and auto-immune conditions can develop. As businesses, understanding how these might affect customers and what to do if someone is exposed to a food they are sensitive to is important.
Not all customers know which ingredients they can and cannot tolerate in food. Mum Vicky Harker has learnt exactly what to request for her one-year-old daughter, who was very ill before being diagnosed with multiple food allergies .
Vicky says: “The first few months were utterly overwhelming. I was scared to leave the house, every time we went out she had a reaction from crawling in crumbs or sitting in a contaminated high chair. It took months to figure out a suitable diet, and courage to venture out into the big, scary, contaminated world.“
Travel with Indigo takes serious planning. But Vicky is determined her child’s delicate digestive system will not prevent her having a full life. When she felt more confident about managing her daughter’s meals, she booked a holiday to Spain. She found restaurants where the plain protein food her daughter can eat is served, booked a flight with a short transfer to their accommodation, packed plenty of acceptable snacks and extra medication, took out medical insurance, and ventured out.
Vicky shares how she managed a successful family holiday and provides tips for parents travelling with a child with food allergies in her blog: We’re all going on a summer holiday (and allergies won’t stop us).
The three-part food sensitivities factsheet for businesses covers:
- Types of food sensitivities – food intolerances, autoimmune reactions (for example, coeliac disease), food allergies (including anaphylaxis).
- How employees and customers could be affected by food sensitivities.
- Adjustments to support individuals with food sensitivities.
- What to do if someone is exposed to food to which they have a sensitivity.
Ends
For more detailed information please go to:
Link to food sensitivities factsheet.