Catering for Food Allergic Attendees

Contributed by Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC

Our lives revolve around food. We see it on TV. We read about. We write about it. We fight about where it should come from and how it should be made. We create, bake and cook it. And, most importantly, we eat it.

Having safe and healthy food to eat is a right, not a privilege. Eating is also a major life activity. It is a given to most. Something that we take for granted each and every day.

However, there are millions of people who struggle with finding something safe and healthy to eat because it goes against their religious or personal beliefs, will make them sick or possibly kill them. It’s especially hard for them at meetings.

More than 15 million Americans are afflicted with food allergies—every 3 minutes a food allergic reaction sends someone to the emergency room and 50 percent of the reactions are anaphylactic. One in every 133 persons or roughly three million Americans have Celiac Disease, and a startling 95 percent have yet to be diagnosed. Deemed as the epidemic of the 21st century, Type 2 diabetes plagues 1 in 10 Americans. And, if current trends continue that number could be 1 in 3 by 2050, up 36 percent.

Each of these diseases and many others can be and are controlled by eating a specific way or avoiding a specific food. How does this effect meeting and catering professionals? When an individual attends a meeting, conference or event, takes part in a work function, or eats in the company cafeteria, we are there to feed them.

As professional meeting professionals, we have a duty of care at all times. People must be able to trust us with their health and safety while they are at the meetings and events we plan. To justify that trust, we must make the care of our event participants, supplier partners, exhibitors, speakers, sponsors and staff our first concern, treating them as individuals and respecting their dignity and their needs. That includes ensuring our event participants with dietary needs are prepared and served food that, to the best our ability, meets their needs.

Here are seven ways to meet our attendee's needs:

• Ask for dietary needs during registration process and address how they will be handled at the event. Use registration to ask for dietary needs clearly and succinctly — check boxes. Differentiate needs from preferences by adding “diet” to the list of disabilities to be accommodated. Ask if they carry epinephrine and to complete an emergency action plan. Explain the process attendees will experience at the event—will meal cards be given out, will food will be labeled with allergen ingredients, who is their onsite contact and what safety measures will be in place.

• Communicate attendees needs to catering team early. Providing dietary need information to food and beverage partners well in advance (more than a week) gives them time to properly address the needs in the menu. They may even be able to plan your entire menu without a specific food allergen.

• Be transparent about the food you're serving.  Label buffets and/or menu with allergens and/or other ingredients to decrease attendee anxiety and help ensure their safety. Communicate to all attendees what food allergens are present and ask them to be cautious about cross-contact.

• Ensure chefs, banquet captains and servers are aware.  A trained and knowledgeable staff is imperative to creating a safe environment. Banquet and culinary staff must know there are individuals with dietary needs in attendance, know the ingredients in the food being served and how to provide alternatives for those guests.

• Be familiar with the venue’s emergency procedures.  Ask the venue if it has stock epinephrine onsite and who is trained to administer it. Understand action plans in case of an emergency and ensure all staff are aware.

• Develop a communications plan for your F&B partners and attendees.  In what ways can you inform attendees of menu items—pre-show letters, event apps, menu labeling—and how will staff identify attendees? Will there be off-site events that limit catering opportunities? Does the event location limit options?

• Create standard operating procedures for food related safety.  These might include training sessions on food allergies and how to spot the signs of allergic reaction, incorporating signage onto buffets, and defining actions if others participants or staff inhibit your efforts to provide meals that accommodate food allergies (e.g., tampering with food, or eating food that contains an employee’s allergen in a meeting).
  
  

As event planners, maintaining exemplary standards of professional conduct at all times and encouraging the integration of ethics into all aspects of the planning and execution process can help ensure guests feel safe, welcome and part of the event.

In honor of Food Allergy Awareness Action and Celiac Disease Awareness Month, here are 10 things you should know.

1.  Globally, researchers estimate 220-250 million people may suffer from a food allergy. In the US, 15 million people have food allergies. In Europe, 17 million people are afflicted.

2. A study released by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2013 notes that the prevalence of food allergies in children increased nearly 50% between 1997 and 2011.

3. Every 3 minutes, a food allergy reaction sends someone to the emergency room. Annually, this results in approximately 200,000 emergency room visits and 200 deaths.

4. Research suggests that close to 50 percent of all fatal food allergies are triggered from food consumed outside of the home. That includes conferences, employee picnics, corporate dinners, etc.

5. Eight foods account for 90 percent of all allergic reactions worldwide:

• eggs

• milk

• wheat

• soy

• shellfish

• fish

• tree nuts

• peanuts

6. There is no medicinal cure for food allergy. The only way to prevent a reaction is strict avoidance of the allergen.

7. Food allergy is NOT the same as food intolerance, gluten sensitivity or celiac disease. Food allergies are an immune system response to a typically a harmless food protein that when ingested the body deems a threat and triggers a reaction. Symptoms can be mild (rash, itching, hives, swelling) to severe (wheezing, loss of consciousness) and anaphylactic, a potentially fatal allergic reaction that happens quickly. Food Intolerances and gluten sensitivity effect the digestive tract and do not typically manifest life-threatening reactions.
8. Celiac disease is an autoimmune disease affecting the small intestine and digestive tract. It is caused by an abnormal reaction to gluten, a protein found in wheat, rye and barley which in turn can cause serious complications, including malnourishment and intestinal damage.
9. Eating away from home significantly increases risk for individuals with food allergies.
10. Food allergies adversely affect quality of life. Detriments can range from internal stress and anxiety, to bullying at school and feelings of exclusion at food functions.

Important and Helpful Information
May is Celiac Awareness Month.

The following are links on Celiac Disease: 

https://thrivemeetings.com/2014/05/celiac-disease/

https://thrivemeetings.com/2016/05/6-celiac-disease-myths/
 
Here is a link to food allergies: https://thrivemeetings.com/international-list-of-food-allergens/

Need help in creating your next menu for all your attendees?  Tracy can help.  

https://thrivemeetings.com/menumanagement/
 

Written by:

Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CHC
President & Chief Connecting Officer
Thrive! Meetings & Events
404-242-0530

tracy@thrivemeetings.com

www.thrivemeetings.com   

Tracy Stuckrath, CSEP, CMM, CFPM works with meeting planners and hotels worldwide to reduce risk, improve customer experience, and improve the bottom line through safe and inclusive F&B events that satisfy all attendees' needs. She is a 2016 Meetings Industry Change Maker and US delegate to Slow Food's Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, a Top 25 Women in the Meetings Industry, and a 2014 Meetings Industry Trendsetter. 

You can find Tracy at www.thrivemeetings.com
 
For reading this article, Tracy is offering a 20 percent discount on Thrive! meal cards by using code MPINJ through May 31 and free 15-minute discussions about your meeting menus. Book your time HERE